DEEP ROOTS ALBUMS OF THE YEAR, 2022
Honors for 2022 go to JOHN PRIMER, MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY & RYAN MURPHEY, RORY BLOCK, THE TWANGTOWN PARAMOURS, CORKY SIEGEL'S CHAMBER BLUES and six others.
Michael Martin Murphey
Hey, Colorado
HONEY DON'T returns with its first new album in nearly eight years, and it's a gem. THREADBARE finds songwriter BILL POWERS at his peak, and the band speaking to a larger moment.
Wherein Murph Lights Out for the Horizon, Yet Again
MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY, collaborating with son RYAN MURPHEY, rises to every challenge he sets for himself on ROAD BEYOND THE VIEW, a standout among many in his extensive catalogue.
Albums of the Year, 2016
From the unexpected (the revitalized Stones on their blues album) to the unclassifiable (Jeremiah Lockwood's KOL NIDRE), our 2016 Album of the Year selections offer sweet music from varied sources.
The Big Land
Ever more ambitious, ALISON BROWN returns with THE SONG OF THE BANJO, with KEB' MO outstanding on 'What's Going On,' and our reviewer likening the instrumental portions to Smetana's 'The Moldau.' Really.
Jesse Winchester: Talk Memphis
JESSE WINCHESTER Tribute, Part 2: a Jesse monologue, his most extensive comments on his years in and abiding love for Memphis--'It was the world to me'--from an interview with Crossroads to Freedom.
Beat Me Daddy, Five to the Bar: Best Albums of 2013
Led by MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY's career statement RED RIVER DRIFTER, our Albums of the Year honorees offer a wide range of musical experiences in different styles.
Cowboys, Blues and Cowboy Blues
GARY ALLEGRETTO and IAN ESPINOZA have teamed up on a debut CD of cowboy love songs, cowboy blues, tall tales of legendary characters, love ballads and even Delta blues-style originals.
Of Secret Smiles and Unfinished Symphonies
RED RIVER DRIFTER may be MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY'S best yet. He's singing love songs again, but love songs of a different stripe, examining the emotion in all its complexity.