Customer Reviews

Horse Legends

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whatever reason you love horses for, there is something to interest you here. This is not a cowboy album, although it will no doubt appeal to lovers of cowboy music. Michael wrote several of the songs, but also covered some classic equine songs.

There are two songs about thoroughbred racing, Run for the roses (Dan Fogelberg's ode to the Kentucky Derby) and The running blood, a more general song. There is also a song about quarter horses (Quarter horse rider).

Ponies was first recorded by Michael Johnson in the eighties and was later lovingly covered by Lynn Anderson (an expert equestrian) on her Cowboy's sweetheart album, which also included Run for the roses.

Tennessee stud (featuring Johnny Cash) was originally a Jimmy Driftwood song, but has been recorded by (among others), the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on their original Will the circle be unbroken album, recently re-mastered.

Wildfire is a re-recording of Michael's own hit. The original recording would have sounded out of place on this album, and the Amazon editorial noted it was a re-recording, so the earlier reviewer who complained has only himself to blame.

Each and every song is wonderful, and will give pleasure to horse lovers everywhere. There are plenty of other horse songs which could have been included - Stewball and Strawberry roan to name but two. I hope Michael does a second volume some day.

I have never enjoyed another CD as much as I have this one. Others may put this recording down as just "cheap romanticism" and horses as "contrary and ornery" but it will strike a chord with horse owners and enthusiasts. There is a unique bond between humans and their equine partners that can't be explained away as sentimental, romantic drivel and this album was written and put together by a horseman for other horsemen and women.

I feel there is something for everyone on this recording. I particularly enjoyed The Running Blood and hearing my mare's bloodlines listed in Quarter Horse Rider gave me goose bumps. Running Shadow is not a fable. There was a steel dust stallion that became a legend of the plains. One Blackfoot tribe called him "Ponokamita" or vain elk-dog, others called him The Ghost Horse of the Plains, The Phantom, etc. and although many tried, no one was ever able to capture him. Many stories of the Old West mention this horse and the song is a fitting tribute to his legend.

I enjoyed this recording the first time I heard it nearly a year ago, and it's charm has not worn off, but then I don't see horses as onery and I get up every two hours to break ice on water troughs. Go figure.

This has become my favorite CD. I believe the Amazon critique is over-critical about the emotions expressed, as most horse lovers experience similar feelings. "Running Shadow" isn't about wild horses, as the review states; it's about Spirit Horses of Native American legends.

Horses are "onery and contrary" only if you (the untrained human) haven't studied the horse and understood his genetic code. Horses have two very strong genetic emotions: fight or flight. Anyone with the proper training can have the complete trust and obedience of just about any horse. But the trainer has to be dedicated - it takes knowledge and patience and time. It's people who don't understand all the nuances of the horse's behavior who think horses are contrary or onery. MMM knows the loving side of horses. Until you do, don't berate the horse. This is a great album and every little cowkid who has or ever wanted a pony will love "The Pony Man". The WEST is embodied in this album.

Also, not as annoying as all that sampling of old songs stuck in hip-hip recordings and then passed off as original.

Amazon reviewer Geoffrey Himes needs to get laid or something. I hate cheap sentimentality and know it when I hear it. "Feelings", "Endless Love" or any other countless songs by Lionel Richie, or even Air Supply, now that is cheap sentimentality. And "Wildfire" is not a fable about a pony who roamed the Nebraska plains after his owner died.

"There have been legends about ghost horses, especially in the Western folk tradition," says Murphey. "I had heard these all my life, but one night in Los Angeles I woke from a dream with the name Wildfire and these images in my head. The song came from that. A girl and her pony were both lost one winter, but they reappear occasionally to help westerners. It's all about the dream of freedom and escape."

Not every song has to have a rough edge to it or a whiskied voice singing it in order to be a good or even great song. Sounds like Mr. Himes is the one who is "ornery and contrary".

I've never owned a horse and never lived on a ranch or farm. I don't even like country music. But I love Horse Legends by Michael Martin Murphey. The CD is musical, engaging, and listenable from beginning to end.

I started buying Murphey albums, and kept adding onto the collection. They do not disappoint. When I import the CDs into iTunes, I set a custom category on Murphey's stuff to "Western" not "Country". There is a dramatic difference. Murphey rings true like a classic western movie. Contrast that with most country music, authentic like casting John Travolta as a Texan in Urban Cowboy.

Murphey's voice sounds better today than it did in the 70's, at the height of his fame. Contrary to another reviewer here who complained that Wildfire was not the original recording, you will find the version included on this disc to be superb, perhaps better than the original.

The Amazon Editor's flippant remark calling Michael Martin Murphey a "James Taylor imitator" is highly inaccurate and offensive. As an English major, I've always thought greatness is not apparent in the moment. Shakespeare's stature as an artist is established by a body of work, not by a few clever rhymes.

Don't buy this CD for sentimental reasons. Buy it to rediscover an awesome artistic talent, someone whose body of work merits attention. You will be rewarded with music that is never tiresome, which transcends the moment, and which finds in simple subjects the great eternal themes.

If you have a love for horses, I bet your going to love this CD too. It has some great songs on it that give credit to horses and not to just a rider.

While it's a nice selection, I would have liked more than 10 songs. The ones included are done very nicely (as would be expected) by Michael Martin Murphey

This had a couple of pretty good songs. My wife was a little disapointed in the re-make of Wildfire. But all in all, an allright cd.

....but they don't tell you that on the CD. If you're looking for a copy of Wildfire, avoid this cd...it is a remake.