The Western Ballad Opera is a fascinating, twisted, yet delicately woven tale of greed, evil, murder, incest, lies, vengeance, supernatural power, goodness, and fairness.  Its characters include an almost helpless heroine, evil cattle monger, medicine show con man, murderer, cross dresser, river pirate (complete with eye patch), rainmaker, dandy, cheating Jezebels, and one described as just “walking trouble.”  All of which are interconnected with one another in surprising, suspenseful ways. It takes you on a whirlwind tour through frontier America from the early 1800s through the 1870s.  Its intricate and interlacing plot weaves and burrows its way through frontier Texas, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, and Montana, spanning a couple of generations.  The Western Ballad Opera is definitely closer to soap opera than traditional opera.  You won’t find a 50-piece orchestra or tenors and sopranos vying for the high notes.  You will find good solid western music created with lots of guitars, steel, bass, mandolin, banjo, percussion, keyboard, and harmonica.  The closest thing I can compare it to is a western musical rendition of the Lonesome Dove miniseries, only wilder by at least a factor of 10. 

The musical is in two acts.  The first introduces the spellbinding characters of Joe, Moses, and Doc, provides the listener with some background about each, and describes how they deal with the lawless survival required of frontier folks of that era.  The second act continues the saga and intertwines the trials and tribulations of Abbey, Morgan, and Rueben, the second generation of characters.  All these folks will astound you with their actions and have your mind doing mental calisthenics trying to follow the links to and from the various characters.  The music is direct and precise, usually in elongated ballad style, and intended to complement and assist the tale.  The opening introduction uses an acoustic guitar with a dove call and muted coyote howl in the background to set the mood.  John Bizzack, also a co-writer, commences with a rough and rusty narration: 

“There’s a lotta stories ‘bout the old west that’s been told ‘round campfires, bunkhouses and saloon card tables…  some might even be true.

…

I think you’ll agree that the struggles to survive obstacles of life in the old west often came at a high cost – making life tragic and sometimes cheap.  I guess, when ambitions are as different as personalities every thing that happens – good or bad – is gonna affect other people too.”

And so begins our tale…

Act I, Scene 1, Joe and the Man, takes you to a small Colorado mining town named Truth.  Joe saves a man, accused of being a fancy dresser and takes him home.  They find they have much in common and enjoy their mutual companionship.  Naturally, the tongues of Truth are wagging.

Scene 2, Rainmaker: The Ballad of Moses Devine, spins the yarn of a boy with special rainmaking powers.  How he was orphaned by bandits, sold by them as a slave to Indians (where he learned to harness his power), and then traded to the traveling medicine show.  Eventually, this boy became known as Moses Devine.  Took over the medicine show from Doc Peyote and turned his rainmaking gift into good fortune for all.  He wound up with the Second Chance Ranch in Texas as a home for the whole darn medicine show. 

Scene 3, The Second Chance Ranch, is a joyful accounting of the good times and strange characters that called the Second Chance home.  Devine helps many along the way, especially a young Wilbur Morgan. 

“N’ Moses says, ‘It don’t matter what you are – don’t matter what you ain’t

Don’t matter if your star burns bright - or just barely blinks

The measure of a man’s deep inside n’ sometimes can’t be seen

At the Second Chance we don’t say ‘can’t’ – n’ there ain’t no in between’”

But Wilbur’s character is fatally flawed, and finally Devine bids him farewell to a new life in Montana.  But not before the greedy Morgan rustles a few more cattle than the number to which the two had agreed.  Devine is aware of the subterfuge and uses his mysterious power to deny rain for Morgan’s new locale.

Scene 4, The Saga of “Doc” Peyote, is another upbeat tale of the original medicine show ringmaster who is really a con man, extraordinaire.  Doc seems to have more lives than a cat, and pops right back on top after each of his many disasters.  The chorus is his formula for life.

“A man has lotsa’ of courage when he’s not afraid to fail

One without the other’s like a train without the rail

A man who’s not afraid to lose will end up winnin’ more

Cause in the end a man can’t win more than he’s gambled for.”

After being tarred and feathered as Doc, his quick thinking metamorphosis to a British military officer starts his next cycle as wagon master.  Somewhere along the way there were also a priest, barkeep, gambler, and riverboat pilot Peyotes.  This scene also reveals to the audience the parental origins of Doc and his relationship to Moses, totally unknown to them both.

