I was wondering about that song myself today.. I haven't listened to it that
close, but I'll keep old Duane in mind...... hmm.....   It's a great song
amongst great ones!
I REALLY dig the new record (big surprise) I think James did a great job on
production, and the band sounds fantastic.
I'm planning on going up to Asheville NC to see him in October, If it's half as
good a show as last time, it'll be well worth the trip, hotel and cover charge,
and then some!
Lillie, where are you? Whaddaya think of the record?

Lee in SC

  jimgardner123 wrote:Hello Doug,
I wondered who it was about the song Valley Road too. If I had to
bet I'd say it was about Duane Allman, who died in a motorcycle
accident in 1971. We're going to see James play this Saturday night
and if I get a chance I'll ask him about Valley Road and let you know.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I jumped in a while back in answer to how does WTHTB compare to St.
Mary...My first response to the album was - great, he managed to do a
fantastic production job but not over glitz it the way some people
perceive WYHTB to be.

Personally, I am very partial to WYHTB, however. There are parts of
that album that just amaze me. But who's to say if it was Dixon or
McMurtry who fashioned those parts. For instance, Rachel's Song which
starts with a light snow fall in the lyrical beginning that sets the
stage for the song and ends with the drums stopping abruptly,
followed by strings of the guitar being gently plucked as if that is
what light snowflakes would sound like if you could hear them. And
Melinda, McMurtry breaks into that beautiful interlude - as if the
lovers are walking  or whatever in the night. And the wah-wah guitar
of Fuller Brush Man that gives a kinda time travel feeling to the
song.

I have only had a chance to listen to the new album three times
though. I refuse to be interrupted and want to hear it as the full
album start to finish. That's hard to do in my house. I am finding
that this album is unfolding in a similar way to WYHTB. My favorites
are Gulf Road  and Broken Bed. Although, I am sooo psyched to hear
Valley Road Choctaw Bingo performed live.

Hey Yaall,  (How's that for my best Texan impersonation?)

Ok, the new CD...  I went to the local Wherehouse Music here in Salt
Lake City last Tuesday during lunch and there it was, in the Rock/Pop
section.  They actually had a decent little selection with about 5 SMOTW
and one each of the rest.  Snatched up SMOTW for $17.95 and it's been
playing in my car ever since.

I've had about 5 listen through's so far and here are my impressions....

I like it!

Often I get myself built up for a new release only to be let down a
little.  I think I felt that way with Walk Between the Raindrops and was
concerned that this would also not live up to expectations.  With WBTR,
I did feel a little let down initially, yet still really love the gems
on it, particularly 'Fast as I Can.'  Anyway, I was foot tapping to this
one right away.  So here are some of my early observations:

Favorite song so far:  The title track, 'St. Mary of the Woods.'  By far
this one got my notice right away.  It's the first track I hit the
repeat button on in my car.  Reminds me of his other great narrations
regarding the pitfalls of the music biz.  Real heartfelt stuff IMO.  And
you've got to love the great line at the beginning of the second verse:
'Sunrise off the lake shining in your eyes, Shining on the wasted and
the wise.'  I can so visualize the image he paints of the 'wasted' late
night/early morning revelers heading home while the 'wise' businessmen
are heading to work.  Prime stuff!  I love this guy!  I have to wonder
how autobiographical this one is as we all know his prior issues with
not being properly promoted by his music labels.  Hopefully Sugar Hill
will spotlight him their home page and push him a little bit more.

Following up the title track, are Valley Road and Broken Bed.  Great
lyrics, great songs.

Red Dress is still a fun song.  While more polished on this CD, I think
I might prefer the grittiness of the earlier version he did.  I want to
see him do it live now when I can sing along.  (BTW, my 11 year old
daughter loves that song.  She loves to sing along with 'Yes I'm drunk
but damn your ugly' LOL)

Dry River,  Nice Dave Alvin cover... Perfect for James, sounds to me
like he could have written it, fits in nice with the rest of his stuff.

Choctaw Bingo!  What can I say, I think this could become a favorite
sing-along song (and I must admit, one thing I like about 'The Man' is
that I can sing along with him and sound half way decent... ;-) ).  It's
up there with Airline Agent, but more extended.  While perhaps a little
repetitious musically, it works lyrically and I'm thinking that part of
the charm of the song IS the lyrics juxtaposed with the rhythm.
Besides, who among us is unable to appreciate the warped spirit and
humor of the song when Ruth Ann and Lynne show up?!?  I was in my car
and I nearly got in an accident when I heard him describe his intentions
on that one.... LOL!

