James McMurtry The Horses And The Hounds 2LP (Vinyl)

Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2021 - Rated 49/50!

In James McMurtry's new effort, The Horses And The Hounds, the acclaimed songwriter backs personal narratives with effortless elegance ("Canola Fields") and endless energy ("If It Don't Bleed"). This first collection in seven years spotlights a seasoned tunesmith in peak form as he turns toward reflection ("Vaquero") and revelation (closer "Blackberry Winter"). Familiar foundations guide the journey. "There's a definite Los Angeles vibe to this record," McMurtry says. "The ghost of Warren Zevon seems to be stomping around among the guitar tracks. Don't know how he got in there. He never signed on for work for hire."

The Horses And The Hounds is a reunion of sorts. McMurtry recorded the new album with legendary producer Ross Hogarth (Ozzy Osbourne, John Fogerty, Van Halen, Keb' Mo') at Jackson Browne's Groovemaster's in Santa Monica, California. Hogarth recorded McMurtry's first two albums, Too Long In The Wasteland and Candyland and later mixed McMurtry's first self-produced album, Saint Mary Of The Woods. Another veteran of those three releases, guitarist David Grissom (Joe Ely, John Mellencamp, Dixie Chicks), returns with some of his finest work.

...[H]e's delivered what may well be his finest album to date, a tremendous meeting of form and content where neither side lets the other down. McMurtry's songs deal with the stuff of adult lives and the disillusionment of the real world, but he doesn't write or sing in a way that makes them sound stodgy. His work is full of the messy energy and surprising turns of a life lived hard, and on The Horses and the Hounds, the music speaks as vividly as his excellent songs. Not many artists pushing 60 get to deliver as satisfying a breakthrough as this one.

The time between new albums by Texas Americana legend James McMurtry has gotten longer and longer over the years. But there's no argument over whether the wait was worth it or not. His latest album - McMurtry's first batch of new material in seven years - solidifies his status as one of the best storytellers alive. Each song here is a poignant, often funny, occasionally brutal short epic rich with the tiny details that stick deep in the mind. And he's matched every step of the way with a bevy of musicians and collaborators, including roots-rock lifers Charlie Sexton, Kenny Aronoff, David Grissom and former Heartbreaker Stan Lynch. They add the right layers of dust and heat to these portraits that hang low in the dim light of some desert dive bar of the mind.

The Horses and the Hounds expands the range of McMurtry's song palette and sharpens his truthteller instincts. This contrary troubadour balances rural concerns with urban ones while covering both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. With his gritty edge fully intact, James McMurtry continues to etch steely blue-collar portrayals with insightful understanding and dignity.