Gary P. Nunn

Taking Texas to the Country (Guacamole/Campfire Records)

As head honcho of Jerry Jeff Walker’s Lost Gonzo Band, Gary P. Nunn helped birth ¡Viva Terlingua! in 1973, recorded in Luckenbach and one of the milestone recordings of the era’s progressive country movement. Nunn also composed “London Homesick Blues,” aka the Austin City Limits theme. There’s not a whole lot progressive about this album, which is fine – the music needs no tweaking or gussying up. Nunn’s no hat-wearing showboater, saving his veteran best for steel-driven dance-floor ditties about Ray Price (“A Two-Step Away”), road-tripping (“Down to Louisiana,” “Denver,” “Mexican Boulevard”), and naturally, Texas (“Lonesome Lone Star Blues”). Employing the talents of songwriters in his publishing group, Nunn generously offers composers Johnny Divine, Michael Halvorsen, Steven Kundert, Levi Mullen, and even brother Steve K. Nunn the chance to polish their gems on his disc. That’s a neat trick for an old cowboy like Nunn, even if there’s no Armadillo to go home to.

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This article appears in April 30 • 2010.

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