OFFICIAL: http://chrismurphymusic.com/
VIDEO: (“Cape Horn”) http://chrismurphymusic.com/video/
Written
by Larry Robertson, posted by blog admin
Chris
Murphy’s increasingly extensive discography is a testament to the endless
riches a creative songwriter can mine. Murphy, renowned for his virtuosity on
violin, is a multi-instrumentalist who earns the bulk of his living from
teaching but also rates among the best songwriters working today. His numerous
albums and live appearances showcase a songwriter capable of working within any
form and an instrumentalist who has never met a risk he wouldn’t take. It
rewards audiences with an astonishing variety of voices in his songs – Murphy is
just as comfortable working in blues as he is delivering something much more in
a singer/songwriter vein and more musically challenging. He recorded his latest
album Hard Bargain in front of a live audience and the recording features only
his violin, guitar, mandolin, stomp box, and voice. The set he runs through
features songs distinctly darker than usual and often grounded in straight
forward blues changes. It’s an all around excellent listening experience.
The
title track will be the first one to leave many riveted. He transitions from
the cinematically pastoral feel of the opener “Caves of Killala” into the pared
down blues of “Hard Bargain” without losing any momentum. Indeed, he makes the
transition sound quite natural – the folk poses of the first track dovetail
nicely into the unadorned simplicity of the title track and Murphy adjust his
voice accordingly and without a misstep. “Ain’t No Place” aspires to gospel
spiritual and takes on the language of those classic songs to great effect.
Murphy doesn’t rely on that language alone and his emotive fire provides the
extra spark to make this song truly his own. His identity is stamped all over “Bugs
Salcido”, a meditative tale powered by a stream of staccato imagery that does
an admirable job of storytelling. Murphy’s vocal plays it just right, never
over-exaggerating a single passage, and this confluence of choices results in
one of the album’s best tracks.
“White
Noise” has a clear structure and familiar changes that a lot of listeners
outside Murphy’s usual purview might latch onto. It certainly lights up the
audience and the even catchier follow up “Last Bridge” brings the crowd to a
full on roar. Murphy throws himself headlong into the latter song and sings
verses and choruses alike with such striding confidence that the energy carries
you away. “Prevailing Winds” has many of the same qualities as the preceding
two songs, but Murphy develops the song’s melodic payoffs in a much less
condensed fashion and the longer build proves as satisfying in its own way. “Trust”
careens through an assortment of musical moods and affords Murphy a chance to
stretch out instrumentally without ever risking over indulgence. He brings
things to a thoughtful, yet decidedly gray, ending with the song “Friend”. For
a final time on this album, the “I” in a Chris Murphy song finds himself in
desperate situations and can’t romanticize his plight. Murphy really gets over
the back against the wall atmosphere of the lyrical content and provides
himself some remarkably sympathetic accompaniment. It closes this powerful
release on one of its highest notes.
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