Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0886972398129
Label: Sbme Special Mkts.
Manufacturer: Sbme Special Mkts.
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sbme Special Mkts.
Release Date: 2008-02-01
Studio: Sbme Special Mkts.
MPN: 723981

Brought to the attention of Columbia Records by a fluke--John Mellencamp was friends with the artist's father, noted author Larry McMurtry--James McMurtry proved himself more than worthy of a record deal, despite such family and industry connections, with his debut album. He backed up his keen sense for lyrical detail with deft, sturdy musicianship, whether picking through delicate numbers such as "Crazy Wind" and "Song for a Deck Hand's Daughter" or delivering anthemic roots rockers such as "Painting by Numbers" and "I'm Not from Here." With an appropriately desolate, deadpan vocal delivery, McMurtry tells tales of desperate small-town characters, painting a vivid picture of an America that lurks far from the bright lights and big cities. --Peter Blackstock

Customer Rating:
Summary: Maybe the best album ever!
Comment: I don't want to sound like a crazy person, but in my book this tops my list for best album ever recorded. I have eclectic tastes in music, and I am an audiophle (I have a very good home stereo system). This album is so musical, thoughtful, interesting and well recorded, that it is on my list of "desert island" records. I have two vinyl copies and one on CD. Simply amazing. The track "Angeline" may be the best simple guitar and vocal track I have ever heard. I know that I must sound like a nutcase, but I love music and I listen to a lot of different stuff... this is as good as it gets. Everyone in the USA should own a copy. You can tell I like this one.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: he's great
Comment: This album was released in '89, the year Milli Vanilli won the Grammy for best new artist...hmmm....this is excellent stuff...I have just about everything he's released and see him whenever he shows up in the Great Northwest.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: McMurtry the 'Word Man'
Comment: You don't remember Dylan's melodies as much as his words. 'Gargling in the rat race choir' ? Well, McMurtry is a North Texas Bob Dylan, even more than Oklahoma's Jimmy LaFave. He is one of those artists that hasn't made a bad song; because, every song's words make you think. I own every CD, except the new live one. If you like one CD, you will like them all.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A wonderful album - I can listen to it as I drive for days..
Comment: I bought this album on the recommendation of a friend and boy am I glad I did! The lyrics are poignant and yet work. You can tell that he inherited his dad's ('Lonesome Dove' author Larry McMurtry) ability to mold and use the English language. But the great thing is that the music is just as good as the lyrics - you'd be singing along even if the words were meaningless.

I gave my only copy to a friend (and fellow fan who had worn his cassette out) that was called up to active duty after 9/11 - I knew that he could use the boost more than me.

Every McMurtry album has great songs but this one is strong all of the way through!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Too Long In Obscurity
Comment: I agree with the sentiment expressed by another reviewer that if radio programmers had any imagination, James McMurtry would be a superstar. But, to borrow a line from one of McMurty's songs, the programmers 'work from the neck down', they 'don't call the shots'.
This release alone should have established James McMurtry as a musical superstar, yet as fate has it, he continues to languish in relative obscurity despite a string of pretty decent albums.
I bought "Too Long In the Wasteland" on cassette back when it was released years ago. I was instantly struck by his pithy and witty lyrics, and his dry sardonic delivery.
The very first song, Painting By Numbers, strikes an immediate chord with all who feel trapped in meaningless, dead-end jobs.
I'm Not From Here will resonate with anyone who has moved to another part of the country and encountered the prejudice of regionalism, particularly directed against those who come from states that have contributed large numbers of newcomers to an area. For instance, native Coloradans don't particularly like the influx of Texans and Californians, and so segments of the native population harbor resentments against people from those states. The lyrics could describe many a western city:

nobody's from here
most of us just live here
locals long since moved away
sold their played-out farms for parking lots
went off looking for a better way

The rest of the song rings just as true. I noticed driving home from a long trip today that many ranches are for sale 50-100 miles out from the city as landowners seek to cash in on soaring property values and to escape encroaching urbanization. And I see the same all over the west.

Another favorite from this CD is Talkin' at the Texaco, which perfectly describes how stultifying small town life can be.
The other songs are excellent, too, but in the interests of brevity I highlighted only the best ones. Mc Murtry has an obvious knack for storytelling in such a way that cuts to the chase.
I recommend this CD to anyone who is attracted to a little realism in music and who enjoys an alternative country/folk type of sound.

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