​James McMurtry (from the album The Black Dog and The Wandering Boy

​James McMurtry (from the album The Black Dog and The Wandering Boy

​James McMurtry (from the album The Black Dog and The Wandering Boy available on New West Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
 
What’s not to love about James McMurtry? A social critic and solid wordsmith, a laidback storyteller and all-around cool musician, he comes armed with a pocketful of songs that are loaded with dramatically eloquent detail, his latest release, The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy is another blast of aggressive Americana. It’s Roots Rock’n’Roll with a Punk attitude. 
James McMurtry kicks his new record off with “Laredo”, a cut with power chords and an combative charge. “South Texas Lawman” paints a descriptive picture of the Lone-Star state and a growing older lawman, someone unsettled with the way life is changing as the lead character sings ‘I can’t stand getting’ old, it don’t fit with me’. Being a lawman isn’t what it was. “Pinocchio in Vegas” finds James McMurtry skirting NewGrass territory in the instrumentation, but like any McMurtry cut, the storytelling comes in; in this case a story that is a little absurd and a whole lot real. 
The album closer in “Broken Freedom Song” is classic James McMurtry. He someone who has forever given a voice to the voiceless. Someone who tells the tale for ignored or forgotten people, in this case a soldier, a woman, and ultimately a savior, all questioning and maybe even a bit skeptical about their path in life. It’s an admission that maybe freedom isn’t quite all cracked up to what it’s supposed to be. 
The new album, The Black Dog and The Wandering Boy, is all classic James McMurtry. (by Bryant Liggett)
Listen and buy the music of James McMurtry from AMAZON
For more information, please visit the James McMurtry website