James McMurtry is a master songwriter. Not sure I would slot him as country; I think of him more as Americana, in a similar neighborhood as Steve Earle. Saw him with his band in a roadhouse bar that used to be in the hills above Santa Cruz CA in the early 2000s and it kicked ass. I haven’t kept up with him and this is a good reminder to do that - thanks!
I tend to agree that the narrower/more precise genre would probably be some kind of Americana, but for me, "country" includes whatever my wife is pointing at when she says "Ugh, you're listening to country music again!"
(She has come around on Lyle Lovett, but Wilco is still reserved for my alone time.)
Most of the stuff marketed as country these past decades feels like warmed over Cracker Barrel leftovers - like if Amy Grant and the Eagles had a baby that was raised by Creed and Kid Rock. I've seen a tendency to classify artists who are better than that as something else - alt-country (like Wilco), or something niche like bluegrass (Alison Krauss) if they favor a particular tradition.
James McMurtry is a master songwriter. Not sure I would slot him as country; I think of him more as Americana, in a similar neighborhood as Steve Earle. Saw him with his band in a roadhouse bar that used to be in the hills above Santa Cruz CA in the early 2000s and it kicked ass. I haven’t kept up with him and this is a good reminder to do that - thanks!
I tend to agree that the narrower/more precise genre would probably be some kind of Americana, but for me, "country" includes whatever my wife is pointing at when she says "Ugh, you're listening to country music again!"
(She has come around on Lyle Lovett, but Wilco is still reserved for my alone time.)
Most of the stuff marketed as country these past decades feels like warmed over Cracker Barrel leftovers - like if Amy Grant and the Eagles had a baby that was raised by Creed and Kid Rock. I've seen a tendency to classify artists who are better than that as something else - alt-country (like Wilco), or something niche like bluegrass (Alison Krauss) if they favor a particular tradition.