- Release date:
- April 15, 2008
- Artist/Band name:
- James McMurtry
- Record label:
- Lightning Rod
- Official Web Site:
- http://www.jamesmcmurtry.com/
- Overall User Rating:
-
(1 rating)
Why you should care: Stephen King called McMurtry “the truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation.” And he’s emerged in recent years as one of rock’s most eloquent critics of the Bush administration, penning scathing diatribes like “We Can’t Make It Here” and this set’s vicious “Cheney’s Toy.”
Verdict: “Just Us Kids” is filled with more of the tasty, choogling roots-rock that has become McMurtry’s trademark sound, and it’s augmented here by some outstanding work by legendary Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan and Bayou guitarist C.C. Adcock. But as usual, it’s the terse, acerbic lyrics that are the main attraction. McMurtry’s pen is at its sharpest on bleak portraits of small-town America like “Freeway View” and the gut-wrenching “Fireline Road,” while his disgust with current affairs leads to heavy-handed screeds like “God Bless America.” He’s more effective when he lets his characters hurl the invective; when they do, as on the album’s centerpiece, a beautifully sardonic little love story called “Ruby and Carlos,” McMurtry’s songwriting is in a class by itself.
X-Factor: McMurtry’s career got a jump-start from an unlikely source: John Mellencamp, who produced his first album.
