Farce the Music: James McMurtry

Showing posts with label James McMurtry. Show all posts

Dec 30, 2025

Farce the Music's Top 25+ Albums of 2025

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1. Turnpike Troubadours - The Price of Admission

2. Luke Bell - The King is Back

3. Kathleen Edwards - Billionaire

4. Justin Wells - Cynthiana

5. James McMurtry - The Black Dog & The Wandering Boy

6. Cole Chaney - In the Shadow of the Mountain

7. Valerie June - Owls, Omens, & Oracles

8. Colter Wall - Memories & Empties

9. Charley Crockett - Dollar a Day

10. Ken Pomeroy - Cruel Joke

11. Tyler Childers - Snipe Hunt

12. Jason Isbell - Foxes in the Snow

13. Joe Stamm Band - Little Crosses

14. Waylon Jennings - Songbird

15. Jason Scott & The High Heat - American Grin

16. Ben Nichols - In the Heart of the Mountain

17. Patterson Hood - Exploding Trees & Airplane Screams

18. Matt Daniel - The Poet

19. Sunny Sweeney - Rhinestone Requiem

20. Tobacco City - Horses

21. Hailey Whitters - Corn Queen

22. Hayes Carll - We’re Only Human

23. Jason Boland & The Stragglers - The Last Kings of Babylon

24. Margo Price - Hard Headed Woman

25. Ryan Necci & The Buffalo Gospel - The Dead Can’t Take a Hint

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58 more I really liked (in no particular order):

Jesse Daniel - Son of the San Lorenzo

Muscadine Bloodline - …And What Was Left Behind

Snocaps - s/t

William Prince - Further From the Country

Amanda Shires - Nobody’s Girl

Nicholas Jamerson - The Narrow Way

Ani DiRusso - Super Pedestrian

Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out

Joshua Hedley - All Hat

Charley Crockett - Lonesome Drifter

Tami Neilson - Neon Cowgirl

Olivia Wolfe - Silver Rounds

The Wilder Blue - Still in the Runnin’

JD Clayton - Blue Sky Sundays

Nick Shoulders - Refugia Blues

Leon Majcen - Better Days

Whiskey Myers - Whomp Whack Thunder

Kat Hasty - The Time of Your Life

Brent Cobb - Ain’t Rocked in a While

Them Coulee Boys - No Fun in the Chrysalis

Vandoliers - Life Behind Bars

Petey USA - The Yips

Jesse Welles - Middle

Brennen Leigh - Don't You Ever Give Up on Love

Cody Jinks - In My Blood

Chaparral - Western Pleasure

Sam Stoane - Tales of the Dark West

Will Stewart - Moon Winx

Pug Johnson - El Cabron

Nick Shoulders - Refugia Blues

Juliet McConkey - Southern Front

Colby Acuff - Enjoy the Ride

Rebecca Porter - Roll With the Punches

Liquid Mike - Hell is an Airport

Tyler the Creator - Don’t Tap the Glass

Tanner Usrey - These Days

Bonnie Prince Billy - The Purple Bird

Jake Owen - Dreams to Dream

Will Hoge - Sweet Misery

Jeremy Pinnell - Decades

Juliet McConkey - Southern Front

Joshua Ray Walker - Tropicana

SG Goodman - Planting By the Signs

Silverada - Texas 42

Pigs x7 - Death Hilarious

Lola Kirke - Trailblazer

Deftones - Private Music

Trenton Fletcher - Tornado Alley

Dalton Domino - Arizona

Nolan Taylor - s/t

Ole 60 - Smokestack Town

Billy Woods - Golliwog

Avery Anna - Let Go Letters

Testament - Para Bellum

Brandi Carlile - Returning to Myself

Jake Worthington - When I Write the Song

Kelsey Waldon - Every Ghost

Ruston Kelly - Pale, Through the Window

Feb 1, 2025

Saturday Night Music / James McMurtry / "Choctaw Bingo"

Jan 10, 2024

The Outlaw Ray Wylie Hubbard

Jan 6, 2022

Matthew's Top 10 Albums of 2021

These were counted in our year-end list.

