About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

When a record company with taste buds the likes of Sugar Hill puts out a series of greatest hits CDs, you know you're in for some great music. James McMurtry's Americana Masters ... Best of the Sugar Hill Years is no exception. McMurtry's brand of roots rock—blending blues, jazz, rock, and country-folk—is well represented on this CD. This record is certainly a great introduction to a wonderful artist.

Pros

• No More Buffalo
• Sixty Acres
• Choctaw Bingo
• Out Here in the Middle

Cons

• None

Description

• Classic James McMurtry tunes
• From rock to blues, Americana, and beyond
• All the best songs in one place at one time

Guide Review - James McMurtry - Americana Masters Series ... Best of the Sugar Hill Years

James McMurtry rocks in a way that makes you want to drive through the South with the top rolled down and his greatest hits blasting from your stereo. His infectious brand of roots rock is not only timeless and catchy, but also supremely narrative and message-driven.

When he sings, "Strap the kids, give them a little bit of vodka ... we're going to the family reunion," you know that the story you're about to hear is going to take you on a wild ride.

In fact, McMurtry's Americana Masters Series CD, as many greatest hits records are, is not exactly chock full of great new songs; but who needs new songs when the old ones are so darn good?

McMurtry is included in this series precisely because he's a master of Americana music, and there isn't one tune on this record that doesn't cement that fact.

Even the redundant melody of "Choctaw Bingo" doesn't stop the song from rocking. "Lobo Town" is a stormy rocker with ripping electric guitars tells the frustrating story of picking up a family legacy: "Grandaddy's good name fits like a shackle and a chain."

The bottom line is that, if you don't know who James McMurtry is, pick up Americana Masters Series ... Best of the Sugar Hill Years and make the introduction. This is not an artist worth ignoring.