Country-folk rides onto bluegrass

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]

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