Lobo Town.... Whew, lyrically, right up there with his best.  True
understanding of the small town mentality and generational conflict.

Out Here in the Middle, Gone to the Y, Gulf Road... The Man still knows
how to turn a phrase.

I think I must rate this one up there a little bit.  I'll still take
WYHTB over it.  But it may end up highly favored along with IHTH and
Candyland... That will take some more time to know for sure.  Still, I
must say that this is an excellent addition to the J.M. library and I
recommend everyone get out and BUY it.

-Todd-

Jees! Went to Best Buy, Circuit City, Borders, Sam Bastard Goody and
Barnes and Noble and none of those stores even ordered it!

Guess I have to order it which I don't like doing!

The waiting is the hardest part.

This is one of those albums I know will be good w/out even hearing it.

Roll on James.

I had a fella from Atlanta email me at the site and say the same
thing. I think Sugar Hill was trying to concentrate on web sales.
From that perspective, they were pretty organized. There were sites
where you could place your order in advance and MilesofMusic.com was
offering signed CDs for the first 200 ordered. They sent me the CD a
month in advance of the release (the web promoter Sugar Hill guy
contacted me.)

I think it wouldn't hurt to voice your disappointment at the Sugar
Hill web site. I also have an email: Dsell@... which
is a record sales contact. If you use that address, please mention
that you got the email address from the promo CD. I will do the same.

For all of us who'd like to jump on a plane and be down in Austin at
the end of this month:

Dear music fans,

The festival is in Austin on September 28th and 29th
They will have 70+ bands(including Our Man James)

Check out there website at http://www.aclfestival.com
Or get tickets at star tickets www.startickets.com

And be sure to check these other venues for more music on that weekend

Stubb's BBQ, the Mercury, and La Zona Rosa at
http://www.startickets.com/venue_mapslinks.htm and click on events

And Antone's at
www.antones.com/texasmusicgroup_site/tmg_antones_home.html#calander

Hope to see you there

Thank you for your time

Your friends at ACLMFestival

Ps. If you have any questions please e-mail me at
aclfestiva@...

You can order it online at CDNOW.com (and it's on
sale)



>
>

__________________________________________________
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New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo!
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I bought 2 more copies at Amazon.com and had them shipped to friends.
About $14 per each, and I don't have to go to the post office!

FWIW,
Lee

--- In jamesmcmurtryfans@y..., Scott Montgomery <bluesparadise@y...>
wrote:
> You can order it online at CDNOW.com (and it's on
> sale)
>

First of all, let me say I love the new album.... Of course I am in
a group of fans of 'The Man', and we have been waiting for years for
something new... quite frankly he could have put out an album of
soundcheck noises and I would be ga ga over it....(Test, Test.... is
my favorite!)

The day I got the CD, my car stereo died from mice eating their way
through my dashboard- I live next to a farm, and this is one of the
hazards of rural life.  Thats why my favorite song is 'Out here in
the middle'

Listened to the album a few times... He just gets better and
better!  I love especially the 'Sleeping at the Y', and 'Chocktaw
Bingo'.

A couple of 'Chocktaw Bingo' observations: Doesn't the rythem seem
kinda like that Beatles 'Come Together' song?  "Here come old
flattop, playing Chocktaw Bingo, with a Bois d'arc fencepost, wanna
do sister twister....'  You get the drift.  I love the song- isnt it
James' longest?

James also mentions Crank, Speed, and Crystal Meth in every other
song.... He used to only mention booze- Is he hanging out with a bad
crowd? (LOL)

Thats all for now....

Mace DeVries

"Cats on Fire"

In a message dated Mon, 23 Sep 2002 12:01:45 PM Eastern Standard Time,
macedevries@... writes:

> James also mentions Crank, Speed, and Crystal Meth in every other
> song....

Has he been to Iowa without me noticing ???

K

That was the first thing I thought of when I heard the song. I guess I'm not
completely nuts.
Choctaw bingo is my favorite song on the album, by far.
Lee in SC

macedevries wrote:A couple of 'Chocktaw Bingo' observations: Doesn't the rythem
seem
kinda like that Beatles 'Come Together' song? "Here come old
flattop, playing Chocktaw Bingo, with a Bois d'arc fencepost, wanna
do sister twister....' You get the drift. I love the song- isnt it
James' longest?



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

it's done, he might be tourin'.
if he comes to denver/boulder...
we will host.
cross fingers, be in touch.
we coulddoit without him if we have to,
not quite as much fun,
but we could ;)
anyone else in the neighborhood?
russ & kc

Hi, all-

   I don't know how many of you are from the northeast, but it seems
rare that he gets up this far.  However, he's got a show scheduled at
the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis Maryland for Tuesday, October 22,
2002 at 8:30 p.m.  Tickets are $18.50 on Ticketmaster.

