Various Elko! A Cowboys's Gathering (2-CD)

(Dualtone) 2-CD, 40 tracks

Since the 1990s, Americans have witnessed the biggest renaissance of cowboy poetry and singing since the silver screen appearance of yodeling cowpokes in the 1930-'40s. Of course there's no one -- popularity wise -- to compare to Gene Autry or Roy Rogers, and no one has offered any of these ranch hands acting contracts.

Still, Elko!, a two-disc set recorded live at the 20th anniversary of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, represents the full flowering of contemporary cowboy music as well as marking it as an established movement. The wide array of styles within the form -- poetry, instrumental work, and songs -- is impressive. Baxter Black's "Baxter on Elko" offers a folksy history of the gathering, while Hot Club of Cowtown delivers a swinging take on "Ragtime Annie."

Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.