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What our customer's say!

"Love this CD", We are fans of James McMurtry and feel this is one of his best. Topical lyrics, great backing band, biting commentary, and all-out rockin!
Would highly recommend.


"James McMurtry Best Work Ever", This is James McMurtry at his all time best. Son of famous novelist Larry McMurtry demonstrates the genetic gifts of his dad. Fireline Road is the best track on the disc. It describes in the first person, the horrors and consequenses of the crime of incest. Chaney's Toy and God Bless America are war protest songs of the new milenium. The more you listen to this album you may begin to feel that this is "album of the year" material.

"It's only Texas Wasteland", Too Long in the Wasteland, indeed. James McMurtry's scathing collection of character sketches blisters as an indictment of the last eight years, commenting on greed ("God Bless America"), the downtrodden and left behind ("Fireline Road) and the chimp in chief himself ("Cheney's Toy'). It's likely the most political album you'll hear this year outside of punk rock (New Wave, The Bright Lights of America), and digs deeply into McMurtry's Lou Reed by way of Texas singing style.

As usually for McMurtry, the lyrics are hyper-literate. Take this example from the down-on-his-luck man waiting out the storm in "Hurricane Party":

Now there's water up past the wheel wells of my
Ford and I don't guess that it'll run.
But I left a pack of Winston's on the dash,
could you fetch 'em for me son?
The morning's first cigarette,
that's as good as it gets all day, I should know by now.
But there's no one to talk to when the lines go down.

But like his scathing attack on the economics of trickle down "We Can't Make it Here Anymore" on Childish Things, he saves his most withering jabs for the political songs.

We'll fight 'em in the land, we'll fight 'em in the air,
well a cowboy says we got to fight 'em over there.
He ain't seen nothing like it since Saigon fell.
Dancin' in the ruins 'cause we might as well.
Dancin' in the ruins of the realm
A fool and a mad man at the helm.

That's from "Ruins of the Realm," which doesn't address anyone by name the way "Cheney's Toy" or "God Bless America" does, but they're potent all the same. The music itself recalls mentor John Mellencamp's more socially pointed rock or the rabblerousing of Steve Earle. The less political of the songs, "Bayou Tortoise" and the title song offer topical looks at life and kick up some dust. McMurtry is in a position in folk music that has few peers, and "Just Us Kids," like so many of his other albums, offers heartland folk-rock with a fierce take on life.

"Sounds dated already. ", I have all of Jame's albums and for the most part love his work. I grew up in a small rural town and in many ways, he really weaves a nice story together out of nothing no-name towns, backwoods roads, and the people who live in those places. His past albums are great because while there is a sort of political,satirical edge to them but the politics doesn't take over the music or do any preaching. In my opinion, Saint Mary of the Woods is his best album to date. But with the release of Childish things, he sort of took a turn into being more political in a blunt, in you face sort of way.

Perhaps some people like that. But as for me, I don't care for it because since his latest album is specifically about the current President and Vice President, the album already sounds dated and old. When you make an album about specific politics, then it has a limited lifespan of relevancy. Especially since this album was released at the tail end of the Bush White House.

Lastly, the album doesn't have any heart. I don't feel like the lyrics are as creative as some of his older work. When I buy his albums, they always grow on me to where they become like old friends. He has a gift of writing words that you really care about more so than the music. Not so in this one. I've owned it for months now and still find myself skipping tracks. So for me, this album was a dud. Sorry James. I still enjoy your work, but this one didn't do it for me.

"A great CD", This was my first James McMurtry albulm but it won't be my last. Great songs and lyrics. Country music the way it ought to be played.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"It's 2008, do you know where your children are?", McMurtry scores again with great music, wonderful storytelling and the best "State of the Nation" album since Springsteen's "Nebraska."

