Customer Reviews

Buckaroo Blue Grass

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Prime Cuts: Lost River (Featuring Rhonda Vincent), Boy From the Country, Close to the Land

There's a fine line between a good and a great singer. A good artist excels within his or her genre of music. While a great performer's brilliance excels genres. Michael Martin Murphey belongs to the latter. For over four decades, Michael Martin Murphey has had cross-pollinated success including ruling the pop airwaves with the no. 3 "Wildfire," and a slew of country hits such as "What's Forever For," "A Long Line of Love" and "From the Word Go." Since the 90s, Murphey has tilted his portfolio to include more cowboy songs. Ever since, he's become one of the mavericks to put the western back into country. Nevertheless, "Blue Grass Buckaroo" is his most ambitious project: this time he brings together three genres: bluegrass, country and cowboy songs. And glad to say Murphey has done a deft job. He has taken his self-composed songs (mostly western and country themed songs) and has given each of them a deliciously delightful bluegrass treatment. Despite the numerous pluses associated with this disc, there is a cause for despair. Like every seasoned artist, age has mercilessly crept on Murphey. At times Murphey's light tenor timbre suffers from not hitting the notes that he sounds awfully out of tune; and with the sparse bluegrassy backing, such vocal deviation becomes even more apparent.

The newly composed "Lone Cowboy" sets the tenor of the whole project. The mournful sounds of the fiddles and the aching plucking of banjo strings get a lonesome sound going for Murphey to express the frustrations of being an itinerant cowboy. "Lost River," a track Murphey wrote for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band years ago, gets to be reprised this time with the haunting vocals of Rhonda Vincent. Of the numerous recordings Murphey has made of his top 20 hit "Carolina in the Pines" this version here is the best. The desolate sounds of the deep south has never sounded more lonesome than the imbued ambiance created by fiddles and banjos. "Cherokee Fiddle," a track Murphey wrote for Johnny Lee, reminds us what a great storyteller Murphey is. For who have thought Indians, cowboys, fiddling, whiskeys and social justice could all exist conterminously in a song?

First written for John Denver, "Boy from the Country" is an autobiographical entry expounding Murphey's love for nature which unfolds along a soothing musical backdrop with some ruminative sounding guitars. "Wild Bird," another nod to nature, first appeared on his 1975 album "Blue Sky, Night Thunder." It is pleasant without being memorable. Much better is the softer "Close to the Land" (also the theme song for a PBS series) where Murphey's heartwarming vocal resonates with an affirming conviction for an ethical lifestyle of hard work and honest living. "Fiddlin' Man," calls to mind a tamer Charlie Daniels without the rockish undergirding.

With his son Ryan Murphey on the producer's chair, "Blue Grass Buckaroo" feeds a lacuna in the music business. It brings together, in a winsome way, cowboy and country songs set to a bluegrass setting. And by choosing songs Murphey has had written from a career long portfolio, there's never a dearth of material. And it's safe to say, the songs on the whole are well chosen. However, it would be even better if some of Murphey's more signature tunes like "What's Forever For," "A Long Line of Love" and even "A Face in the Crowd" get a similar bluegrass treatment. That, on the other hand, would be something.

Michael Martin Murphey is forever lodged in the memories of pop fans for his 1975 hit "Wildfire." And those who checked the credits of the Monkees' Pisces, Aquarius, Capicorn & Jones Ltd. would have found him as the writer of the Mike Nesmith-sung "What Am I Doing Hangin' `Round." In contrast to this brief flirtation with the pop charts, Murphey's career, before and after "Wildfire," has been extensive. He co-founded the Lewis & Clark Expedition, recorded an album for the same Colgems label that produced the Monkees, and supplied songs to Flatt & Scruggs, Bobbie Gentry, and Kenny Rogers. He recorded a string of country-rock albums throughout the `70s, and after peaking with "Wildfire," returned with "Carolina in the Pines."

Murphey's success on the country charts took off in the `80s, stoked in part by re-recordings of his earlier works. "Carolina in the Pines," originally a modest hit in 1976, became a full-fledged country top-10 with a 1985 reworking. As the `80s waned, so did Murphey's country chart success, and in 1990 he waxed Cowboy Songs, the first of several albums mixing Western standards with original contributions to the canon. On 2001's Playing Favorites he took yet another pass at "Wildfire" and "Carolina in the Pines," setting in place a pattern of reinterpreting fan favorites. This time out, Murphey sets two new tunes ("Lone Cowboy" and "Close to the Land") and nine earlier works to acoustic bluegrass arrangements, once again discovering new layers in the fan favorites.

Thirty years after his first pass at "Carolina in the Pines," Murphey's voice adds an appealing edge. Dropping the `70s drums and guitars leaves the banjo, guitar, bass and fiddle to create an earthier mood. The same is true for "Cherokee Fiddle," whose 1976 original was turned into a hit for Johnny Lee on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack; as reworked here it's a twangy concoction of fiddle, guitar, mandolin and banjo. Murphey reaches all the way back to 1972 for "Boy from the Country," adding a fiddle and mandolin to the original singer-songwriter arragnement.

Others have taken Murphey's songs for a bluegrass spin, such as Dwight McCall's recent take on "Lost River," but it's a joy to hear Murphey cut his own mountain groove through the song with Rhonda Vincent singing harmony. His new version of "What Am I Doing Hanging Around," written from life at the age of 19, is now a terrifically nostalgic memory at age 63. Murphey's fans already know what a treat it is to hear him add perspective to his catalog, and those who lost track after "Wildfire" will find this a terrific reintroduction. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

I've been a fan of Michael's since Wildfire came out when I was in junior high school - the magical rippling effect from the keyboards always draws me into the song and the music. My favorites on his albums have always been the ones with bluegrass instruments and this CD really showcases some of his best songs of nature and the people who live close to the land. Best part of all, each song has liner notes from Michael describing how the song came to be - that alone would be worth buying this CD, so even though you might own several versions of Carolina in the Pines and Boy from the Country, this definately needs to be a part of your collection. Enjoy!

As with the first reviewer, who does a much better job at summarizing the album, I would concur that Murph's voice is starting to show wear. I noticed this on Cowboy Songs Vol. 5. I think he really peaked at Cowboy Songs 3 and Cowboy Songs 2 (one of my favorite Christmas albums). Still, the guitar pickin', beat and melodies on this album are not to be missed.

I have to say that I was not as impressed with Murph's pop era ('70s) and only mildly happy with his more country phase. He hits his stride with western cowboy songs and this is a very good addition to that genre, with a great infusion of bluegrass. As I'm starting to appreciate bluegrass more and more, I like where Murph is heading. I would recommend somebody get this disc prior to any of his 80s or 70s stuff.

My favorite cut is a sentimental favorite -- "What Am I Doing Hanging 'Round" -- which was first written for the Monkees. It was by far and away my favorite Monkees song for decades and I only just realized it was written by Murph.

This is MMM doing what he does best - singing real cowboy music. The voice is a little older and the clarity is somewhat clouded at times, but this is a very good collection of music in the Bluegrass style. If you are an MMM fan, don't miss it!

We love Mickeal Martin Murphy but did not care for this CD at all. Do not waste your money.

I have always enjoyed Michael Martin Murphys music.
I look forward to his next album.