Shelter From The Storm

Not too long after I moved from Austin to Nashville in late 1996 I ran across an album titled Crooked Mile by Trish Murphy. It was an independently released CD that had caught the attention of someone at the label I was working for, Koch Records. I was doing A&R for Koch at the time so I was given the task of finding out more about Murphy. A Texas singer-songwriter, this was her first real album (she’d released an independent, six song cassette titled Driving Home in 1995). Though I was pretty familiar with the Texas music scene (having lived there for twenty years and run my own small label for five) I wasn’t aware of Murphy before getting the copy of Crooked Mile. I knew after my first listen she was something special. Crooked Mile featured a handful of terrific songs (“Scorpio Tequila,” “Date With An Angel” and “Blue Tatto,” among others) and the rest were very, very good. I caught Murphy at shows in Nashville and Memphis and even travelled down to Austin to meet with her and her manager (who also happened to be her husband). I was very interested in signing her to the label. Her husband Charlie seemed to be a nice enough guy, but he wasn’t interested in an “independent label.” He was holding out for something big, a major label deal. He really believed in Murphy and was certain she had what it took to make it in the big leagues. Fair enough, though holding out for that big major label deal has often been the downfall of many a good artist. There’s a lot to be said for honing your craft and working your way up through the ranks. They finally managed to piece together something close to a major label deal by going through two other independent labels that had a distribution deal with Universal Music. So, in mid-1999 Rubies On The Lawn was released (on Doolittle Records via Slipdisc Records via Mercury via Universal Music). It was a giant step forward for Murphy and I was sure she was headed for very big things.

Whereas Crooked Mile had been a rootsy, Texas country-rock flavored affair, Rubies On The Lawn was much more of a “rock” record, though Murphy’s singer-songwriter roots were prominently on display. “Outsider,” the leadoff track and one of the standout songs on the album, announces this as much from the very first note. Murphy sings of paralysis, confusion and “would be friends” (a veiled account of trying to “make it” in the music business?) as the band shimmers behind her in a radio perfect confection of ringing guitars, pounding drums and thumping bass. ”Me Behind The Wheel” continues down the same road as Murphy tries to make sense of life on the road. It’s easy to make comparisons of Murphy to other strong, determined women songwriters such as Lucinda Williams, Melissa Etheridge, Alanis Morissette and especially Sheryl Crow. And while she has clearly been influenced by many (if not all) of these women, she brings a unique style and attitude to her music, her songs, her lyrics and especially her sound that declares her individuality in no uncertain terms. A rocking, raved up, ravaged cover of “These Boots Are Made For Walking” does a glorious job, in one fell swoop, of paying homage to not only one of the earliest assertions of female independence and “I ain’t taking shit from any man” attitude, but to all the women who helped shape her sense of herself as well.  An exuberant, sparkling little slice of pure pop-rock, “I Know What You Are” makes the Crow comparison hard to avoid. A glorious three-minute nugget that would fit perfectly on Crow’s C’mon, C’mon album, it’s one of the tracks on the album that, in a better world, would have been all over the radio during the summer of 1999.

Even most of the ballads, such as “Go There” and “Soul’s Day” and are given a loud, muscular, noisy setting. The production by Jim Ebert can be a little overbearing occasionally, sometimes even on the verge of drowning Murphy out, but overall it suits these songs, and especially her voice, quite well.

If there’s one song on the album that should have been a hit it’s “Somewhere Else” a track that would sound just perfect blaring out of your radio as you tear down the freeway, lost somewhere in the heartland of America, bound for who knows where. Catchy and infectious as it is though, my favorite song on the album has to be “Johnny Too Blue.” Channeling a “Subterranean Homesick Blues” rhythm Murphy recounts the story of her dysfunctional, unbalanced Vietnam vet uncle. She paints a vivid, heartbreaking portrait of a damaged soul just trying to survive. Murphy’s storytelling abilities are in abundant display throughout the album, but nowhere more so than on this track.

And just when you think you’ve got Murphy nailed she comes along with a curveball that knocks you out of the box. “Vanilla Sun” is a stunning, beautiful, almost mesmerizing ballad unlike anything else on the album. Over a thick layer of acoustic guitars and quirky percussion effects Murphy’s voice soothes, seduces and subdues the listener. A stunning orchestral instrumental version of the melody acts as a sort of coda to the album.

I saw Murphy play an in-store appearance at Tower Records in Austin during SXSW 1999. It was a fantastic performance. She was at the top of her game. She sounded great, the band was hot, the songs were killer. I remember talking to her and Charlie afterwards. “I want postcards from the top,” I told them, “cause that’s where you’re going.” It never happened. She seemed to have everything in place, but it’s an old, old story. I can’t begin to list the number of great artists who “should have made it big” in the music business but didn’t. Maybe it was money. Maybe no one at the label believed in her. Maybe radio just didn’t get it. Who knows why. But it seems that all of the air went out of the balloon after Rubies On The Lawn failed to deliver. It was as if she had put so much energy, time, hope and ambition into that one big shot for the top that she just didn’t have it in her to pick up the pieces and try again after that. She quietly, and independently, released a live acoustic album in 2001, Captured,  and another studio album, Girls Get In Free, in 2005. Both were very solid efforts, with a lot of great songs, but neither quite captured the magic of Rubies On The Lawn. To the best of my knowledge she’s still playing in the Texas area, though when I occasionally check her website I don’t see many tour dates and no mention of any new music. She’s a very talented songwriter and five years is way too long to wait for a another album. I hope to see something new from her soon.

