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Shaun Murphy
Livin' the Blues
Vision Wall
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Shaun Murphy’s Livin’ the Blues, just out on
Vision Wall, is a stunner of a disc.
Murphy is one of those singers that you’ve heard
before -- you just didn’t know it. She worked with
Eric Clapton on Behind the Sun, sang backup on a few
Bob Seger albums, and spent 15 years touring and
recording with Little Feat. She recorded with
Meatloaf, as Stoney and Meatloaf, for Motown (try to
find that album!) and added backing vocals for Coco
Montoya, Maria Muldaur, even the Moody Blues. She’s
been around that popular and proverbial block a few
times. To call her chops powerhouse is
understatement. This is a seriously booty-kicking
vocalist.
The long overdue debut album covers a full spectrum
of classic and classy songs from the pens of Dylan,
James Cotton, Billy Payne, John Hiatt and more. She
nails every one. She does Big Maybelle especially
proud, first on the grab-you-by-your-lapels opener,
“Ocean of Tears,” and on the hook-laden “That’s a
Pretty Good Love,” an early 1950s hit for Maybelle
and a tune that Murphy cut with Little Feat.
On James Cotton’s “Livin the Blues” she sings that
she “feels like rockin’ tonight,” and this
collection certainly has elements of rockin' blues
from every aspect of her career. Her take on ZZ
Hill’s “Steppin’ Out” is sizzling and “Come to Mama”
combines elements of both the Koko Taylor and the
Bob Seger “Papa” versions.
She soars on “I Still Believe In the Blues” (“I
can’t believe how hard it is trying to get by / I
don’t believe the cost of living is headed for the
sky / I can’t believe the way some people do the way
the do / Oh, but I still believe in the blues”) and is
equally compelling on “Taking Up Another Man’s
Place,” an Isaac Hayes / Dave Porter heartbreaker of
a blues that talks of abandonment and loss of love
while taking it back to church. The flat out gospel
of the traditional “Can’t No Grave Hold My Body
Down,” with choral backup, is given a jaw-dropper of
a reading.
“Hound Dog” gets the Big Mama Thornton take rather
than the rockier Elvis Presley version, and its
follow-up, “Rock and Roll Every Night,” out of the
Little Feat song book, is a fine segue. Her closing
take on John Hiatt’s “It Feels Like Rain” is a
perfect mellow nightcap.
Throughout, Murphy is accompanied by a stall of first
rate players. Bassist and vocalist Randy Coleman
also serves as producer/engineer. Larry Loon plays
all manner of keyboards and offers backing vocals, Kenne Cramer offers guitar work that runs from
sizzling to nuanced, and the beat is in Mike
Caputy’s able hands.
Tim Gonzales guests, blowing harp on Dylan’s "It Takes
a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,” one of the
real standouts on the disc. Check out the video on
Murphy’s website (www.shaunmurphyband.com). This
will be hard to beat for the best debut album of
2009. It’s a gem.
--- Mark E. Gallo
