Red River Drifter

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Red River Drifter
Red River Drifter.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 9, 2013 (2013-07-09)
Recorded2013
Genre Country, bluegrass, cowboy
Length34:07
Label Red River Entertainment
Producer Ryan Murphey
Pat Flynn
Michael Martin Murphey chronology
Campfire on the Road
(2012)
Red River Drifter
(2013)
High Stakes
(2016)

Red River Drifter is the thirty-third album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. [1]

Michael Martin Murphey American singer-songwriter

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.

Contents

Recording

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]

Critical reception

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]

Track listing

All songs were written by Michael Martin Murphey, Ryan Murphey, and Pat Flynn, except where noted.

  1. "Peaceful Country" – 2:42
  2. "Rolling Sky" – 3:27
  3. "Secret Smile" – 3:06
  4. "Faded Blue" – 3:45
  5. "Shake It Off" – 3:53
  6. "Hardscrabble Creek" – 4:12
  7. "Mountain Storm" (Michael Martin Murphey and Ryan Murphey) – 3:33
  8. "The Gathering" – 3:37
  9. "New Old Love" – 2:44
  10. "Unfinished Symphony" – 3:25 [2]

Credits

Music
Ryan Murphey American musician

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~

Production

Chart performance

Chart (2013)Peak
position
US Top Bluegrass Albums (Billboard) [4] 2
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [5] 48

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References

  1. Jurek, Thom. "Red River Drifter". Allmusic. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Murphey, Michael Martin (2013). Red River Drifter (booklet). Michael Martin Murphey. New York: Red River Entertainment. RRE-CD-052.
  3. 1 2 Wooldridge, Robert (2013). "Red River Drifter". Country Standard Time. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  4. "Michael Martin Murphey Chart History (Top Bluegrass Albums)". Billboard.
  5. "Michael Martin Murphey Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard.