1. Saint Mary of the Woods
2. Fraulein O.
3. Red Dress
4. No More Buffalo
5. 60 Acres
6. Rachel's Song
7. Out Here in the Middle
8. Choctaw Bingo
9. Lights of Cheyenne
10. Levelland
11. Max's Theorem
12. I'm Not From Here
13. Too Long in the Wasteland
14. Rex's
Amazon.com
Though he's rightly revered as a pungent, literate songsmith, McMurtry would be just as happy to go down in history as a rocker, a scathing guitar-slinger equal parts Keith Richards and Neil Young. For the most part, McMurtry's first live recording (drawn from four separate gigs in Salt Lake City, Nashville, and Asheville, N.C.) slams that point home with droning fuzz-tone guitar jams and a rhythm section that measures up to Crazy Horse's pounding gravity. Even Townes Van Zandt's gorgeous "Rex's Blues" roars without compromise. With the exception of the relatively understated "Rachel's Song," "Out Here in the Middle," and one of his best new lyrics in years, "Lights of Cheyenne" (previously unreleased and rendered solo here), the trio find a slash-and-burn sonic equivalent to the songwriter's withering social commentaries, often trumping their original versions. --Roy Kasten
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Live in Aught-Three
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2004-03-23)
- Publisher: Compadre Records
- Label: Compadre Records
- Format: Live
- Studio: Compadre Records
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 34 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #7484
Avg. Customer Review:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The best live album since Frampton 2008-11-20
Comment: McMurtry and his Heartless [............]. One of best of the Texas songwriters. Literate as hell, he writes intelligent lyrics with more than a few twists. James McMurtry has more rock n roll in him than Robert Earl or Lyle, but does write in that story-telling style. His band rocks. His guitar playing is at it's best too. Great hooks. A must have CD. Sometimes it's beautiful, sometimes it's raw, it's always a great listen.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Album to start your McMurtry collection with 2008-05-04
Comment: This is the first McMurtry album you should buy. It's got most of his classics performed perfectly. McMurtry's family literary humor shines through in "Choctaw Bingo" and "60 Acres", while his songwriting prowess is more clearly defined in "No More Buffalo" and "I'm not from here". Classic songs abound on this album. McMurtry covers Townes Van Zandt's beautiful "Rex's Blues", to close out an album filled to the brim with great live music, clocking in near 80 minutes. You really get your money's worth with this pick-up.
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Customer Rating:
Summary: If you get one McMurtry album, make it this 2008-03-24
Comment: I can't say much that hasn't already been said. I haven't read through all the reviews but by now you probably get the idea his fans(including myself) consider mcmurtry a great songwriter. That he is. The best I am aware of right now.
McMurtry's studio albums that I have heard, outside of his latest(which was just altogether great), are all good, but there is something missing with a lot of the songs. the lyrics are there, but they just seem kind of tired and lacking power. I don't know if it is the production or what. Anyway, these live cuts really breath new life into a lot of the material, in fact every single song. I find the studioe st. mary of the woods plodding and boring whereas i love it here. same for no more buffalo. Really every song sounds better here, the only two that sound anywhere near as good in studio(though still not quite) are levelland and chocktaw bingo.
so basically I am telling you this. He has some great songs on all of his albums. Apparently a lot of the songs i thought were nothing special(from a musical standpoint, like i said the lyrics, poetry, it was always there, but I would argue less effective) were really some gems. so to sum it all up if you are still skeptical about mcmurtry after hearing studio albums try this. I don't know what it is but it is like every other song on some of his earlier albums is just kind of lackluster and weak but I can say now i would love to hear them all live I think the were just victims of bad production.
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Customer Rating:
Summary: a great live album by a great songwriter 2007-06-02
Comment: Did you know that James McMurtry is a MONSTER guitar player in the great Texas rock'n'roll tradition? You might not, if you only know him through his studio albums, where production is sedate and solos are often handed off to (admittedly great) session players like David Grissom. But this live album, with just him and a thundering rhythm section, is as fiery as live Neil Young or Lynrd Skynrd.
Most of the songs benefit from this raw, aggressive treatment. Raunchy numbers like "Sixty Acres" and "Choctaw Bingo" move from merely solid songs to barn-burning rock operas. Additionally, his wry and occasionally condescending stage patter gives the feel of a full show.
My favorite moment on album, however, and what makes it a masterpiece, is when he flubs a verse on "I'm Not From Here". This album, culled from several shows, could easily have found a "correct" version, or skipped the song altogether. It was a conscious decision to use it. For a songwriter with such a sharp eye and biting tongue for the flaws and weaknesses of other people, he reminds us that he's no better than one of his characters.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't tell me you've never heard 'em! 2007-03-19
Comment: Listen to this at night and you will blow-off work just to keep listening.
Oh, you went to work?
You'll punch out at noon.
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Live in Aught-Three
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