James McMurtry - The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy (2025)

Having a famous last name may have gotten him in the door, but James McMurtry has built his own proud career. "South Texas Lawman" is the kind of finely detailed, electric guitar-led midtempo rock tune that the exceptional storyteller is an expert at catalyzing. He tells the story of an old school cop who's up on charges for roughing up suspects and eventually decides on suicide. "I used to be young, I used to understand/ I used to be strong as any man/ I used to be bold, nobody bothered me/ I can't stand getting old, it don't fit me." Recent history and current events provide fertile ground for a pair of effective protest songs: "Annie" ponders 9/11 and "Sons of the Second Sons" hits hard with lyrics like "Nowadays we're feeling stressed/ It's all for us and damn the rest/ Telling each other to have a blessed day/ All camoed up and standing tall/ Building bombs and border walls/ As all collective conscience falls away/ And they wave those stars and bars/ Is that really who we are." McMurtry is also a great interpreter—The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy opens with a stirring cover of "Laredo (Small Dark Something)" by Jon Dee Graham, a Lone Star State friend who has experienced several nearly lethal health problems in recent years, and closes with a direct but no less sincere take on Kris Kristofferson's "Broken Freedom Song." His talents continue to attract all-star guests like Sarah Jarosz, Charlie Sexton and producer Don Dixon (R.E.M., Smithereens), who plays trombone, slide guitar, bass, and tremolo guitar. Over time, McMurtry's deadpan voice has become a perfect match for his wise sagas, and he is wry and pointed on "Pinocchio in Vega." Contrasting feelings about loss and the passing of time in his own life with the wish fulfillment of the famous wooden puppet, McMurtry's economical way with words has never been better: "Pinocchio's over it, he don't beat up on himself/ He's had to learn to be an asshole just like everybody else/ Where the dogs eat the dogs and the cats eat the mice/ You pick a hill to die on, don't bother acting nice." The relaxed tempos allow McMurtry plenty of space to enunciate his intricate fables.

TRACKLIST

1. James McMurtry - Laredo (Small Dark Something)
2. James McMurtry - South Texas Lawman
3. James McMurtry - The Color of Night
4. James McMurtry - Pinocchio in Vegas
5. James McMurtry - Annie
6. James McMurtry - The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
7. James McMurtry - Back to Coeur d’Alene
8. James McMurtry - Sons of the Second Sons
9. James McMurtry - Sailing Away
10. James McMurtry - Broken Freedom Song