ARTiST: James McMurtry
ALBUM: Just Us Kids
BiTRATE: 195kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: Blue Rose Records
GENRE: Rock
SiZE: 88.32 megs
PLAYTiME: 1h 00min 09sec total
RiP DATE: 2008-04-11
STORE DATE: 2008-04-18
Track List:
--------
01. Bayou Tortous 4:50
02. Just Us Kids 5:08
03. God Bless America (Pat 5:01
MacDonald Must Die)
04. Cheney's Toy 5:49
05. Freeway View 3:38
06. Hurricane Party 5:56
07. Ruby and Carlos 6:36
08. Brief Intermission 2:51
09. Fireline Road 5:30
10. The Governor 5:10
11. Ruins of the Realm 4:25
12. You'd a' Thought (Leonard Cohen 5:15
Must Die)
Release Notes:
--------
Singer/songwriter makes a strong political statement on æJust Us KidsÆ
àJoining McMurtry are the Heartless Bastards plus Jon Dee Graham, Ian McLagan
and Timbuk3Æs Pat MacDonald
AUSTIN, Texas ù Lightning Rod Records will release singer/songwriter James
McMurtryÆs new CD, titled Just Us Kids, on April 15, 2008. McMurtryÆs ninth
album, which features 12 new songs, is a follow-up to 2005Æs critically
acclaimed and award-winning project, Childish Things.
McMurtry has long been known as fine storyteller, but he has lately received
nationwide attention for his role as a musical activist. On Just Us Kids,
McMurtry picks up where he left off with his controversial anthem ôWe CanÆt Make
It Here.ö On ôCheneyÆs Toy,ö McMurtry once again reminds us that the war in Iraq
is still going on, with veiled references to Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and the
stark image of a soldier who returned from the conflict, blind and brain
damaged. The lyrics of ôGod Bless Americaö call out the corporate profiteering
and cronyism of the heads of state who led the country to war. McMurtryÆs songs
introduce the listener to characters that exist on the fringes of society. Drug
addicts, murderers, crooked politicians, and other unsavory folks all play a
part on Just Us Kids.
The self-produced album shows that McMurtry has developed a skill as producer
that matches his songcraft. The songs on Just Us Kids vary widely in texture and
instrumentation. The FacesÆ Ian McLaganÆs piano playing is all over the album
while Timbuk3Æs pat mAcdonaldÆs harmonica peppers several tracks. Austin
singer/songwriter John Dee Graham contributes a wailing guitar solo to ôFireline
Road.ö Grammy-nominated Louisiana rocker, C.C. Adcock, adds a swampy guitar part
to the album opener, ôBayou Tortous.ö The rhythm section is McMurtryÆs longtime
road band, Daren Hess and Ronnie Johnson.
Just Us Kids will be the first release for Nashville-based Lightning Rod
Records, distributed by Thirty Tigers/RED. Label president Logan Rogers
previously worked as director of A&R for Compadre Records on the release of
McMurtryÆs last two albums. ôWorking with James McMurtry has been a career
highlight for me. He is a phenomenal artist with tremendous integrity, and I can
think of no better debut release for Lightning Rod Records,ö said Rogers.
Author Stephen King described Ft. Worth native McMurtry as ôthe truest, fiercest
songwriter of his generationö in Entertainment Weekly. The son of acclaimed
author Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove, Terms of Endearment), James grew up on a
steady diet of Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff records. His first album, released in
1989, was produced by John Mellencamp and marked the beginning of a series of
acclaimed projects for Columbia and Sugar Hill. In 2003, McMurtry released the
universally lauded Live in Aught-Three (Compadre Records). 2005Æs Childish
Things garnered some of the highest critical praise of McMurtryÆs career and
spent six weeks at number one on R&RÆs Americana Music Radio Chart in 2005 and
2006. In September 2006, Childish Things and ôWe CanÆt Make It Hereö won the
Americana Music Awards for album and song of the year, respectively.
In 2007, McMurtry performed on PBSÆ long running music program, ôAustin City
Limits,ö for the second time in his career. This year, McMurtry and his band
will launch a national tour in support of æJust Us Kids.Æ