James McMurtry
Childish Things
The buzz surrounding James
McMurtry’s latest record, “Childish Things,” is all
about one track: the seven minute long epic protest
song “We Can’t Make It Here.” It’s a great song,
no doubt, one that’s prodded political bloggers to
write music
reviews, sparked music reviewers to write up
comparisons to more mainstream “patriotic” fare and
has even been called “the best protest song since Bob
Dylan’s Masters of War” by no less a cultural icon than
Stephen King.
The fact that he has never really
been a political songwriter probably contributes to all
the fuss. If
Steve Earle had written “Can't Make
It Here,” it may have passed without much notice, but McMurtry has built a reputation for writing thoughtful
lyrics that focus on plain old humans and human issues.
True to form, “Can’t Make It Here” catalogues the
current political atmosphere’s human toll in true McMurtry fashion.
But all the hubris and
hand wringing overlooks the fact that “Childish Things,”
on the whole, is James McMurtry at the top of his game.
The album kicks off with “See The
Elephant,” a song that captures the spirit of
child-like wonder and comes pretty close to being a
hooky pop song with the piano, fiddle, and muted brass
arrangement.
The title cut recalls John Prine
and displays some deft writing, both musically and
lyrically. He scores big with the albums two
covers as well.
For those who find his voice too
droning, the duet with Joe Ely provides some nice
contrast on an upbeat, rollicking version of the old
bluegrass standard “Slewfoot.” And aside from
“Can’t Make It Here,” the album's other real highlight
is a pull-out-the-stops, rocking send-up of Peter
Case’s “The Old Part of Town”. He takes the
bouncy, acoustic tune and cranks up the beat, adds some
tough guitar licks, and the result is as good as
anything on his previous studio release, “Saint Mary of the
Woods.”
Other songs of note are “Memorial
Day,” “Six Year Drought,” and the excellent closer,
“Holiday,” which features my favorite succinct line
from the album: “ . . . some hat’s on the radio,
singing his song . . .”
Subtle and derisive, without being
too snarky, he reduces the current state of pop country
music to its essence: some hat on the radio.
McMurtry is no hat act. He
takes the stage in a rumpled t-shirt and well worn
jeans and plays with a snarling intensity that keeps
the audience hanging on the words.
His touring band, The Heartless
Bastards, are a basic three piece, with
Ronnie Johnson on bass and Darren Hess on drums;
on “Childish Things,” they fill in the gaps with an
array of instrumentation without ever distracting from
the real feature, the songs themselves.
Like a lot of great
singer-songwriters, James McMurtry’s monochromatic
voice has always been an acquired taste. Think
Lou Reed or
Warren Zevon without the vocal range.
Admittedly some of his earlier work could be pretty
monotonous and lyrically clumsy, but, with recent fare,
he’s displayed keener melodic sensibility and his
guitar work is noticeably improved.
His best previous record, "St. Mary's of the Woods,
" is
a pretty tough act to follow. If he hasn’t equaled it
with “Childish Things, then he’s come pretty damn
close. At the same time, he’s added his name to the
distinguished
roster of pop music dissidents with
style.
-jitter
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last updated 11/08/05
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