James McMurtry Albums (10)
'Live in Europe'
Release Date 10/13/2009
Tracks 14
Label Lightning Rod
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What The Critics Say
Pop/rocker Peter Frampton and roots folk-rock mainstay James McMurtry don't have much in common, but they were both artistically defined -- and found larger audiences -- through live albums. McMurtry's Live in Aught-Three was released to substantial acclaim in 2004 on Compadre. Five years later, with only two additional studio discs to his name and a new company behind him in scrappy Lightning Rod, the powers that be felt it was already time for another -- hence this frustratingly short, eight-song, 42-minute set recorded on some European dates in 2008 accompanied by an equally brief 40-minute DVD. As somewhat of a consolation for the concise playing times, the DVD repeats just two tunes from the audio disc, and even though only three selections were on the 2004 release, this really should have been longer. McMurtry is in fine, gravelly talk-sung voice and delivers convincing, if not exactly electrifying, concert versions of his newest material on the audio platter. His band is great, especially ex-Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, whose organ fills and rollicking boogie-woogie lines are classy and perfectly placed. McMurtry isn't the most magnetic frontman, although his emotionless scowl effectively mirrors the disillusionment described by the generally lower-class characters struggling to get by in the majority of his work. Fellow Austin resident Jon Dee Graham makes a brief but energetic appearance on guitar and vocals for the DVD-only track "Laredo." The crisp recording and quality camera work give the viewer a sense of the surroundings at Amsterdam's Paradiso club, where it was recorded. The playing is tight and the group well rehearsed and sufficiently swampy, but generally these performances are not different enough from the studio versions for anyone other than die-hard fans to notice. Unless you need to see McMurtry and his musicians do their thing on-stage, Live in Europe is a sturdy, potent, yet superfluous item in the singer/songwriter's impressive catalog of hard-edged, lyrically incisive roots rock. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The further James McMurtry gets from the big leagues of the music business, the better it seems to be for his music. McMurtry was still finding his feet as a recording artist with his first three albums for Columbia, and just began hitting a groove when he signed with the independent Sugar Hill label. Now recording for a renegade start-up label called Lightning Rod Records, McMurtry has cut what may well be his best and most consistently interesting album to date, Just Us Kids, a dozen songs clearly informed by the American malaise of the first few years of the 21st century and the disillusion over the ongoing war in Iraq. While the war is rarely mentioned by name, there's no disguising the source behind the bitter, mordant wit of "Cheney's Toy" and "God Bless America," just as "Hurricane Party" captures the devastation of Katrina without belaboring what we've all seen on the news. Even when the specific tragedies of recent years don't figure into the songs, the aging rebels turned working stiffs of the title cut, the couple struggling to make their lives and relationship work in "Ruby and Carlos," and the drifter with a shaky sense of her own history in "Fire Line Road" are characters whose lives have been battered by the circumstances of the past seven years. As a performer, McMurtry still doesn't possess the most expressive voice in American music, but his lean, plain-spoken drawl has gained a wealth of nuance in recent years, communicating a laconic swagger, an ominous air of menace, or a simple acceptance of the quirks of fate with wisdom and clarity. McMurtry also produced Just Us Kids, and the spare, funky growl of this rootsy rock & roll is a perfect match for the tone of these songs, a sound that's thoroughly American while conjuring the dark clouds gathering on the horizon. Just Us Kids is an album very much of its time that also speaks to the larger ideas of life in America in an uncertain age, and it's brave, smart, and pithy music that captures James McMurtry at the top of his game. