Sunday, April 20, 2008

CD Review: Murry Hammond’s I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way

By Mike Orren

Although I don't know Murry Hammond personally, I'd always envisioned that he'd be the last of the Old 97's to leave Texas, much less move to Los Angeles. After all, he always seemed the most Texan, the most country, of the quartet: contributing songs about trains and Texas teardrops and taking the lead on Merle Haggard, Bill Monroe and Buck Owens covers.

But, the great 97's diaspora of the aughties found Murry married to LA-based singer-actress Grey DeLisle. When he wasn't on the road, it also found him trading the nightclub scene for a regular Wednesday-night slot at Burbank Christian Church, performing "Gospel Roots Music" on guitar and harmonium.

The songs performed there, both standards and originals, populate Murry's first solo disc, I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way.

It ain't The Barley House, but it sure produced some nice songs.

The fact that this is an acoustic disc won't surprise longtime fans -- we've all been waiting years for a rumored Ranchero Brothers disc. Still, there's a big curveball waiting here for the unsuspecting listener, one that manages to sail neatly over the plate.

The album has both a gravity and depth of musicianship and production that caught me off guard on first listen. Murry manages to alternate original tunes with standards -- by the likes of the Carter Family, Eliza Snow and one of my favorite songwriters, "Public Domain" -- creating a seamless work where you sometimes can't tell which songs are which unless you know the originals. He also manages to avoid the self-conscious O Brother-itis that seems to infect so many "traditional" recordings these days. Overall, the vibe of the album left me in mind of walking around small-town Eastern North Carolina with my grandfather. As we tromped back and forth collecting rent from his trailer tenants, he sang folk songs about God, love, murder and trains in a manner that was as offhand as humming under your breath -- but simultaneously made clear that these were Serious Matters.

That's why I say the disc has a gravity to it -- It is a cohesive work, best listened to straight through. There's a flow to these songs that calls for you to turn off the shuffle. There's a bit of spoken word, and the feeling that there is a unified story being told, an examination of growing up -- not in a child to adult sort of way, but in a young man to... something else. And these are not just the lighthearted raveup singalongs you're used to in a Rancheros or 97's gig. It also feels less twangy than the "Murry songs" on 97's discs, although there's a lot of yodeling. There's a bit of the reverence of the church in this album, even when Murry's singing about trains (as he frequently does.)

The spare, yet intricate musicianship is front and center, especially on the quieter, more meditative songs. Guitars, harmonium and lots of unidentified sounds are impeccably played, but still feel loose. Murry and producer Mark Neill (Drag it Up for the 97's, as well as albums by Los Straitjackets, Deke Dickerson and The Paladins) manage to pull of a "traditional" album that still seems of its time. And they found more different percussion techniques to emulate the sound of a train than I could count.

So it's safe to say that Murry hasn't gone Hollywood. (The image on the disc itself is a railroad map of Texas.) But I do sense a definite evolution -- this is a grown-up album, one that uses simple songs to examine things that are at the core of life itself. On multiple listens, it feels like a self-examination. There's true faith in these songs, yet they don't feel preachy. I wouldn't classify it as a Gospel album, even though nearly every song touches on religion in some way.

Even though there is a simplicity in the songs, this is an album that demands thought and attention, another way in which it is a "grown-up" album. This is no candy confection, but a multi-layered philosophical journey by train. Like my grandfathers' songs, these are about Serious Matters. I'm someone who often doesn't like pondering such things, so in that sense the album makes me a smidge uncomfortable. But, part of growing up is learning to tackle such things, and this is essential listening for that particular roadtrip where you don't know where you're going, but (like it or not) you're on your way.

The album can be streamed for free on Last.fm and goes on sale Tuesday.

Related stories

• Pegasus News Week-in-View: Spring Cleaning Edition (April 24, 2008)

See more stories in:

• Arts > Popular Music > Alt-Country / Americana
• Arts > Popular Music > Folk
• Arts > Popular Music > Gospel

Comments

Trey Kazee Verified

those tracks sound fantastic. looking forward to getting this one - thanks for the review.

2 months, 4 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Miller Verified

Excellent review, Mike.

Even after reading I was still caught a little off guard by this when I gave it a listen online.

Murray's always had that "wages of sin" thing going in his songs and that's what I was expecting.

It wasn't that at all. Not much, anyway.

2 months, 4 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Mike Orren Staff

Lots of good info and backstory on the album's new page on Hitbyatrain, which seems to again be independent of the 97's official site:

http://hitbyatrain.com/news/OnMyWay.html

2 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )