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Album Review: "The Horses and the Hounds" by James McMurtry (9/10)

New West Records

Producer: Ross Hogarth

This celebrated Texas singer-songwriter releases his first full-lengther in seven years to continue a creative path of vivid and literate storytelling that he’s solidly built a career on for over three decades. With cinematic precision and melodic craftsmanship tracks like “Canola Fields” and “If It Don’t Bleed” are slices of real life and musical travelogues. There are songs that lean toward reflection (“Vaquero”) and revelation (“Blackberry Winter”). “Operation Never Mind” offers sly commentary on the media while “What’s the Matter” is a clever road warrior’s day-in-the-life. This album was well worth the wait. McMurtry is “El Fuego!”