   For those who don't know, the Rams Head Tavern is a very nice
smaller venue with its own brewery and pretty decent food.
The "stage" is pretty close to the audience and the acoustics are
very good.  To check it out, go to www.ramsheadtavern.com and go to
the Annapolis location.

   See you there-


                 John

---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It's one . . . great big ol' album.  It's more brutal and unvarnished, both
musically and lyrically, than pretty much all the others.  The whole thing has a
"Sixty Acres" feel to it.  I wonder what the last four years were about for
James.  I'm still amazed at how much information and emotion he can convey with
so few words . . . "food was bad and the deal fell through."  His talent is
palpable and yet will likely continue to go largely unnoticed.  As I told him on
his last pass through Virginia, I just hope he continues to make albums
regardless of the numbers.


---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo!

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I agree, and I can't stop listening to it. Kinda nuts. I was driving the company
1 ton today, which doesn't even have a cassette, much less cd, and I decided
after today, I'll just use my personal truck for a while, so I can listen to the
new stuff. I'm only in the truck about 5-10 minutes at a time, and then in corn
and cotton fields for an hour or so, but that few minutes in the truck gives me
something to ponder while in the field while I work.
I DIGGIT!
Lee in SC
  Glenn Kirschner wrote:It's one . . . great big ol' album. It's more brutal and
unvarnished,

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

After digesting the new disc for a few days I have to
say (surprise) I like it a lot. I think my favorites
at this point would be Out here in the middle, Lobo
town, Gulf Road, Gone to the Y, and Choctaw Bingo.
Oklahoma! I'm also impressed with the guest musicians
on the album, great to hear David Grissom again, not
to mention Ian McLagan, et. al.  The wait was too long
but this is a fine effort by James and everyone
involved.

                       tim
                       olympia, wa

Hi fellow THE MAN fans.

Well I sit here intently reading all the personal reviews of the new
release which came out here a week later than over your side of the
pond.

Even went in and tried to buy it at a couple of the local CD stores
but alas - not in stock  - need to order it.

Ho hum, well I have waited this long so another few days won't make
any difference I guess - will try again tomorrow in the big city
before I lose the notion altogether... so much music - such little
time etc.

later gaters

Lang

I think the new CD is great, I was going to plug my
favorite songs, and praise the CD, but my comments are
almost identical to Tim's - so everything he said and some
additional praise for Ronnie Johnson's contributions!  I
was happy to hear Stephen Bruton and Paul Pearcy on the CD
too.

  Jim in Utah

--- whigs1us <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
> After digesting the new disc for a few days I have to
> say (surprise) I like it a lot. I think my favorites
> at this point would be Out here in the middle, Lobo
> town, Gulf Road, Gone to the Y, and Choctaw Bingo.
> Oklahoma! I'm also impressed with the guest musicians
> on the album, great to hear David Grissom again, not
> to mention Ian McLagan, et. al.  The wait was too long
> but this is a fine effort by James and everyone
> involved.
>
>                       tim
>                       olympia, wa
>
>
>
>


__________________________________________________
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>
> Even went in and tried to buy it at a couple of the local CD stores
> but alas - not in stock  - need to order it.
>
>
> Lang

Seems that way for a lotta fans on this side of the water, too. Can't
even get it at many Borders! Well, hell that's why we've all
gravitated to the web and our cushy seats at home anyway. As long as
JAMES is still available locally - even if the tour only comes by
every couple of years.

Hey Lang,
I've had a few booking agents from Italy try to schedule McMurtry for
some gigs. One was ready to put together a whole tour. Who knows,
maybe someday, Europe!
Lillie

"I've had a few booking agents from Italy try to schedule McMurtry
for some gigs. One was ready to put together a whole tour. Who knows,
maybe someday, Europe!"


Wow Lillie, now that Italian fellow is one that needs to be nurtured
and heartily encouraged - I have never been to Italy but it's on my
list of "gotta see someday's".....as is a McMurtry gig....now if I
could just combine the two and review it for you guys !!

Have gig - will travel !

