"Just Us Kids" by James McMurtry

Larry's son returns with another strong folk rock album containing even more political material than his last outing, the solid Childish Things. This time around, McMurtry takes on Bush even more directly with the powerful "Cheney's Toy" and the growling guitar lines and vocals of "God Bless America." The less political material features his usual strong storytelling and solid mid-tempo guitar grooves.

Side note: In an interview in the final issue of No Depression magazine, McMurtry admitted that he had originally planned to call this effort The Last Record Album in anticipation that e-music will soon cause the final demise of CDs. He was talked out of the idea by his teenage son. The reason? His son didn't think the title would help James escape the lifelong shadow of his famous father, whose 1966 novel was called The Last Picture Show.