Music On Monday: Rank And File

I grew up listening to my mom's folk records* (which included a lot of "cowboy" songs) -- I mean, we really sang stuff around the house like "Comin' Round the Mountain" and "Streets of Laredo", yes pretty square but I'm glad for it now. But the first Western music I bought that was my own was probably the album Sundown by Rank and File. My favorite track off it is "Coyote" but "The Conductor Wore Black", is a close second:

Being a kid, and having no real way to find out about bands then (no internet omg can you believe it) until I actually got my own copy of the LP I totally thought it was a male/female duet, like X. But it was actually harmonizing from two brothers, Tony and Chip Kinman (of Dils fame) as you can see in this live clip of them from the era:

I think I had all 3 albums on vinyl, but Sundown is the only one that has survived into my digital playlists. Maybe it really is their best (it's the only album they recorded with Alejandro Escovedo), maybe it's just because it recalls a certain time in my life. For whatever reason, I love them to this day.

*my father and uncles listened to psychedelic rock and prog rock. It was an interesting mix, to say the least. At least both of my parents listened to classical music, otherwise they'd have probably split up even sooner!