Red River Drifter | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 9, 2013 | |||
Recorded | 2013 | |||
Genre | Country, bluegrass, cowboy | |||
Length | 34:07 | |||
Label | Red River Entertainment | |||
Producer | Ryan Murphey Pat Flynn | |||
Michael Martin Murphey chronology | ||||
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Red River Drifter is the thirty-third album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. [1]
Michael Martin Murphey is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, country music and popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including Cowboy Songs, the first album of cowboy music to achieve gold status since Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins in 1959. He has recorded the hit singles "Wildfire", "Carolina in the Pines", "What's Forever For", "A Long Line of Love", "What She Wants", "Don't Count the Rainy Days", and "Maybe This Time". Murphey is also the author of New Mexico's state ballad, "The Land of Enchantment". Murphey has become a prominent musical voice for the Western horseman, rancher, and cowboy.
Red River Drifter was recorded in 2013 at Bumpin' Heads Studio and Omnisound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, and Mole End Studio in Franklin, Tennessee. [2]
In his review in Country Standard Time, Robert Wooldridge observed that "the western feel is still prominent, but Murphey also reveals bluegrass, country, pop and jazz influences on a collection of new compositions." [3] Wooldridge continued:
Murphey's reverence for the outdoors remains intact with the up-tempo bluegrass track "Peaceful Country", on which son Ryan Murphey shines on mandolin. The ominous bluegrass ballad "Mountain Storm" compares the volatility of a relationship to that of a storm ... "Secret Smile" and "The Gathering" are reminiscent of Murphey's country pop hits ... Elsewhere the bouncy "Rolling Sky" and wistful "Faded Blue" have a jazz feel, while the closing tune "Unfinished Symphony" has a classical touch. Perhaps the strongest track is the bluesy "Shake It Off", a catchy duet with Pauline Reese that humorously extols the virtues of perseverance with such observations as 'no food on the table and they're shutting off the cable/Buddy won't you shake it off'.
Wooldridge concluded, "While recent efforts have been largely nostalgic with Murphey's devotion to western music, as well as revisiting some of his own classics such as 'Wildfire', 'Geronimo's Cadillac' and 'What Am I Doing Hangin' Round?', this contemporary collection nicely augments Murphey's impressive catalog." [3]
All songs were written by Michael Martin Murphey, Ryan Murphey, and Pat Flynn, except where noted.
Ryan Murphey is a Grammy-nominated music producer, songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist. Since 1988, Ryan has toured with his father, Michael Martin Murphey, as lead guitarist and vocalist in the Rio Grande Band. Ryan is Michael's oldest son, and has worked with his father extensively throughout most of his career. In 1988, Ryan and Michael recorded the duet, "Talkin' to the Wrong Man", which was released on Michael's River of Time album.
Guitarist, singer and songwriter Pat Flynn first gained attention as a member of New Grass Revival, appearing on the group's albums Live (1984), On the Boulevard (1984), New Grass Revival (1986), Hold to a Dream (1987), and Friday Night in America (1989), and writing songs included on these albums, including the title songs for On the Boulevard and Friday Night in America. "Do What You Gotta Do," which he wrote for Friday Night in America, was later recorded by Garth Brooks for his album Sevens (1997). Flynn played on the track, which initially made number 62 in the country charts; upon its re-release as a hit single, it reached number 5 in the country charts and number 39 in the pop charts in 2000. After his stint in New Grass Revival, Flynn became a successful country session musician, appearing on recordings by Glen Campbell, Roseanne Cash, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Bellamy Brothers, Mark Chesnutt, Nanci Griffith, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Kathy Mattea, Michael Martin Murphey, Leon Russell, George Strait, Randy Travis, Conway Twitty, and Lee Ann Womack, among many others, during the 1980s, 90’s and 2000s. On August 10, 2004, he released his debut solo album, reQuest, followed by reVision 2007 and reNew 2007, completing the Trilogy. Turning to Producing in the early new Millennium, Flynn worked with Cadillac Sky, Crucial Smith, Grammy nominated Michael Martin Murphey, Cowboy Dan, Hobo Jim among others. In 2017 he scored a number one Bluegrass album with Ray Cardwell. Although not on the road as much these days, he played lead guitar for Leon Russell for about a year before Russell’s passing. He crisscrossed the Country with Buddy Greene, and made several Annual Michael Martin Murphey Christmas Tours, along with short tours with The Greencards, and with John Cowan and Darrell Scott as Cowan, Scott and Flynn and A Holiday Celebration with Amy Grant. Flynn plans to stay busy in the studio, on stage and on the Radio and Streamers~
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
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US Top Bluegrass Albums (Billboard) [4] | 2 |
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [5] | 48 |
New Grass Revival was an American progressive bluegrass band founded in 1971, and composed of Sam Bush, Courtney Johnson, Ebo Walker, Curtis Burch, Butch Robins, John Cowan, Béla Fleck and Pat Flynn. They were active between 1971 and 1989, releasing more than twenty albums as well as six singles. Their highest-charting single is "Callin' Baton Rouge", which peaked at No. 37 on the U.S. country charts in 1989 and was a Top 5 country hit for Garth Brooks five years later.
