James McMurtry Thread

[Zip City]

I really don't regret going digital with music.

Nope

[walthers]

After a couple listens to the new album I like it. I am not all that familiar with his catalog but I swear the opening track, Copper Canteen, is a song I have heard before. Am I imagining this or does the music sound oddly familiar to one of McMurty's older songs???

[Tequila Cowboy]

After a couple listens to the new album I like it. I am not all that familiar with his catalog but I swear the opening track, Copper Canteen, is a song I have heard before. Am I imagining this or does the music sound oddly familiar to one of McMurty's older songs???

He's played it for a couple of years live so if you've seen him you very well might have heard it.

[blackwll]

http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/cra ... ated-game/

Craig Finn (THS) review.

[walthers]

Thanks TC, I saw him last year so that might be the case.

[Iowan]

http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/craig-finn-the-hold-steady-talks-james-mcmurtrys-complicated-game/

Craig Finn (THS) review.

As a huge fan of both, that's a pretty fun read.

[Tequila Cowboy]

http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/craig-finn-the-hold-steady-talks-james-mcmurtrys-complicated-game/

Craig Finn (THS) review.

Finn gets it. I don't disagree with a single thing he wrote although digging a little deeper there's some really good musicianship going on there. He's right though, it's all about serving those remarkable songs.

[Clams]

http://thetalkhouse.com/music/talks/craig-finn-the-hold-steady-talks-james-mcmurtrys-complicated-game/

Craig Finn (THS) review.

Finn gets it. I don't disagree with a single thing he wrote although digging a little deeper there's some really good musicianship going on there. He's right though, it's all about serving those remarkable songs.

Speaking of good musicianship, did you see that McMurtry's son Curtis plays banjo on this record? He sounds great too.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I did, and I really like Curtis' record. It was a really good first outing and I look forward to more.

[Iowan]

I spun Curtis' record a few times and dug it. You can tell he has the literary gift that runs deep in his bloodlines.

I remember reading an interview with James a few months back where he talks about going to Curtis's college graduation in NYC. I can't help but think that was a prompting for "You Got to Me".

[Jonicont]

Vinyl is pressed at 45rpm. Sounds gorgeous

[Tequila Cowboy]

Vinyl is pressed at 45rpm. Sounds gorgeous

Might be just the prodding I need to buy new speakers. Haven't had a proper set up in almost a year.

[jimmyjack]

Album's been out five days and still no mail from Complicated Game. Why oh why do I still pre-order things??!

[Jonicont]

Album's been out five days and still no mail from Complicated Game. Why oh why do I still pre-order things??!

Amazon prime--free shipping--took 2 days

[BB Coach]

In my very biased opinion, this is outstanding! It is mellow and miss him mixing in a few rockers, but the stories are true James. Copper Canteen and Carlisles Haul could be future classics. Also love South Dakota, Long Island Sound, These Things. As well as his son on banjo, we have Benmont Tench on keys (which he seems to appear on a great deal of my collection). I have seen Copper, These Things, and How'm I Gonna Find You live the last couple of years. Maybe good enough for Americana album and even song (Copper Canteen) of the year??

[jimmyjack]

I am usually not the type to complain about these sorts of things, but this album has been out for a week - my local store has it, and it sounds like most of yall have it - and I have yet to receive mine. I am frequently enticed by pre-orders because of small tokens like 'signed copies' and extras and the idea of 'buying direct,' but this is truly the last time I will let my enthusiasm get the best of me. I think I ordered this when it was first announced - November? - at about double what it would have cost me on Amazon (or at my local record shop), and not only has it not arrived, but the label has not replied to my email about it. Super frustrating.

[Tequila Cowboy]

I am usually not the type to complain about these sorts of things, but this album has been out for a week - my local store has it, and it sounds like most of yall have it - and I have yet to receive mine. I am frequently enticed by pre-orders because of small tokens like 'signed copies' and extras and the idea of 'buying direct,' but this is truly the last time I will let my enthusiasm get the best of me. I think I ordered this when it was first announced - November? - at about double what it would have cost me on Amazon (or at my local record shop), and not only has it not arrived, but the label has not replied to my email about it. Super frustrating.

Lord man, I want to buy it and send you one!

[cortez the killer]

I guess Spotify while you wait for your pre-order to arrive is out of the question.

[jimmyjack]

Lord man, I want to buy it and send you one!

Ha! Thanks, man. I mean, living in the current century I of course know how to, err, acquire it if I really wanted to hear it, but, you know, that takes all the fun out of it.

I guess Spotify while you wait for your pre-order to arrive is out of the question.

Now, Cortez, you know me better than that! No Spotify for me. Ever.

[jr29]

Lots of talk on here lately about great McMurtry songs, but I never hear anyone mention "Song For A Deckhand's Daughter". It may be my favorite.

