“It’s a handsome production, with cinematography that situates its subjects in wide-open spaces and captures the sweat and excitement of, for instance, a Black rodeo, one of many events included to demonstrate that, while the frontier has long been closed, the West is still very much alive. It incorporates highly qualified experts, from university professors to a very enthusiastic, wide-eyed gold prospector still infused with the spirt of ’49. It delves into areas that we might not immediately associate with the West – for instance, the region’s significance in the Civil War, when Confederate troops marched into New Mexico as part of the mission to preserve and expand slavery. It shows a knack for breaking the well-worn down to colloquial essentials…

There’s plenty to recommend here, starting with the presence of narrator, commentator and too-occasional musical accompanist Dom Flemons, an old-time music encyclopedia and founding member of another genre-breaking entity, the sublime Carolina Chocolate Drops. When Flemons gets to pause his narration and ply his craft here, strumming his guitar and singing original compositions, the results are quite haunting, worthy of Leonard Cohen’s music for McCabe. His inclusion was an inspired choice.”

-RollingStone