Other Listens on July 26th:
Dublin Girl (cassette) by Tom Pacheco
Live!!! Almost!!! by The Dillards
Surreal Thing by Kris Kristofferson
Easter Island by Kris Kristofferson

I used to frequent a record store in San Marcos, Texas called Sundance Records. I’d make a point of stopping by almost every day. The folks who owned and ran the store became friends, as did the clerks who worked there. I’d always head first for a little bin next to the cash register where they’d place used “new arrivals,” a great place to get cheap CDs. Many of these were often “promo” CDs. For those that might not know, the record labels sound out hundreds, if not thousands of “promotional” CDs on any given title to music writers, radio stations, tour promoters and assorted friends and riffraff. The vast majority of these end up in used record stores. You can’t blame the recipients. Writers in particular often get way more CDs than they can ever listen to or review. They might as well sell the stuff that is of no interest to them. The record labels frown on the practice (of course) but there’s really not much they can do about it. They will usually punch a hole in the bar code or stamp the booklet with “Promotional Copy” to at least make sure the CDs don’t end up getting returned to them as defective units. Truth be told there’s a lot of record label employees who sell stuff on the side to used record stores for a little extra cash. I’d often buy new and interesting looking things from this bin that I didn’t know much about, just because the price was right. For $5.99 or $6.99 I’d take a chance on a lot of stuff. One of the CDs I bought in 1993 was Tuesday Night Music Club by Sheryl Crow. Didn’t know a thing about her but I’ve always had a soft spot for female artists (be they rock, folk, country or whatever). One listen and I knew I’d found something special. With ”Run, Baby, Run,” “Strong Enough,” “I Shall Believe,” and of course “Leaving Las Vegas” and “All I Wanna Do,” this was a phenomenal debut from a very promising artist. Her label A&M obviously believed in Crow as well, as they they worked this album for almost a year before it finally paid off when the third single from the album, “All I Wanna Do,” made it to Number 2 on the charts in the summer of 1994. The first two singles had not made much of an impression on the record buying public and one can only wonder what would have become of Crow if the “All I Wanna Do” had also failed to chart. 

I’ve followed Crow’s career carefully over the past 15 years. There have certainly been ups and downs but she’s managed to put together an incredible body of work over the course of just five albums. Sheryl Crow, The Globe Sessions and especially 2002’s C’mon, C’mon are real favorites that I come back to frequently. “Soak Up The Sun” is one of my very favorite all-time pop songs. The only real disappoint in her catalog is 2005’s Wildflower, an uncharacteristically lifeless and bland affair. Fair or not, I guess we can blame it on the “too happy to make a good record” syndrome. As Bob Dylan once said, “Pain sure brings out the best in people, doesn’t it?”

Detours is a marvelous return to form. The songs are some of the best she’s written in years. But what most people will probably site as the key ingredient here is the return of Bill Bottrell who had produced Tuesday Night Music Club. Apparently Crow and Bottrell had a big falling out not long after Tuesday Night Music Club became a smash success (he called Crow “hopeless” and “obnoxious” in a 1996 Rolling Stone cover story on her). He was originally slated to produce her follow up album but pulled out before recording began. A masterful producer, Bottrell has been on board for several classic releases in recent years, including Shelby Lynne’s I Am Shelby Lynne. It seems he and Crow remained estranged for quite a long time until Crow called him up and asked him to work with her on this new album. We can all be quite thankful that they buried the hatchet because the music they have once again made together accounts for a truly splendid album, something I wasn’t expecting after Wildflowers.

Crow has always been a passionate songwriter, well schooled in the Joni Mitchell/James Taylor/Carole King mold of “confessional” songwriting. Detours is no different. The songs here are direct, poignant and very personal. There are four distinct themes running through this album: her recent bout with breast cancer, her adoption of a son, Wyatt, in 2007, her very public relationship and breakup with Lance Armstrong and, surprisingly, current political events. Crow has never been known as a “political” songwriter, though she did make the news in 2007 when she headlined a Stop Global Warming College Tour and when she and co-partner in crime Laurie David got into a bit of a tiff with Bush adviser Karl Rove. It’s a bit of a surprise (though quite welcome indeed) to find three overtly political songs on this album. “God Bless This Mess,” with it’s single acoustic guitar and Crow’s compressed vocal, sounds like it’s coming straight out of a cheap AM radio. A poignant “state of the union address” written from the perspective of an ordinary, average American, it set’s the mood immediately. “Peace Be Upon Us,” with it’s Arabic lyrics is a moving, modern day version of “Give Peace A Chance” while “Gasoline” is a wicked, remarkably infectious tongue-in-cheek rave-up about the politics of oil. ”Love Is Free” and “Out Of Our Heads” are pure, classic Sheryl Crow, easily the two catchiest things she’s done since “Soak Up The Sun,” though the pop melody of “Out Of Our Heads” belies the political sentiments underneath. The acoustic based “Detours” and and the damning “Diamond Ring” are obvious reflections on her relationship with Armstrong. “Make It Go Away (Radiation Song)” is a harrowing look at her brush with cancer. The album comes full circle with “Lullaby For Wyatt” a beautiful declaration of unconditional love for a new child. It may all be a colossal mess, as she asserts at the beginning of the record, but in the end, it all comes back to one basic, simple thing that keeps us all from throwing our hands up in futile despair: love.

Other Listens on August 16th:
Tomorrow The Wold by The Shazam
Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show by Neil Diamond
To The Bone by Kris Kristofferson
Life Death Love And Freedom by John Mellencamp