With The Unholy Modal Rounders! LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

One of the great ones from Michael Hurley – recorded at a time when most of the US scene was scraping its head on punk rock, and just a few cats like Hurley were getting back to the roots! The set's got a great early Rounder Records feel – simple, unadorned, and with a naive spirit that really fits the album's cover image too! Most instrumentation is acoustic – apart from some great pedal steel on one cut – and Hurley's vocals have a way of being deeply personal enough to never sound cloying, even with lyrics that would falter in the hands of anyone else. Titles include "O My Stars", "Midnite Rounder", "Don't Treat Me Bad", "No Home", "Jole Blon", "Goin To Florida", and "Automatic Slim & The Fat Boys". CD

... CD

The Hurley machine keeps heaving forward – stepping out here in a set of contemporary recordings, but with sounds that are as timeless as anything else we've heard from him before! The album begins with a haunting number that features just vocals and electric piano – but played in ways that are almost like hammered dulcimer – and two more cuts feature wonderfully spooky pump organ, pulsating in ways that make the music sound even moodier than ever. Other tracks feature acoustic guitar, but still mighty nice, with all the Hurley charm in the vocals – and titles include "The Corridor", "In The Morning", "Tea", "Meara O'Reilly", and "Shockoe Bottom". LP, Vinyl record album

Really beautiful later work from Michael Hurley – a set recorded in the 21st Century, and with some slightly more sophisticated settings than some of Hurley's earliest records – yet still overflowing with all the charms that make his music so great! Hurley handles guitar, vocals, and a bit of piano – and there's some light backing elements on bass clarinet, dobro, bass, and violin – the last of which sounds very nice, as it's used in these really light, sweet ways – not polished, but also not like a fiddle either. Katie Clayborn sings some backing vocals at times, almost acting like the Emmylou Harris to Hurley's Gram Parsons – on titles that include "Edinburg Lag", "Got Over It", "O My Stars", "The End Of The Road", "Blockade Stillers", and "The Rue Of Ruby Whores". LP has a different track order than the original CD – and includes a bonus recent live recording of "Murderer's Home Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A great record from the offbeat legend Michael Hurley – a set that features both spare tunes and others done with a larger band that's full of unusual instrumentation! The spare, ragged little solo tunes are served up on guitar and vocals – numbers that greatly showcase both Hurley's easygoing, slowly-rolling style, as well has his piercing, high emphatic howls. The group tracks feature bits of fiddle and mandolin – plus piano, harmonica, bass, and cornet – used sparingly, but in ways that punctuate the vocals nicely. Titles include the classic "Werewolf" – plus "Grand Canyon Line", "English Nobleman", "Be Kind To Me", "Troubled Waters", "Sweedeedee", "Open Up", "Jocko's Lament", "Light Green Fellow", "Get The Best Of Me", "Biscuit Roller", "When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano", and "Penguins". LP, Vinyl record album

A great record from the offbeat legend Michael Hurley – a set that features both spare tunes and others done with a larger band that's full of unusual instrumentation! The spare, ragged little solo tunes are served up on guitar and vocals – numbers that greatly showcase both Hurley's easygoing, slowly-rolling style, as well has his piercing, high emphatic howls. The group tracks feature bits of fiddle and mandolin – plus piano, harmonica, bass, and cornet – used sparingly, but in ways that punctuate the vocals nicely. Titles include the classic "Werewolf" – plus "Grand Canyon Line", "English Nobleman", "Be Kind To Me", "Troubled Waters", "Sweedeedee", "Open Up", "Jocko's Lament", "Light Green Fellow", "Get The Best Of Me", "Biscuit Roller", "When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano", and "Penguins". CD

Really wonderful work from the young Michael Hurley – one of his first records to get somewhat wide exposure, thanks to the help of Jesse Colin Young, who signed Hurley up to his Raccoon label at Warner Brothers! The vibe here is right up there with some of the best offbeat acoustic work cut during that stretch at the label – not the same in sound, but not far in spirit from unique records by Steve Young, John Hartford, and others – not to mention the cooler currents from Jesse's scene too! Hurley's vocal style changes nicely to fit the mood of each tune, really bringing the most out of the sorts of lyrics that were his special stock in trade – while the guitar playing is nicely unified, and although spare, really does a great job of holding the album together. Titles include "Blue Driver", "Water Train", "The Sun Is Slowly Sinking", "I'm Worried I'm Worried", "In Florida", "Lilly Pads Upon The Pond", and "Trinidad". LP, Vinyl record album

House mixes by Steve Silk Hurley, E-Smoove and Clivilles & Cole. 12-inch, Vinyl record