Just in time for holiday giving - even if only to yourself - is a new 3-CD collection that just might make you feel like strapping on your shootin' iron and saddling up your ol' cayuse — if you have one, that is. These days most of us get our transport from the horses under the hood of our cars and trucks, but apparently we haven't lost our taste for the Wild West. Rodeo is booming, and the 50th annual NFR (National Finals Rodeo) is starting in Las Vegas soon. To commemorate the occasion, Sony/BMG is issuing Boots, Buckles & Spurs, a boxed set of 50 Western songs with a definite rodeo flavor.
Rodeo has grown a lot since the days of dirt-poor cowboys risking broken ribs to make enough money to save the ranch from the dastardly banker. It's a big entertainment draw now, 
with an ever-increasing fan base, rising TV ratings, and tons of events that culminate in the big one in Las Vegas. How big, you ask? Modern cowboys can now risk cracking those ribs for prizes that total up to $6.5 million.
But we're here to talk about the music, and it's a chuckwagon full of tasty songs from a huge roster of country music stars, stretching from the early days of singing cowboys to some of today's biggest headliners.
The collection begins with Gene Autry's "Back In The Saddle Again," and includes a few other old chestnuts, but if those are a little before your time don't get your chaps scuffed up. There are plenty of modern songs, including the official theme of this year's rodeo, "Cowboy Town," performed by Brooks and Dunn.
Historically, cowboys and music go together like hardtack and beans, but it's still a little surprising that the producers of this set have found so many pieces that relate to rodeo, or are at least reminiscent of ridin' and ropin'. Some of those included are a little predictable but are still great songs. You can't really go wrong listening to Willie Nelson singing "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys," or Merle Haggard's "All American Cowboy."
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