By Matthew Martin

1- Morgan Wade- Reckless

There's not much to say about this album that hasn't been screamed from the rooftops already. Morgan Wade is an exceptional talent writing catchy songs. The production on this album is top notch and the band matches the energy on each song. The future is bright for Morgan Wade and if you aren't on the bandwagon, hurry up and hop on. Top Song: Wilder Days

2- Sturgill Simpson- The Dood and Juanita

When Sturgill goes country, Sturgill is at his very best. When Sturgill creates an album using Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger as a template, you know you're in for something seriously good. And, Sturgill doesn't disappoint. The album explores all different aspects of mountain music while telling a compelling story throughout the album. If this is, in fact, Sturgill's final album, it's a hell of note to go out on. Top Song: Shamrock or Ol Dood (Part I)

3- James McMurtry - The Horses & The Hounds

There isn't an artist out there who has gotten better with age more than James McMurtry. I truly believe that. No other artist has let their music and lyrical content match the lessons they have learned over their long lives the way McMurtry has. On what might be his best album, McMurtry gave up a good bit of the guitar playing to focus on the singing and it works. I miss the jangle of McMurtry's guitar at times, but his band more than makes up for it. Top Song: Canola Fields

4- Sierra Ferrell- Long Time Coming

No album surprised me more than this one. Sierra Ferrell knocked me off my feet with this grand slam of an album focused on old time country music. This is Appalachian music at it's best. The music and band are impeccable but Ferrell's voice matches and surpasses each. She is going to be a long time in this music business and look forward to seeing how to progresses moving forward. Top Song: West Virginia Waltz

5- Charles Wesley Godwin- How The Mighty Fall

By far my most anticipated album of the year was CWG's follow up to his debut album, Seneca. And he fully delivered. The band CWG compiled for this album made the perfect backdrop for these beautiful and tragic tales on this album. From the scratchy fiddle to the roaring guitar solos, this album is not to be missed. CWG also has some of his best work to date on this album and I believe there is no place to go but up for this talent. Top Song: Jesse

6- John R Miller- Depreciated

I had never heard of JRM, but this album changed that and for good reason. The lyrics are reminiscent of John Prine. The voice is reminiscent of Jay Farrar. What more could you ask for? Top Song: Shenenandoah Shakedown

7- Joshua Ray Walker- See You Next Time

For the final installment of Joshua Ray Walker's trilogy, JRW uses all the influences he has to create a distinct album that only he could pull off effectively. And you can't convince me that anyone right now has a better voice than JRW. Top Song: Flash Paper

8- Drayton Farley- A Hard Up Life

Seems like the last couple of years have been big for country music that is simple, direct, and cutting. From Tyler Childers to Zach Bryan, it's been a recipe for success and Drayton Farley is following that recipe to the same effect. This album is effective and devastating. I can't wait to see what this guy can do with a full band behind him. Top Song: Pitchin' Fits

9- Ottoman Turks- II

The boys for Dallas have done it again. They have created an album that is as much The Stooges as it is Dwight Yoakam. More people should know Ottoman Turks. If you don't know them, get to know them. Top Song: 35 to Life

10- Bo Burnham- Inside

Not a usual album for these lists here, but I can't help it. This album was incredible. You can watch the special on Netflix and it's great, but the music is what makes this. The album works just as effectively. I know there are a lot of albums that feel very appropriate to the times we are in- the mental anguish, the nerviness, the isolation- but there is none that is more effective at parsing out those feeling than this one. Truly an album for our times. Top Song: All Eyes On Me

Jan 3, 2022

Megan's Top 11 Albums of 2021

These were counted in our year end poll.
By Megan Bledsoe

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11. Brandi Carlile—In These Silent Days

10. Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, and Jon Randall—The Marfa Tapes

Perhaps it is only because of these songwriters’ stellar reputations that we are compelled to pay attention to a release like The Marfa Tapes. But the other side of this is that only special artists like these three could actually write and perform an entire album acoustically, with sounds of wind and fire and cows and planes echoing in the background, and manage to hold our attention simply because of the strength of the songs and the raw emotion and boundless charisma present in the delivery. It’s fair to say that anyone else who tried this would likely be ignored, but not many others could accomplish this with the same beauty and grace that Ingram, Lambert, and Randall have, keeping us listening long after the novelty of the approach has worn off and only the songs and performances remain.

9. Cole Chaney—Mercy

8. Carly Pearce—29: Written in Stone

What a joy to see an album like this emerging from Music Row and to watch Carly Pearce’s deserved success. To call Pearce’s divorce record the best mainstream country album of 2021 would be true but would also be selling the project short; it is simply one of the best country records of the year, no qualifiers. The fact that it came to us from mainstream Nashville only serves to prove that hope still lingers on Sixteenth Avenue.

7. James McMurtry—The Horses and the Hounds

James McMurtry’s songwriting is like that of no other. His prose is vividly rich in detail but composed in such a plainspoken manner that it remains accessible and relatable to us all. There is something uniquely charming about his frankness, something inherently poetic and refreshing in reflecting on all of the world’s hardships and then expressing a problem so mundane as constantly losing one’s glasses. These ruminations constitute some of the best songs of the year, and McMurtry remains one of the most interesting songwriters of his generation.