Lang

I got an email from one of our special correspondents from Austin,
Debbie Gardner, who mentioned Waterloorecords.com as another good
site for ordering the new cd. Waterloo Records is one of the venues
that often hosts McMurtry 's Band for instore promotions -
http://www.waterloorecords.com/

Looks like JM is coming to Chicago.. guess I better start saving my
pennies.. it's only a 300 mile trip each way :)






  City   Venue

Thu 10/17/02   Atlanta, GA  Smith's Olde Bar

Fri 10/18/02   Asheville, NC  Grey Eagle

Sat 10/19/02   Carrboro, NC  Room Four

Mon 10/21/02   Arlington, VA  IOTA Club & Cafe

Tue 10/22/02   Annapolis, MD  Ramshead

Thu 10/24/02   Burlington, VT  Club Metronome

Tue 10/29/02   Ferndale, MI  Magic Bag

Fri 11/01/02   Chicago, IL  Martyrs'

In a message dated Thu, 3 Oct 2002 2:45:32 PM Eastern Standard Time,
bluesparadise@... writes:

> Looks like JM is coming to Chicago.. guess I better start
> saving my
> pennies.. it's only a 300 mile trip each way :)

ack ... I have to be in Chicago the NEXT weekend ... bummer ...

Where are you ??? I'm almost exactly 300 miles myself (Iowa)

K

--- In jamesmcmurtryfans@y..., "Scott" <bluesparadise@y...> wrote:
> Looks like JM is coming to Chicago.. guess I better start saving my
> pennies.. it's only a 300 mile trip each way :)
>
I don't know, he's got some days to fill in there and he usually book
out then back, although in the end the dates and locations end up in
order

November, November

My B-Day is in november....

The Man has a new album and is coming to town in
november....

Thanksgiving is in November...

And to think, when I was young, I thought the Macy's
Day parade was for me.....

This month, it is!!!

Open invitation for all FOTM (Fans of the Man) who
need a place to crash in chicago to visit.

Mace

=====

Mace DeVries

"Not all those who wander are lost"     - J.R.R. Tolkien

It would be even better if he played in Bloomington, Indiana, my
daughter is going to school there.

--- In jamesmcmurtryfans@y..., lillieruby <no_reply@y...> wrote:
> --- In jamesmcmurtryfans@y..., "Scott" <bluesparadise@y...> wrote:
> > Looks like JM is coming to Chicago.. guess I better start saving
my
> > pennies.. it's only a 300 mile trip each way :)
> >
> I don't know, he's got some days to fill in there and he usually
book
> out then back, although in the end the dates and locations end up
in
> order

Confession time fellow THE MAN fans - I still ain't got the new CD
but will order it next week for sure.

Anyway that was just an aside...apparantly according to a bud in my
office who I converted on to THE MAN, they played some tracks from
the new CD on the radio here last night...missed it dangit but
McMurtry on UK Radio is not a common happening - hope for that UK gig
yet uh ?!

Cya there Janilley

Lang

I just uploaded a few photos of James and the band to the Photos
collection.  (Hope you don't mind Lillie and Lee).  The album is
named 2002 ACL Festival, and were pix my wife and I took at the
Austin City Limits Music Festival this past weekend.

It was quite a show with something like 70 bands playing on 7
different stages.  This was the first ACL Fest, and was pretty
successful, so they've declared it the "First Annual" one.  Because
of the number of acts most of the sets were limited to 45 minutes or
1 hour.  James, Ronnie and Darren only got 45 minutes, and were able
to only squeeze in 6 songs, mostly new ones (surprise!) I think.  The
time they played was at 1:45 on Sunday afternoon, but they definitely
made the best of it.  The turnout was fantastic!  Near the end of the
set we looked back to see what I'd estimate being well over 1000
people jammin along.  The crowd really seemed to enjoy the band alot,
and I'm sure they earned new fans in the process.  We camped out
pretty close to the stage well before they were scheduled to start,
which was under a pretty intense sun, which made it a little tough.
There was a really good vibe for the whole event and talking briefly
to James and Ronnie afterwards they seemed to have really enjoyed it,
and we saw them hanging around later checking out some of the other
bands.

I've got to add this, for a 3-piece band they're playing is
incredible.  Even though James' guitar work obviously stands out,
with his incredible mix of lead and rhythm played at the same time,
it's obvious this is much more than just a central figure with a
supporting band.  During most of their songs James and Ronnie "drift"
toward the front of Darren's drumset and form a 3-way jam session.
The results are just amazing!
Not to rub it in, but we've been fortunate to see them play several
times over the past few years, and I can't wait until the next time,
but at the same time I'm glad they're hitting the road because I know
there are alot of hungry, patient fans out there (and soon to be
fans) that want to see them.
If you do get to see them be sure to post a review of the show.
Take care,
Jim

Mind?  Not at all!  I hope all of us will post as many photos as we can
muster up!

Thank you!

Lee in SC

> I just uploaded a few photos of James and the band to the Photos
> collection.  (Hope you don't mind Lillie and Lee).  >