[cortez the killer]

I guess Spotify while you wait for your pre-order to arrive is out of the question.

Now, Cortez, you know me better than that! No Spotify for me. Ever.

You might be more Gran Torino than me.

[jimmyjack]

LOL

Anyway, in case anyone's wondering, still no arrival, still no label response, and we just got hit with a snowstorm so I'm not expecting mail for a few more days. Sigh.

[Duke Silver]

LOL

Anyway, in case anyone's wondering, still no arrival, still no label response, and we just got hit with a snowstorm so I'm not expecting mail for a few more days. Sigh.

Dude, Amazon. Any revenue you might think the artist gains by you ordering straight from them is more than offset by the public bitching that occurs when their label inevitably fucks up the pre-order.

[jimmyjack]

I know. I do use Amazon quite a bit, but was taken in by the 'CD signed by JM' thing (even though I really don't care about autographs). I'm a sucker!

[Iowan]

JJ, FWIW if I hadn't been able to stream "Blood Oaths" on Spotify, I don't know if I would have picked it up. But I was able to preview it, liked it, and then bought it.

I can see why as a working artist you're opposed to it, but it might be a necessary evil in this day and age. The way I see it, if Spotify (keep in mind I don't use the Premium) version is getting you to buy more records, it's probably helping those artists more than hurting them. I dunno.

[Zip City]

Spotify has lead me to discover a ton of bands who I've since bought albums from and seen live. The value of Spotify is far larger than the royalty check

[jimmyjack]

I guess I never found that I had a lot of trouble discovering music before things like Spotify. Also, it was way more fun to find out about a record at a friend's house or on that old relic, the college radio station. Even as a non-Spotify user, I find I still don't have the time required to listen to everything I want. There are records sitting here that I bought before Christmas that I haven't even opened yet. So I really feel no need for constant, round the clock access to bands' entire discographies, and I tend to think such glut inevitably leads to a far more superficial critical interface with music. My new year's resolution three years running has been "less stockpiling, more listening," and it's something I'm still working at (hence the 'three years running' part!).

Without getting on a high horse (and I know I'm not telling any of you anything you haven't heard before!) Spotify is an unsustainable model for non-mainstream musicians like me, and this is an indisputable fact. We can note the positives (access to everything, 'exposure' for artists who might not have passed the evil major label gatekeepers before, not having to rely on Clear Channel to play your favorite songs, etc), but it doesn't change the reality of the situation, which is that Spotify is great for some music fans and consumers, and terrible for artists.

Anyway, sorry to derail, just wanted to clarify my position. Back to McMurtry!

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I downloaded Spotify just to see what the fuss was about but have never listened. 9 times out of 10 I end up listening to online radio like KEXP instead 'cause it's live, they play a wide variety of music and I guess I just prefer radio because it's what I grew up on. As I've mentioned here many times before, I have many of the same issues re: stockpiling. Pre-iTunes, I always listened to everything I bought. Since coming around to mp3's I don't listen to new purchases (particularly of older titles) as much. It's more about amassing a decent library of music. A futile attempt if ever there was one as it'll never be complete to my satisfaction.

[Clams]

I get that he's going for a more folksy sound, but musically I think the songs all sound too much the same and are kind of boring. And lyrically, while it beats 99% of what's out there, I don't think it measures up to his past work. Maybe it's unfair to hold it up to the standard of Just Us Kids, but that record had songs - Hurricane Party, Just Us Kids, Ruby & Carlos, The Governor, Fire Line Road - with scenery, characters and music that pulled you all the way in. Complicated Game has some snippets for sure, but so far it isn't pulling me in like that. I'm not saying it sucks, I'm just saying that it's not as good as I'd hoped/expected.

If I could take back any post in the last year, it would be this one.* I definitely went off prematurely (wasn't the first time, won't be the last... heh heh). I think this record really needs to be listened to in the right way... being alone and focusing on what you're hearing. When I posted last month, I hadn't done that, or hadn't done it enough. Also I think I was expecting to hear the things I've always loved about McMurtry's songs - those wide open western vistas like in Levelland and Lights of Cheyenne, commentary like in Cant Make it Here and Hurricane Party - but those types of songs aren't found much on the new record. Complicated Game is much more introspective than I was expecting. Seems to me the stories are still there but the settings are just smaller and the characters more ordinary. In a way this record is a lot like English Oceans - the characters are hitting middle age and dead ends, the kids are growing up, the grinding of the gears, etc. I was also wrong in dismissing the record musically. The intricacies and playing are there, you just have to listen a little harder to appreciate them. Anyway, I'm now 100% on board.

* Well, this one or the one about Natalie Merchant and KG.

[Duke Silver]

^^ Been there. Half my top 20 last year was records that crept up on me after I dismissed them after one or two listens.