6. Shane Smith & the Saints—Live from the Desert

5. Margo Cilker—Pohorylle

Margo Cilker’s debut album is a classic case of the sum being better than its parts. There are no lyrical masterpieces and nothing to reinvent the wheel from a musical standpoint. Nevertheless, the simple yet lush arrangements, the production which carefully and thoughtfully enhances each song, Cilker’s excellent capacity for writing melodies and hooks, and the sense of place and general mood surrounding this whole record all come together to make one of the year’s standout albums.

4. Amythyst Kiah—Wary + Strange

3. The Steel Woods—All of Your Stones

2. Charles Wesley Godwin—How the Mighty Fall

Charles Wesley Godwin, through the poetry of his songs and the haunting qualities of his voice, has managed to set Appalachia to music. If Seneca was a perfect encapsulation of the place, then How the Mighty Fall can be called a perfect encapsulation of the region’s people. More than that, it is a commentary on desperation itself, both the circumstances which lead to it and the various lengths to which one will go when faced with it. Artists are often plagued by the idea of the sophomore slump, but Godwin second album is just as exceptional as his first.

Album of the Year: Jason Boland & the Stragglers—The Light Saw Me

The very audacity of the idea, the concept of making a country record about alien abduction and time travel, is proof enough of the innovation of Jason Boland & the Stragglers and should be applauded. But to pull it off so expertly and to somehow craft a story so universal and compelling is another thing entirely. Somehow, this eccentric album is one of the most accessible, engaging records of Boland’s career and demonstrates that country music can still cover new ground in 2021. Boland & the Stragglers prove that even within the confines of traditional country music, artists can still be creative, original, introspective, and forward-thinking.

Dec 29, 2021

Kevin's Top 11 Albums of 2021

(These were counted in the staff voting for top 20 of the year)

By Kevin Broughton

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1. Jesse Daniel – Beyond These Walls

If FTM had a “follow-up album of the year” category, this one would win it unanimously. Stretching his legs from the Bakersfield love fest that was Rollin’ On, Daniel – by focusing on the simple things in life – has broadened his focus, showing a grateful audience just how great country music can be. He’s made a great leap forward with his vocals and songwriting, and those were already high bars. There’s not a weak cut on this album.

2. James McMurtry – The Horses And The Hounds

He’s just the Godfather.

I picture a room full of accomplished singer-songwriters trading shop talk when McMurtry walks in, and all of a sudden you can hear a pin drop. It’s been six years since his last album, and just like last time, there’s an effortless feel to this magnificent work of art. McMurtry combines imagery, geography and unrequited love better than Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett or Townes. I literally listened to “Canola Fields” seven times before moving on to the second cut. It’s on par with “Tangled Up In Blue.”

3. Mike & The Moonpies – One To Grow On

I’ll be shocked if this one doesn’t win the FTM overall prize. It’s merely flawless.

4. Charles Wesley Godwin – How The Mighty Fall

Speaking of great follow-ups, Geez. Seneca, Godwin’s stellar breakout record from 2019, was just a warmup, it seems, for his 2021 offering. There’s an intensity to his writing this time around that solidifies a rightful claim to be mentioned in the same breath as his Appalachian brethren: Simpson and Childers.

5. Jeremy Pinnell – Goodbye L.A.

One of the best pure country albums of the year. Ties of Blood and Affection in 2017 was a phenomenal record, but with a solid assist from quirky producer Jonathan Tyler, Pinnell has written his masterpiece. We should all give thanks that there’s a longer road in front of him than there is behind. And, who wants a monthly FTM Q & A with this jiu-jitsu practitioner on the intersection of mixed martial arts & country music?

6. Zach Schmidt – Raise A Banner

This was a record a long time in the making, but the Pittsburgh-born artist made the most of his time. Is it nice to walk into a studio with The 400 Unit for a backing band and Sadler Vaden producing? Sure. But this writing stands on its own, and even if You Don’t Know Zach Schmidt…you know the deal.

7. Blackberry Smoke – You Hear Georgia

Twenty years strong. Only a small handful of artists* can begin to make Southern rock like these guys. They’ve added some personnel to fill out the sound and become one of the darlings of the elite Yellowstone set-list crowd, but what you hear is what you get. “Hey Delilah,” one of many gems, is a love letter to Lowell George.

8. *Rob Leines – Blood, Sweat & Beers

This legit blue-collar rocker fronts a power trio turned up to ELEVEN, reminding the world and his Los Angeles environs of his proud Georgia roots. Skynyrd and CBD fans, step on up.

9. Tennessee Jet – South Dakota

A toned down follow-up to (my #1 in 2020) The Country gives the listener an even more intimate setting to sample this man of letters’ writing. “William Faulkner,” just like the author, indeed.

10. The High Hawks – The High Hawks

What started as a fun thing for a collection of jam/string band guys became a passion project – with tours to boot. Open, free and joyous, smart money says this ain’t a one-off.

11. Mac Leaphart – Music City Joke

Just outstanding writing that leaves folks wanting more.