Three on the Trail, the Riders in the Sky's debut album, established their tongue-in-cheek tribute to cowboys and western music. Though the humor is piled on a little thicker here than on their later releases, the music is often quite good and they never deviated from this formula -- slightly ironic covers, affectionate jokes and made-to-order originals -- on any of their subsequent records. They also rarely did it any better. ~ Thom Owens, All Music Guide