Chris Murphy (from the album The Red Road

Chris Murphy (from the album The Red Road

Chris Murphy (from the album The Red Road available on Teahouse Records) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Chris Murphy is a traditionalist with a contemporary mindset. On his new 5-song EP, The Red Road, he takes a bare-boned approach to a sound mined from a casual yet credible approach. Utilizing only voice and fiddle, as well as the services of veteran indie icon Ben Vaughn, he takes a Folksy delivery that boasts a wry and whimsical perspective. The music sounds like it could have come from the hills of Appalachia were it not for the fact that it’s mostly composed of mirthful melodies. Nevertheless, he comes across as a plainspoken troubadour, albeit one who performed in more than forty states, toured England, Belgium and The Netherlands, and released 15 albums over the course of his career.
Even within the limited instrumental palette, Murphy manages to serve up a varied and versatile selection of songs. The cheery “Never Learned to Drive” might come across as a Folk song were it not for its self-effacing posture. On the other hand, “Tara McKinley” sounds so inspired and authentic, it would be easy to believe it was spawned from backwoods environs. The swampy Blues of “Worn Thin” could find a fine fit with Slim Harpo, Lightnin’ Slim, Lazy Lester, or any of the other musical forefathers that created the core sounds of Zydeco, Cajun and other forms of seminal Louisiana Blues. So too, the steady stride of the title track and the decidedly indulgent rambling built into “The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe” up the ante with unbridled entertainment and a pair of novel narratives.
Granted, The Red Road is only a brief off-trail excursion, but it’s one well worth taking. It may sound like an archival effort, but it certainly ought to appeal to those with a modern mindset as well. (by Lee Zimmerman)
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