Walk Between the Raindrops

Amazon.com
The son of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry and the musical brethren of Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt (whose "Rex's Blues" is suitably covered here), James McMurtry spits out curt one-liners in a flat deadpan that dissolves in uneasy silence. Produced by Lloyd Maines, who contributes Dobro, pedal steel, and mandolin, Walk Through the Raindrops is quieter in tone than McMurtry's major label releases. The rustic arrangements make the lyrics just that much more folksy. "Tired of Walking" and "Airline Agent" are as close to topical songwriting as he's come, while a verse like "Every little bit counts/Though it may not count for much /They could be long forgotten /By the time you add ‘em up" is a fine example of the existentialist frontier McMurtry's so fond of probing. --Rob O'Connor

No Depression
In a welcome move, McMurtry varies his mood and shakes up the pacing some on this new album. The title track, for example, is a simple, heartfelt song of advice from a father to a teenager, which reveals a warmer, less cynical side of the artist.

Walk Between the Raindrops,James McMurtry,Sugarhill [Country],Americana,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop,Roots Rock,Singer/Songwriter

Walk Between the Raindrops

Average customer rating:

great roots music
No, not his best...
Snapshots of Life
Not his best
Great Stuff

Walk Between the Raindrops
James McMurtry
Manufacturer: Sugarhill [Country]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Roots Rock | Rock | Styles | Music

Folk Rock | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Singer Songwriters | Folk | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

It Had to Happen
Where'd You Hide the Body
Candyland
Saint Mary of the Woods
Too Long in the Wasteland

ASIN: B000009Q04
Release Date: 1998-08-18

Tracks:

Walk Between The Raindrops
Every Little Bit Counts
Soda And Salt
Fast As I Can
Tired Of Walking
Airline Agent
Racing To The Red Light
Comfortable
I Only Want To Talk To You
Rex's Blues

Amazon.com

The son of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Larry McMurtry and the musical brethren of Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt (whose "Rex's Blues" is suitably covered here), James McMurtry spits out curt one-liners in a flat deadpan that dissolves in uneasy silence. Produced by Lloyd Maines, who contributes Dobro, pedal steel, and mandolin, Walk Through the Raindrops is quieter in tone than McMurtry's major label releases. The rustic arrangements make the lyrics just that much more folksy. "Tired of Walking" and "Airline Agent" are as close to topical songwriting as he's come, while a verse like "Every little bit counts/Though it may not count for much /They could be long forgotten /By the time you add `em up" is a fine example of the existentialist frontier McMurtry's so fond of probing. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews:

great roots music.......2007-01-12

I really enjoy McMurtry's rootsy style. Thanks go to WNCS 104.7 FM The Point in Vermont for turning me on to him.

No, not his best..........2004-09-03

No, I wouldn't call this his best work. I like 'Where's You Hide The Body', 'It Had To Happen' and 'St. Mary' best. However, McMurtry is one of those artists that you buy all their works. There are no bad songs on any of his CDs. He is a five star act. He has no lapses...no filler songs...every song has a story.

Snapshots of Life.......2002-05-31

This is one excellent album. McMurtry's lyrics show us a number of different takes on life, some funny, some sad. You will relate to some or all of them. If you've ever had a knock-down drag-out with a significant other, then the lines: "tire marks on the pavement where you spun out of the drive, hound dog in the corner looking glad to be alive" will certainly ring true.

Social commentaries "Tired of Walking" and "Racing to the Red Light" also will hit a nerve with you. And, to me, "Soda & Salt" and "Airline Agent" are hilarious.

So, McMurtry can write some lyrics. He backs them up with great music. I don't know bats about music, but like the Supreme Court I know it when I see it. Two things:

1. I painted the entire inside of my house to this CD and two others of his (Wasteland, Where'd you Hide the Body) - you really can put this one and the others on and just leave them on.

2. Friends of mine come over and I have this over the outdoor speakers. Next thing I know I'm having to order anywhere from one to all five of McMurtry's CD's for them. I'm doing it again tonight. That should tell you something. I don't know if we can get him to come play a town of 600 but it would be a big turnout.

Not his best.......2001-10-24

The direction of the indie road seems to have changed. Once an artist recorded for an independent label to get the attention of the big ones and jump in the big wagon. Mcmurtry has done the opposite way coming from Columbia to Sugar Hill. He was probably not commercial enough and felt the pressure of being asked to make a more commercial records.

McMurtry is really very far away from any mainstream. He is a rocker, but mostly an acoustic one, he is not really your typical singer-songwriter but he writes all his songs. He could have made it big in the sixties, but we are in the nineties.

Walk Between The Lines is McMurtry's second cd for Sugar Hill, after three CD's for Columbia. It is clear that he is doing here what he thinks is right. His voice reminds me of Lou Reed, his music very much the American rock band, from Little Feat to R.E.M.. His lyrics are highly literate and memorable:

"He had some line but he never used them

She didn't need much talkin' too
He thought he'd died and gone to Houston
By the time the dawn burned off the dew"
(Fast As I Can)

The production is By Lloyd Maines, and very different from the work he has done with the group Son Volt. I was expecting to hear his Pedal Steel but the booklet explains that he plays it through a device that makes it sound like a special guitar. The playing is mostly done by 4-5 players giving the feeling of a rock group.This cd is surely not a folk record, more a rock album with some hints of folk. If you like Little Feat, Allman Brothers Band, late Eagles, R.E.M., you'll probably like this cd.

Great Stuff.......2001-03-03

Intelligent, emotional, quriky. I agree with previous reviews: "Why isn't his music onthe radio 24/7?"

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