"More Blows Against The Empire", I have no idea why some reviewers complain about the political content of some of James McMurtry's songs. He's been delivering rhetorical body blows ever since his first album and he surely sees no reason to stop now. So if you are a conservative like myself who enjoys McMurtry's music, you learn to laugh along with his well-honed and well-aimed jabs at those who have surely earned them. Sure he's a leftie, but how many good right-wing singer/songwriters can you think of?
Just Us Kids finds McMurtry delivering another flurry of blows against the empire, but it also finds him releasing another album of mostly thoughtful and well-crafted songs. Bayou Tortous is the best rocker, the caustic God Bless America the best polemic, and the creepy Fire Line Road, evocative of the style of Dave Alvin, is the best story. Some criticize him for singing of people living on the margins, but that is where some of the most compelling stories are found.
With Just Us Kids you get just over an hour's worth of music you'll want to hear again and again. The CD comes with a booklet containing the lyrics which unfortunately is crammed tightly inside the rather flimsy cardboard casing. Be careful when removing! Some ask why McMurtry isn't more famous. Well, if he keeps releasing CDs of this quality, his time is coming soon.


"Just Us Kids James McMurtry", Just as Good as Childish Things which was itself excellent, James McMurtry has pulled out another album of Americana, -songs this good paint a picture, - and few can do it so well, I would reccomend without Hesitaton

"Just say what you really think, James! ", The man's a genius, what can I say--he's got Dad (Larry McMurtry's) flair for words and his music mentors (Bruce Hornsby and John Cougar Mellencamp's) skill at putting together a killer song.

And no one would tell him to shut up and sing--because James doesn't pull punches about what he thinks. He'll belt out what he thinks in his road-worn Texas twang. No label's telling him what to do--"Just us Kids" is McMurtry's own production.

As a kid from the 60's, I like protest songs of all kinds, but McMurtry's given up his more subtle hammer and chisel for a power tool here, for example in "God Bless America (Pat mAcdonald must die" takes Timbuk3's two hit wonder, "National Holiday" quite a few steps further:

Gonna turn up the heat 'til it comes to a boil
Then we'll go get that Arab oil
We'll suck it all up through the barrel of a gun
Everyday's the end of days for some

The song sounds good, but will it stand the test of time?

If you want to hear something that's a bit deeper and still has strong take-no-prisoners lyrics, listen to "Fire Line Road," which details the story of how an abused child copes, distancing herself from her real life hoping it's all a reality show and "they can go home in a week or so".

"Ruby and Carlos" is also another standout, talking about a May-December romance between a man who packed up his dreams and drums leaving his woman out on the farm. The story-song parallels their lives as they go through wars, aging, alcoholism, etc.

"Fire Line Road," "Ruby and Carlos", "Just us Kids" and "Hurricane Party" make this collection merit 5 stars and those are the songs you should listen to if you love McMurtry's more timeless and elegant lyrics.

Rebecca Kyle, May 2008

"McMurtry's Best", I've been listening to James McMurtry since he started recording. This is his best album yet. I've listened to it almost constantly since I bought it a week ago. He writes lyrics suited to his flat vocal style, and music that takes advantage of his guitar style. I was only disappointed by one song on the album (Freeway View just does nothing for me). His ballads are written like short stories, and "Ruby and Carlos" and "Fire Line Road" are his best yet. If they don't bring tears to your eyes the first time you really listen to the lyrics you don't have a heart. His upbeat/rocking songs are angrier than he's been in the past. I'm pretty sure (to misquote Nanci Griffith another of my favorites) that James and I cancel each other out when we go to the polls here in Texas, but "Cheney's Toy" and "Ruins of the Realm" are catchy tunes, and the lyrics are clever. The best song on the album is the title track, the group of friends that never quite grow up until they find "their long hair turning grey, not so skinny, maybe not so free, not quite as many as we used to be". That tune was enough to make me pick up the phone and catch up with some college buddies I haven't talked to in fifteen years.

If you fall on the left side of the political spectrum run out and get this now. If, like me, you tend to lean to the right but you can put politics aside to listen to some of the best contemporary folk music out there today, run out and get this now.