James McMurtry – Just Us Kids

Ruby And Carlos is one of the most descriptive and beautiful songs I've ever heard. That song alone makes this one of my favorite JMcM albums.

Rated highly for but 4 brilliant songs alone ...

As with most of McMurtry’s albums you soon discovered that it’s one of those albums where there are four or five numbers that are so good, you found yourself standing there, shaking your head, wondering what was up with the rest of the tracks? Hey, I’ve never denied that I’m happy to take songs off of a release and throw the rest away ... but when I hear such good numbers as these, I have to go back and make sure of what I was hearing, or wasn’t hearing, as the case may be.

James McMurtry is not new to the music circuit, reminding me of a host of others who lay out tall tale stories snatched from reality twisted and bent to suit their own personal vision … and he does it all with a kinetic guitar chords that are relentless, filled with passion and act as the driving force behind all of his songs. His best material, his A-List songs from this release, Just Us Kids are pure treasures: “Bayou Tortuous,” “Just Us Kids,” “Freeway View,” and “Brief Intermission.” These are satisfyingly gritty and dynamic moments, the roiling guitar groove of album’s opener “Bayou Tortous” (with C.C. Adcock guesting on guitar), the boogie swagger of “Freeway View” (with Ian McLagan’s piano pounding) and John Dee Graham’s frenetic, unhinged guitar solo during “Fireline Road.” McMurtry’s greatest gifts lie in his potent use of language, where like his father, novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry, James can tell a story or write a yarn in a way that’s evocative, human and direct. These songs in particular (that I mentioned) are relentless, rocking you down and dirty, with your back to the wall, your head bopping, and your feet finding a groove all of their own ... it’s rock, it’s boogie, with these numbers morphing together like a perfect wave on the 4th of July down on the Jersey shore.

Now I’m not diminishing the protest songs, we all know this country of ours needs some serious changes, and I doubt I've heard a much better voice express these concerns then that of James, yet I’m so tired of having lived through all of this, lost too many friends, all I want to do most of the time is to kick back with some tunes without being lectured to. So do yourself a favor, this is one of those albums that is worth a couple dollars on the secondary market, or hey, simply download just the four songs I’ve mentioned. These songs roll on like little movies, full of middle aged delinquency, with one eye remembering a younger past, while the other eye is set squarely on road ahead.

Go back, string the songs you dig together from his other releases, and you can smile with some worthy satisfaction ... for sure ... I promise.

Review by Jenell Kesler