Reggae Cowboys have all the trappings of a novelty act: Canadians in cowboy hats doing the reggae thing in songs about the Wild Wild West. It sounds a bit like Dread Zeppelin crossed with the Village People, if a little more original.

Over the years, certain record labels have captured an iconic image, often unknowingly preserving transcendental moments in time as they document cultural movements on their shiny black albums and CDs. Imprints like The Beatles' boutique Apple label, Greg Ginn's proto-Punk SST in its glory years, Bethlehem and Blue Note's aural and graphic explorations in jazz, Def Jam's beatbox hip-hop gentry, SubPop's grunge chronicles, and Ralph Records' bizarre run of performance art Nu-Wave have all left their impression in modern pop-rock history - rare instances of commerce germinating new sounds and directions in thought, speeding wildly through those hip enough to be there when serendipity strikes the bell.