Scene 5, Epilogue: The Moral, by way of repeating the musical introduction of Joe and the Man, the music returns you full circle to pick up Joe’s story.  This time, you get the whole story of how Joe came to be in that mining town and why Joe lived as a recluse.  How the evil, one-eyed pirate Brandies changed Joe’s life forever.  How Brandies was linked to Wilbur Morgan. And how Truth’s wagging tongues were further shocked at the secret revealed by the riverbank deaths of Joe and the Dandy by bandits.  The moral of course, is the chorus:

“- who knows what tomorrow will bring

There’s no such thing, …, as a dream that’s guaranteed.”

Act II rolls in with our friendly campfire narrator forecasting the doom and gloom of Wilbur Morgan and his evil, warped family and associates.  He drops the clue that Morgan has unwittingly passed on his bad seed and that the town is not fooled by Morgan’s protestations of his family’s innocence and had more than enough of his attempts to control them.

“There’s no place but Hell for some people – and for the entire Morgan family…well, that IS guaranteed.”

Scene 1, Abbey, Morgan & Rueben, is told by a young ranch hand from the Morgan spread.  The unfortunate boy discovered Abbey and her father’s foreman, Rueben in a state of undress in the loft of the barn.  He quickly left the barn and ran right into old man Morgan himself.  He was accused of assaulting daddy’s darling by Morgan, and when the accusation was embellished by Rueben and Abbey,  Morgan shot the boy and had his body dumped in the hills.  Morgan told the sheriff that the boy tried to assault his daughter, and was caught in the act by Rueben.  The boy then stole a horse and escaped to the hills and must have shot himself when overcome by guilt at what he had done.

Scene 2, Morgan’s Version, is the twisted and clumsily fabricated attempt by Morgan to stop the town gossip about his daughter.  All he accomplished was to turn the town firmer against him and his evil, conniving family.  The whispers still continued, rippling just beneath the surface.  As Morgan preaches and patronizes the town, his words have a poignant double entendre.

“Sometimes people think they’re right and tangled webs get weaved

The truth ain’t always as some might lead you to believe

There’s always more behind a lie and something in between

Black ain’t black and white ain’t white with liars, cheats, and thieves.”

Scene 3, The Fires: Rueben Carter’s Trial, is set at the murder and arson trial of Carter for the fires at the Morgan ranch that killed Morgan’s second wife several years ago, and the more recent blaze that killed both Abbey and Morgan.  At the trial, the full relationship of Rueben and Morgan’s wife is revealed, as well as the relationship of Reuben and Abbey.  He is found guilty on both counts and sentenced to hang and burn in hell with Morgan, his cheating wife, and devil’s spawn, Abbey.

Scene 4, Epilogue, reveals additional tidbits about Morgan’s life prior to his working for Moses Devine.  These facts show how that past was connected to Rueben Carter and his fatal quest for vengeance.

“Oh what a tangled web was weaved through years of lies, deceit and greed

Hades is guaranteed for fools livin’ like these.”

Thus The Western Ballad Opera concludes, leaving the listener still spellbound, shocked, horrified, and chomping the bit for the sequel.  Although the music is pleasant, very professionally executed, and always complementary to the story theme, there are no outstanding melodies and harmonies that will haunt your thoughts.  However, that cannot be said about the riveting story and the outlandish characters that came to life through the lyrics.  Co written by John Bizzack and Marvin Adcock, and musically performed by the other members of the Pistol River band, this CD is one that must be listened to carefully, without distractions, to fully appreciate the intricate trail of clues and crafty implications that complete this campfire yarn.  Friendly caution:  Not recommended for those with Attention Deficit Disorder!  The listener must actively listen and mentally participate in this tale to gain the full benefit of what is presented for your listening pleasure.  A quiet evening at home or a long stretch of a west Texas highway road trip is the perfect setting in which to enjoy this rousing tale.

The Pistol River Band’s The Western Ballad Opera will be available from Parthenon Records through retail and Internet distributors on March 11, 2003.  Additional details may be found at www.pistolriver.net.  You can contact the co- writers John Bizzack and Marvin Adcock via e-mail.

                                                                                                              Cheryl Arthur
 

Written by Cheryl Arthur, February, 2003