They don't play no rock and roll 'cause it just ain't right...
4 Out of 5 Stars.
James McMurtry established himself as a major American songwriter with his debut, "Too Long In The Wasteland." John Mellancamp discovered him and produced this disc, and it's easy to see what drew him. McMurtry writes dry, accurate portrait of heartland life with a wit that snaps like a bone.
He avoids sentiment, but works the emotional turf like a seasoned writer. From the opening portrait of the worker-droid to the closing deadpan observation about small-town cloisterism, McMurtry nails every detail. He also has a knack for the brittleness of family relationships, explored in the tale of "Terry" the teenaged convict, the broken family of "Song for a Deck Hand's Daughter" and the dark humor of "Poor Lost Soul."
It's all borne atop the kind of rock Mellencamp perfect around the time of his "Lonesome Jubilee," which is probably my only complaint about "Wasteland." That should not keep you away from this CD; the songs alone are far too good for that. This 1989 album holds up just fine, and he's still making solid songwriter albums today, including the recent "Just Us Kids." Just know that McMurtry got better fast and soon had his own musical voice somewhere between Mellencamp and the Austin blues rock of Joe Ely or Jimmie Vaughn.
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