Not P and Not James McMurtry but James McMurtry : Long Awaited New CD

[Ian Livingston]

Thanks, Allan. I agree that McMurtry is the real deal, and I look forward
to hearing Complicated Game.

On Tue, Feb 24, 2015 at 2:07 PM, Allan Balliett <allan.balliett at gmail.com>
wrote:

> James McMurtry – Complicated Game
>
> Throughout his career, James McMurtry has always played the role of the
> underdog. Even when he hits No. 1 on the Americana radio charts, receives a
> Grammy nod or picks up an Americana Music Award, he never quite gets the
> credit he deserves.
>
> Regardless of the publicity he may or may not receive, his authentic
> lyricism and astounding guitar work have afforded him the opportunity to
> perform music all over the world, garnering praise from the likes of John
> Mellencamp (who produced McMurtry’s debut album and says he “writes like
> he’s lived a lifetime”), Stephen King (who calls him the “truest, fiercest
> songwriter of his generation”) and even Jason Isbell (who says he’s “one of
> my very few favorite songwriters on Earth”).
>
> With each and every disc in his catalog McMurtry’s first-hand — and often
> bleak — perspective hearkens memories of Lou Reed‘s honest prose; there is
> no filler, there is no garbage, only bona fide bits and pieces of American
> life strewn throughout a 24-year career.
>
> Those talents are on full display on his latest album — his first in six
> years; ninth overall – Complicated Game. While many reviews and statements
> classify this LP as more “acoustic” than what McMurtry normally produces,
> rest assured it still features the toe-tapping rhythms that he’s so
> perfectly crafted over the last two decades. Even in the sobering opener,
> “Copper Canteen,” McMurtry’s percussive strumming creates a complete sound
> that seems absent in most other “acoustic” albums.
>
> All through Complicated Game, McMurtry’s words and music are built on top
> of an unforgettable foundation laid out by storied producer C.C. Adcock —
> “She Loves Me” is a poignant story about stubborn love and eventual
> heartbreak (“It’s an airport novella / Adapted for late night TV / I’m not
> writing the screenplay / It’s writing me“); “These Things I’ve Come to
> Know” finds its narrator pining for a woman behind the bar (“She can change
> her own fuse, she can fix her own car / She can back down a drunk and run
> him out of the bar / She don’t scare easy, but she can be pushed too far“;
> and “South Dakota” might be one of McMurtry’s greatest songs in the last
> decade (“With a gas lease or two we might’ve just made due / But there’s
> nothing under this ground worth a dime / Now the sheriff’s on his way and
> it’s damn sure not our day / It’s just our time“).
>
> For fans who are looking for an introduction to McMurtry, Complicated Game
> may be best heard two or three records into the listening session (may we
> suggest 1989′s Too Long in the Wasteland followed by 2002′s Saint May of
> the Woods?). But that shouldn’t lessen its importance in McMurtry’s
> discography; the record, from start to finish, is the Austin musician at
> his fine stock,
>
>
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