Wylie & The Wild West Show's third album was originally released only in Australia. WAY OUT WEST is a fine introduction to Wylie Gustafson's winning celebration of C&W music. He can yodel, he can yelp, and he can bring a tear to your eye as he wraps himself inside a plaintive ballad.
Five of the 12 selections are originals (subsequent releases are nearly all self-penned), and he confidently mixes a rich sense of tradition with a bracing range of other styles. "Heaven" is hypnotically soulful and could easily be covered by a contemporary R&B singer. Steel guitarist Mike Fried is a wonderful sidekick throughout the whole set, adding accents and a sense of sweeping majesty.