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Childish Things follows James McMurtry's well-received live album by a little over a year and maintains the high standards set by that release while occasionally upping the stakes. The raw yet full roots rock-sound remains dominated by McMurtry's tough, no-frills guitar chords and longtime backing musicians, drummer Daren Hess and bassist Ronnie Johnson. The three-piece instrumentation is augmented by subtle yet effective use of fiddle, organ, mandolin, and even horns on the opening track. Nonetheless, the spotlight remains on McMurtry's lyrics and gruff, Southern-fried vocals. He returns to the "middle-American family gathering" story well again on "Memorial Day" and the closing "Holiday," both of which revisit a dysfunctional reunion. McMurtry's bone-dry voice and evocative lyrics haven't lost a sliver of their sharpness, which keeps the songs mesmerizing, if not exactly cutting edge. He also adds a few covers this time; Peter Case's terrific "Old Part of Town" (originally recorded for a Case tribute album) and the country standard "Ole Slew Foot," (shortened to just "Slew Foot" and featuring a stirring guest vocal from Joe Ely) are most welcome, as both are given arrangements that slot into McMurtry's established sound. Even if some of the predominantly mid-tempo melodies don't jump out, the lyrics generally do. "I measure out my life in coffee grounds" and "the color snapshots I sent you, all came out in black and white," both from "Charlemagne's Home Town," are just two examples of McMurtry's ability to throw literary curve balls. He gets political -- and angry -- on the album's longest and best track, "We Can't Make It Here," which builds in Crazy Horse-styled intensity as the singer spills out lyrics that describe the less fortunate who have lost sight of the American dream, with stops at the Iraq war and the outsourcing of Wal Mart merchandise. McMurtry's low-boil vocals and lazy yet gritty spoken-sung delivery perfectly encapsulate but never overplay his bitterness towards those situations, as he remains the ultimate observer on another classy entry into his catalog. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
'Live in Aught-Three'
Release Date 3/23/2004
Tracks 14
Label Compadre
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What The Critics Say
James McMurtry's written plenty of great songs, but he's never made a great album. His character sketches and stories have always rung true, and he's as perceptive a chronicler of the disaffected and alienated as you'll find, but his limited vocal range and sometimes almost-indifferent delivery have made even his best discs, Too Long in the Wasteland and Where'd You Hide the Body a struggle to get through. Live in Aught-Three isn't a great album, but the live setting lets McMurtry and his backing group, the Heartless Bastards, breathe real rock & roll life into many of these songs for the first time. "Levelland," an account of stasis in the fly-over land, aches with a longing for something, anything, that's more exciting than high-school football games and farms, and "Red Dress" burns with an angry intensity that you'd never have guessed McMurtry had in him. We also get a dose of McMurtry's deadpan humor on a few between-song asides ("I used to think I was an artist. Come to find out I'm a beer salesman") and a hilarious delineation between intellectuals and good ol' boys. In fact, the strongest material here -- and McMurtry's best work overall -- are the ones in which he finds both the humor and the pathos in quirky, nasty characters like the ticked-off heir to the worthless farmland of "60 Acres," or the twisted crew at a family reunion in "Choctaw Bingo." If McMurtry's albums haven't caught your attention before, Live in Aught-Three is a perfect opportunity to reassess him. ~ Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, All Music Guide
'Saint Mary of the Woods'
Release Date 9/17/2002
Tracks 10
Label Sugar Hill
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What The Critics Say
The best and worst you can say about James McMurtry's sixth album is that it's not a drastic departure from his previous five. His storytelling is still sharply observed, his straightforward rock still compelling, but what starts out as a certain sonic consistency becomes oppressive over the course of ten tracks. Granted, there are a few new developments: the production is a degree more lush and atmospheric than McMurtry's previous albums, especially on the achingly gorgeous "Dry River," which is nearly cinematic in its sense of place. And for the first time, he's tackled a genuine epic with the rambling family reunion tale "Choctaw Bingo," driven by a chugging guitar riff and Earl Poole Ball's sparkling piano. But he's also dispensed with the loose, danceable rhythms that elevated the best tracks on his last two releases to the status of heartland funk; nothing here, save "Choctaw Bingo," makes you want to shuffle your feet. Some tracks are so melodically stark they dispense with chord changes altogether; "Red Dress" burbles along on a single motif for five minutes, while "Lobo Town's" stiff, near-robotic rhythm aims for faux-metal crunch but winds up bearing an unfortunate resemblance to, of all things, Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love." Lyrically, McMurtry is as tough as ever, tossing out deadpan descriptions of automobile accidents and other tragedies in rhyming couplets. And when he does try something different, as on the knowing, oddly gentle "Gone to the Y," the results are beautiful. Still, the eternal solidness of his songwriting aside, Saint Mary of the Woods is the album on which McMurtry's standard formula finally starts to sound like too much of a good thing. ~ Kenneth Bays, All Music Guide
