OFFICIAL: http://chrismurphymusic.com/
VIDEO: (“Cape Horn”) http://chrismurphymusic.com/video/
Written
by Craig Bowles, posted by blog admin
New
York born Chris Murphy has been steadily carving out a legacy as one of the
best musicians and songwriters working anywhere near the Americana style for
the last two decades and shows no signs of slowing down. His latest release
Hard Bargain ranks among the best albums of his career thanks to the dramatic
circumstances of its being recorded for a live audience and the collection
rating as being one of the most representative assemblages of his songwriting
skill that he’s yet managed. Residing now in the Los Angeles area and working
as a teacher alongside appearances on television, film, and numerous live
venues, Murphy isn’t merely some talented mimic aping bygone sounds without
soul or personality. He makes these time-tested forms play like vehicles meant
for him alone and infuses them with the marrow of his every day life.
“Caves
of Killia” opens the album with a distinctly cinematic feel. It’s an approach
on violin that Murphy, throughout his career, has shown a real penchant for and
it’s little wonder. He dispatches the song with immense ferocity and, even if
it is primarily instrumental, his limited vocal contributions nonetheless have
an inspired edge that noticeably involves the crowd. The crowd’s energy carries
Murphy over into the title song and, as a result, “Hard Bargain” has the sort
of head down, unblinking intensity it deserves. Murphy makes this
blues-influenced tune positively simmer and the heat coming off his vocal is
undeniable. “Ain’t No Place” wants to nail a spiritual feel and largely
succeeds, even if it is a little two reliant on stock language to get that feel
over with listeners. Murphy certainly has the soulfulness to carry something
like this off, however, and his musical arrangement is up to the task as well. “Bugs
Salcido”, however, is more Chris Murphy’s song alone than, arguably, anything
else on Hard Bargain. The spartan guitar keeps things tense and on point while
Murphy unleashes a torrent of abbreviated, but specific lyrics anchored around
the fate of Mr. Salcido, but the curt quality of the individual lines doesn’t
prevent attentive listeners from fleshing out Murphy’s narrative.
“Holcombe
Creek” returns Murphy to much more traditionally minded Americana fare but it
doesn’t prompt any sort of drop off in quality. Murphy has a way of making this
particular sort of material soar with the energy of its home land and it isn’t
difficult to envision the fog bound mountains at sunrise, the deep hollows, the
freely flowing streams. “Last Bridge” is a much different sort of tune and,
like the title track, shows a side of Murphy’s talent on this release that is
definitely commercial in nature and spectacularly appealing. His talent for
crafting a memorable chorus shouldn’t ever be underestimated. The closing
number “Friend” is a song with immense sensitivity and makes for a great ending
to the release. His playing has the sort of patience here that allows melodies
to develop in a deliberate, detailed way and the listener can breathe along
with the track. It isn’t a particularly cheerful number to end Hard Bargain
with, but Chris Murphy has been doing things his way from the beginning and
this latest turn from the renowned musician/songwriter will leave a lasting
mark.
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