Tell Me Why is the début album by country music artist Jann Browne. Three singles from the album rose to positions on the Billboard Country Singles charts: "You Ain't Down Home" at #19, "Tell Me Why" at #18, and "Louisville" at #75. Also featured on the album is a cover of The Davis Sisters' "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know," a duet with veteran rockabilly artist Wanda Jackson. Emmylou Harris provides backing vocals on "Mexican Wind." The album rose to #46 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
Modern Day Drifter is the second studio album by American country music artist Dierks Bentley. It was released on May 10, 2005 via Capitol Records Nashville. The album produced three singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with the number 3 hit "Lot of Leavin' Left to Do" and the number ones "Come a Little Closer" and "Settle for a Slowdown". The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States.
Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two is a 1989 album by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The album follows the same concept as the band's 1972 album, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, which featured guest performances from many notable country music stars.
Heartland Cowboy: Cowboy Songs, Vol. 5 is the twenty-seventh album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, his fifth album of cowboy songs. The album includes the hit song "Long and Lonesome Ride to Dalhart", which won the 2006 Wrangler Award for Outstanding Original Western Composition. The album was inspired by Murphey's life on his ranch and his real experiences working as an activist and artist in American Ranching and Farming.
Live at Billy Bob's Texas is the twenty-sixth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, and his second live album. The album was recorded live at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth, Texas.
Cowboy Classics: Playing Favorites II is the twenty-fourth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. This is Murphey's followup to his successful 2001 compilation Playing Favorites and contains rerecorded versions of many of his cowboy songs. Murphey's attraction to the cowboy's way of life is an attempt to preserve his own cultural heritage, breathing new life into classics like "I Ride an Old Paint", "Red River Valley", and "Yellow Rose of Texas". Among the highlights of the album is a stately six-minute version of "Streets of Laredo", arranged for fiddle and piano. In the liner notes, Murphey includes a short note concerning each of the song's origins.
Playing Favorites is the twenty-third album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. Released August 21, 2001, the album features completely new recordings of eleven of the artist's country, cowboy, and popular crossover classics, as well as one new song. In his liner notes, Murphey writes that "songs are like children; they grow, evolve, change with time." The concept behind Playing Favorites was to document the growth and evolution of his best-loved tunes, using many new musicians and modern recording techniques not available when the original recordings were done.
Cowboy Songs Four is the twenty-first album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, his fourth album of cowboy songs, and his first album produced by his son, Ryan Murphey. The album features a guest performance by Lyle Lovett on "Farther Down the Line".
The Horse Legends is the twentieth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. This is Murphey's tribute to the horse and contains a duet with Johnny Cash on "Tennessee Stud", cover versions of Dan Fogelberg's "Run for the Roses" and Gordon Lightfoot's "The Pony Man", and re-recordings of Murphey's "Wildfire" and "The Running Blood". The Horse Legends was the last album Murphey recorded for Warner Bros. Records.
Cowboy Songs III – Rhymes of the Renegades is the eighteenth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his third album of cowboy songs. The album is devoted to cowboy folklore and true tales of the West and focuses on real-life outlaws, from Jesse James to Billy The Kid to Belle Starr. Murphey performs these songs "with a scholar's eye and a fan's heart."
Cowboy Christmas: Cowboy Songs II is the seventeenth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, his second album of cowboy songs, and his first album of Christmas music.
Cowboy Songs is the sixteenth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his first album of cowboy songs. The album peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Land of Enchantment is the fifteenth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. The album reached number 33 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
River of Time is the fourteenth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. The album contains a newly recorded version of "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" and a duet with his son, Ryan Murphey, on "Talkin' to the Wrong Man" which reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in July 1988 and number 1 on the RPM Country Singles chart in Canada. River of Time peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Flowing Free Forever is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. The album establishes Murphey's love of wide open spaces and his "desire to let his soul roam freely." The album was not as commercially successful as a few of his earlier releases, but "Murphey's visions and persona remain intact." The album contains the song "Cherokee Fiddle", which was later recorded by Johnny Lee for the film soundtrack for Urban Cowboy. Flowing Free Forever peaked at number 130 on the Billboard 200.
Buckaroo Blue Grass is the twenty-eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, and his first album of bluegrass music.
Buckaroo Blue Grass II – Riding Song is the twenty-ninth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, and his second album of bluegrass music.
Tall Grass & Cool Water is the thirty-first album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, his third album of bluegrass music, and his sixth album of cowboy music.
High Stakes is the thirty-fourth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, released on April 22, 2016.