Chris Murphy - Water Under the Bridge (2017)

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Written by Mike Yoder, posted by blog admin

Chris Murphy’s fantastic new recordings blurs genre lines but in a completely different way from most current artists.  By focusing on ol’ tyme musical remedies the singer, songwriter, musician, producer and arranger manages to come up with something fresh in the process.  The resulting album, Water Under the Bridge gets in a time machine and warps backwards to the pre-album rock days.  Sounding truly Americana influenced and untouched by the British Invasion, Murphy (and his compatriots The Blind Blake Blues Band) are almost like the prog-rock version of what they choose to play by breathing a towering complexity into the compositions that crams numerous genres together. 

Though I used the word “crams,” I feel I should clarify my point; at no juncture does Water under the Bridge feel cluttered, unfocused or overweight.  In fact the album’s lengthy 14-cut sprawl becomes neither tiresome nor overwrought during its daunting runtime yet Water Under the Bridge is a challenging listen at every musical intersection and some tunes bottle and shake-up nearly 5 or 6 various styles all at once.  Lead-in number “Moveable Feast” retains its buoyancy thanks to vibrant, madman piano pitter patter and winding violin figures that exhale blues, country, big band, jazz and soul within a single breath.  “Joan Crawford Dances the Charleston” complete an instrumental opening couplet, although this time the boogie’s main theme is implanted and blues n’ soul while sprinkles of moonshining country and western, a little wooly bluegrass and even some rock n’ roll come together to craft an exciting, vocal-free piece.  All throughout Murphy’s dazzling violin/fiddle playin’ practically steals the show; practically being the optimal word seeing as his band compliments his every major movement with sturdy rhythms fronted by upright bass, acoustic/electric/slide guitar and a pocket drum performance that’s not afraid of some tricked-out fills and jazzy cymbal ghosting. 

“Table for Two” trades off shots of crazed piano playing, mandolin, flamenco guitar, banjo, violin, viola and fiddle in a gutsy display of bluegrass bravado that would make The Louvin Brothers proud.  Even the dueling, 2-part vocal harmonies call to mind The Louvins’ classic work.  Dialing down the mood to a dusky blues “Riverboat Blues” is exactly the kind of slinky number you can imagine cheating to cards to during a high stakes poker game on a rickety old steamboat.  Restrained rhythms lead by the busking bass lines and brush-played blues drums collide with intricate violin ambience making for a superb standout song.  The ideas included in this first set of songs lays the groundwork for the rest of the album to come as the elements remain the same throughout but are delivered in varying tempos, permutations, amalgamations and arrangements. 

Punch-drunk piano playing, shuffling blues tempos, hickory smoked lead vocals, genteel acoustic licks and numerous well-woven strings yield “I Swear I’m Going to Learn This Time” serious lead single potential.  It’s got a catchy pop sensibility throughout (especially in those big vocal hooks and soothing mid-tempo instrumentals) but Murphy’s sense of pop is simply from another time and twice as refreshing as anything you’ll hear on the radio.  Each piece is beacon of poise, precision and poignancy in terms of the songwriting and playing.

Water Under the Bridge is such a wonderful record that it’s hard for a contemporary review to even do it justice.  This is a record that you must hear yourself to truly appreciate its many peaks and valleys.  With no songs even approaching the realm of “mediocre” or “filler,” Water Under the Bridge is a must have album for fans of everything from jazz, pop and rock to blues, country, swing and Grand Ole Opry.

Chris Murphy - Hard Bargain (2017)

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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.