'Walk Between the Raindrops'
Release Date 8/18/1998
Tracks 10
Label Sugar Hill
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What The Critics Say
Somewhere between "Desolation Row," "The Heart of Saturday Night," and The Last Picture Show, there are places and events that James McMurtry writes about. Vocally, he is seldom surprising, but always dependable. Sliding effortlessly from first- to third-person narrative, McMurtry presents great material, including maybe the definitive gettin' sober song, "Every Little Bit Counts." Other highlights include "Fast as I Can," "Tired of Walking," and the surprise inclusion of Townes Van Zandt's "Rex's Blues." Nothing wrong here. Produced by the legendary Lloyd Maines. ~ William Ashford, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
James McMurtry's fourth album of new material concerns itself with change. Showing a maturity that doesn't show itself much in the roots rock genre, It Had to Happen winds its way through many stories set to music. "Sixty Acres" deals with inheritance, while "No More Buffalo," a standout cut, dwells on both natural and personal destruction. Tastefully done, McMurtry and his fellow travelers offer fine music done maturely. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
'Where'd You Hide the Body'
Release Date 1/1/1995
Tracks 13
Label Columbia
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What The Critics Say
Whereas Too Long in the Wasteland debuted James McMurtry's gift for delineating characters and situations within a song, Where'd You Hide the Body finally gets around to matching that talent with some heavy-duty musical talent. Produced by Don Dixon (who also plays on all tracks save the last), with guitar great David Grissom and a superb set of backing musicians, Where'd You Hide the Body outstrips McMurtry's other efforts with its sheer range. From a funky "Fuller Brush Man" to the aural intensity of "Rachel's Song," this 1995 Columbia release pleases each time it is heard, and is much more than a vehicle for McMurtry's songwriting talent. ~ Jeff Crooke, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Like Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler (but with less mumble), James McMurtry offers a deep, personable (if plain) voice and delivery, equally suited to both country and rock. The instrumental backing veers between and blurs the two forms, the fluid dynamics rendering the distinction irrelevant. Whatever you call it, the music serves up a perfect backdrop to McMurtry's strong suit -- his evocative, short-story lyrics. Eventually, rock appears to win out as guitars veer into overdrive on "Save Yourself" and "Storekeeper"; the disc finally closing with the wistful, acoustic "Dusty Pages." ~ Roch Parisien, All Music Guide
'Too Long in the Wasteland'
Release Date 8/7/1989
Tracks 11
Label Columbia
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What The Critics Say
Having an in with a couple of famous people might have helped singer/songwriter James McMurtry get through the first swinging door into the music world -- maybe -- but his talents did everything else. This album, Too Long in the Wasteland, is his debut offering. It was produced by John Cougar Mellencamp. The album gives a clear sample of McMurtry's gift of writing lyrics that can transfer in a few short words all that needs to be told to pull the listener into whatever setting or mood McMurtry has decided to create. His lyrics are stories, telling about everyday life, the predictability of work, the troubles of teens, and the pain of love when it isn't all roses and sunshine. Maybe some of his writing talent comes from his father, author Larry McMurtry, known for penning tales such as Lonesome Dove. James McMurtry has a smooth, low voice that carries a Western twang from his life in Texas. Some of the songs on his first album are "Crazy Wind," "Painting by Numbers," "Shining Eyes," and "Poor Lost Soul." All 11 tracks on this debut were written by McMurtry. ~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music Guide
