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<\/a>James McMurtry has once again proven why he is a national treasure, and why Stephen King once called him \u201cthe truest, fiercest songwriter of his generation.\u201d His new album, The Horses and the Hounds (New West Records), produced by long-time McMurtry collaborator Ross Hogarth, is chock-full of the stuff that continues to elevate McMurtry to cult hero status among his dedicated following and his music industry peers. Comprised of 10 tracks written by McMurtry, (with a co-write slipped in here and there for good measure) this new collection of songs is arguably his best work to date, and hearing him perform 7 of them last Saturday at the Heights Theater in Houston, along with several of his best-known classics, made for an outstanding evening of music served up by this revered and legendary performer in a comfortable venue with a great sound system.\nPrior to Saturday\u2019s show, I had the privilege to chat briefly with McMurtry about the new album and his songwriting process. I must admit that I was nervous to speak with him; I have admired his work for years and consider him to be one of the greatest songwriters ever to have written a song. His sense of rhyme and meter are impeccable, and his penchant and gift for storytelling through the characters he creates is something that many songwriters aspire to but most never fully achieve\u2014at least, not at the level that McMurtry has. But after stammering my way through the first few questions with much trepidation, I found myself chatting with a thoughtful and gracious guy who thanked me when I complimented his most recent work and patiently answered my questions with candor, honesty, and humor.
\nAltogether, McMurtry has now released 12 stellar albums, including 2 live albums. All have received some form of critical acclaim, with one receiving a Grammy nod and another an American Indie Award for Best Americana Album. McMurtry gave me a little background on recording his new collection. \u201cI made it in 2019. We did the basic tracks at Groove Masters in Santa Monica. That\u2019s Jackson Browne\u2019s place. We did that in June of 2019 and overdubbed off and on for the rest of the year because Ross had a pretty crazy schedule. We were just about to finish up keyboards when California shut down. We had a B3 session booked at Sunset Sound in LA but couldn’t do it because lockdown happened, so we had to spend some time recording the keyboards just kind of piecemeal. I recorded Bukka Allen here in Texas and then Ross recorded somebody else in LA. There\u2019s several B3 players on this record, but once the lockdown happened then it really took some time to get finished up and then we had to spend the fall mixing, and everything was still shut down in the spring pretty much\u2026I really don’t know why the August 2021 release date was decided upon, but it makes sense enough to me. It\u2019s right before Grammy noms, so here we are.\u201d
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<\/a>McMurtry also shared a bit about his songwriting process, admitting that he often needed a deadline to finish his songs. \u201cI don’t write every day, I write when it’s time to make a record, and I generally make a record when the touring draw starts falling off. Because, you know, mostly we make money off the road now– we don’t make much money off record sales, really. So as far as my writing process goes, to write a song, I hear a couple of lines and a melody in my head, and I try to envision the character who would have said that, and from that I can get a story and I can shape it into song form. But no, I don\u2019t sit down and write every day. What happened with this record was that I\u2019d been talking to Ross about producing and I\u2019d been struggling with these songs for a while, doing a rough demo every now and then, and then Ross finally called me and said \u2018Hey, I can book Groove Masters in June. So, I\u2019m gonna book the time and you\u2019re gonna finish the songs,\u2019 and so then I had a deadline, which sometimes is the way to do it. You know, that\u2019s the way I did all my early records. I\u2019d book the time and then do my homework on the school bus, as we say.\u201d\nThe end result of McMurtry finishing his homework on that school bus this time around is nothing short of brilliant. His uncanny ability to turn a phrase, coupled with sublime storytelling and wry observations in every song are the cornerstones of most McMurtry classics, but much of this new record seems to have a fresh snap and sizzle to it, despite a couple of the songs featuring protagonists who are in the autumn or winter of their lives, or who live in rootsy, rural settings. The album features several Los Angeles-based session musicians, along with Texas guitar players David Grissom and Charlie Sexton, and Bukka Allen and Red Young, also from Texas, on keyboards. Harmonies and background vocals, supplied by Harmoni Kelley, Akina Adderley, Betty Soo and Randy Garibay Jr\u2014all from Texas as well–also add a fresh dimension to the album. And McMurtry\u2019s own vocals seem to soar on this record, much more so than in his past work. His familiar, craggy drawl still shines through, however, breathing believability and intensity into his oft-times downtrodden cast of characters.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Last Saturday\u2019s performance started off with \u201cBayou Tortous,\u201d from the 2008 album, Just Us Kids, followed by \u201cRed Dress,\u201d from 2002\u2019s Saint Mary of the Woods,\u201d but it was not long before McMurtry, accompanied by veteran bandmates Tim Holt (guitar, accordion), Darren Hess (drums), and Mike \u201cCornbread\u201d Traylor (bass) was delving into his new material, starting with the first song from the new album, \u201cCanola Fields.\u201d The song, a favorite of mine, is equal parts nostalgia and hope, as the main character reminisces about an almost-but- not-quite relationship while driving past Southern Alberta\u2019s golden canola fields, \u201cabout the same chartreuse as that \u201969 bug\/ you used to drive around San Jose.\u201d Later, during harvest time, when the fields have been \u201craked up in rows,\u201d the song\u2019s protagonist reflects on that same relationship and a moment they shared \u201cin a way-back corner of a cross town bus,\u201d decades later. \u201cCashing in on a thirty-year crush\/you can\u2019t be young and do that,\u201d the protagonist says, and I fully concur.