Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Hangover Heaven with Michael Hurley



Michael Hurley - High Fi Snock Uptown LP

I don't know what it is, but there is some music out there that helps ease the coming down part of Sunday morning. In those dreaded dawn hours usually the last thing I want to do is put on a record, but on one particular morning after laying Michael Hurley's 'Hi Fi Snock Uptown' on the turn table I felt the clouds part in my head, which in turn allowed the sun to bake my brain.

Maybe it's the fact that the first song 'Blue Driver' comes rolling in slow and easy like a rickety locomotive, with conductor Hurley's cracked, whiskey smooth voice leading the way, or maybe it's the fact that almost every song seems to be about the joys and sorrows of drinking. Whatever it is... it's a perfect morning record. Everything about it is sunny in sound, from the horse clop drums to Hurley's country blues guitar figures, and it spins like some sort of sun-baked soundtrack to a mystic hobo's trek across the great American expanse. In other words, it's a perfect world to wake up in.

I've been aware of Michael Hurley for some time though I never completely gave in to his charms until now. My introduction to him was the song "You're a Dog, don't talk to me" on the album 'Parsnip Snips', which is a tune inspired by Hurley's spirit animal and muse, a talking dog... or werewolf, depending how you look at it. It's a running theme for Hurley, just peruse his lengthy discography and you'll find that almost every record cover is adorned with Hurley's hand drawn cartoons of the same mischievous looking dog. On 'Hi Fi Snock Uptown' he is seen entering the bar with a wolfish grin plastered on his face and a crescent moon hung in the window. This bar room scene pretty much sums up the content of the album. It's two sides are chock full of colorful characters, endless highways, big league women and drinkin'.... lots of it.

One of the most startling things about this album is Hurley's command of voice and guitar. He's one of the few troubadours that has that uncanny ability to shake you out of whatever daydream you're in and transport you to another world. The song 'Eyes Eyes' is a perfect example. It starts with a plaintive guitar pattern that seems simple at first, but once the melody reveals itself the guitar begins to follow his voice in a strange syncopated manner, a perfect cross between classical guitar styles and ragtime picking. His voice dips and bends around it cracking on the turn around phrase "eyes, eyes, eyes". It's a beautiful song that works as an abstract narrative wherein each verse Hurely describes the "eyes" of a different person, be it the Protein Monster, Mom Molasses, The Werewolf, Marilyn Monroe, Smokey the Bear or Hurely himself.

Stylistically he moves all over the map of American music. In one minute he's playing a country waltz complete with appalachian yodeling, pedal steel and upright bass, "The Sun is Slowly Sinkin", and "I'm Worried, I'm Worried" featuring Hurley's "Mock" trumpet, which is actually Hurely's voice imitating a trumpet! In another minute he's singing a hushed folk song in "The Girl I Love", then on to the haunted nightmare blues of "Twilight Zone" with it's Kafkaesque lyrics of doom, then to the vaudevillian piano pop of "Mr. Whiskerwitz" and lastly the jazz inflected "Trinidad".

I used to consider Hurley as another folkie werido in a long line of folkie weirdos, i.e. Syd Barrett, Skip Spence, Tiny Tim, but I know now that it's a completely unfair comparison, as the difference between Michael Hurley and the other said artists is that he has been releasing amazing records consistently for over 35 years, whereas many of these other outsiders have only a record or two behind them. Not only that but Hurley comes from a genuine folk tradition, the same one that spawned the likes of Dylan, David Blue, and Fred Neil. His first record was issued on Folkways and recorded on the same tape machine that produced Lead Belly's 'Last Sessions' for pete's sake!

'Hi Fi Snock Uptown' is Michael Hurley's third album, originally released in 1972 on Racoon Records, an imprint of Warner Bros. It's been out of print for a while but has just been reissued by the excellent Portland, Oregon based record store and label Mississippi Records. This album as well as his previous album 'Armchair Boogie' document the beginning of Hurley's long journey, wherein many of his ideas and themes were originally formalized. They are the first stops on the road of a storied life, illustrating the same curious spirit that travels to this day. Even now he maintains the troubadour mystique by traversing the country and performing often. If you ever have the chance to see him I wouldn't miss it as I've heard that his performances are revelatory.

To end I thought I'd leave with you with one of my favorite lyrics from the album. It's from the song 'Uncle Bob's Corner'.

"I used to be a derelict and I was a fool. What's the use my friend, if you live you ought to rule."

Amen to that.

Buy the album at Academy Records
Buy the album at Midheaven Mailorder

For more information on Michael Hurley check out his website at SNOCKO NEWS

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