James McMurtry
NewMusicForOldFolks says …
James McMurtry once played in an Americana supergroup called Buzzin' Cousins. The group never really amounted to much, but when you know the other people in the group, you'll know where McMurtry stands in the genre. McMurtry joined John Prine, John Mellencamp, Joe Ely and Dwight Yoakum. If he's good enough for those gentlemen, he's good enough for me. It's been a while (2015) since McMurty's last release, but there's plenty in the back catalog to keep you busy. The songwriter's sociopolitical commentary makes for thought-provoking and entertaining Roots/Country songs. Just listen to "Choctaw Bingo" and "We Can't Make It Here" and you'll be hooked, and eagerly awaiting the next album.
Artist's Info
Website: jamesmcmurtry.com
See him live: Tour dates
Record company: Complicated Game Records
Genre: Americana, Roots
If you like this, look into: John Hiatt, Jason Isbell, Ryan Bingham
Bio (From the AllMusic.com)
Texas singer/songwriter James McMurtry, known for his hard-edged character sketches, comes from a literary family; his father, novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry, gave James his first guitar at age seven, and his mother, an English professor, taught him how to play it. McMurtry began performing his own songs while a student at the University of Arizona and continued to do so after returning home and taking a job as a bartender. When it transpired that a film script McMurtry's father had written was being directed by John Mellencamp, who was also its star, McMurtry's demo tape was passed along, and Mellencamp was duly impressed, serving as co-producer on McMurtry's 1989 debut album, Too Long in the Wasteland, which landed McMurtry a deal with Columbia Records. (more)
Spotify sampler
Recordings
COMPLICATED GAME (2015): James McMurtry spins stories with a poet's pen ("Long Island Shores") and a painter's precision ("She Loves Me"). Proof: The acclaimed songwriter's new Complicated Game. McMurtry's first collection in six years spotlights a craftsman in absolutely peak form as he turns from political toward personal ("These Things I've Come to Know, You Got to Me"). "The lyrical theme is mostly about relationships," McMurtry says. "It's also a little about the big old world verses the poor little farmer or fisherman. I never make a conscious decision about what to write about."
OTHER RECORDINGS
Too Long in the Wasteland (1989)
Candyland (1992)
Where'd You Hide the Body (1995)
It Had to Happen (1997)
Walk Between the Raindrops (1998)
Saint Mary of the Woods (2002)
Live in Aught-Three (2004)
Childish Things (2005)
Best of the Sugar Hill Years (2007)
Just Us Kids (2008)
Live in Europe (2009)
