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Return of the Native Son
Twenty years ago Larry McMurtry, the preeminent chronicler of Texas, was estranged and far removed from the state. He had moved in 1969 to Washington, D.C., and opened a rare-book shop. With his son,...
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Hot CDsI was already familiar with James Brown’s Say It Live and Loud (Polygram), which was recorded live at Memorial Auditorium in Dallas on August 26, 1968. I was there, a couple of rows back from...
View ArticleWe Can’t Make it Here
No one’s more of a populist than JAMES MCMURTRY, whose tales put a human face on the downtrodden. The only thing surprising about his entry into protest music is that it took him so long. WE CAN’T MAKE...
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Just Us Kids
The title track may lament the fact that even arrested adolescents grow old, but, if anything, James McMurtry sounds more energized than ever. On Just Us Kids (Lightning Rod), he and his longtime...
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McMurtry and Son
This is a song about fictional people who used to farm near a place I used to fish,” James McMurtry says from the stage before launching into “Deaver’s Crossing,” a track off Complicated Game, his...
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Video Exclusive: From James McMurtry’s Latest Album, “Complicated Game”
James McMurtry, the Austin singer-songwriter, is generally regarded as a political force. His George W. Bush-era rant “We Can’t Make It Here” was a Camp Casey classic. But on his new album out Tuesday,...
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Exclusive Song Premiere: James McMurtry Has “Big Things” In Store
https://soundcloud.com/jennifinlay/1-big-thingsThere’s no shortage of great music being made in Texas, by Texans: from slide guitars to 808s, from accordions to distortion pedals, the tapestry of Texas...
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Walt Wilkins Brings A “Highway Prayer” To The Adam Carroll Tribute Record
On the surface, Adam Carroll is an odd choice for a tribute record. He’s only 42, and he’s not exactly famous. His seven independently-released albums haven’t elevated him to a level of stardom beyond...
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Exclusive Premiere: Curtis McMurtry’s Sharp Insight into Loss on “Bayonet”
The loss of a child, and the subsequent collapse of a marriage as a result of it, is a harsh emotional terrain that few artists are willing to explore. Those who are able to successfully render such...
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James McMurtry Has Always Sounded Like a Grumpy Old Man. Now He Is One.
James McMurtry has always been sixty years old. He was sixty when he released his debut album Too Long in the Wasteland in 1989. He was sixty in 2002, when he wrote his biggest hit, “Choctaw Bingo,”...
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