Jimmy Murphy Electricity CD

Digitally remastered by David Glasser (Airshow, Boulder, Colorado).

It's one of the great injustices of the music world that the late Jimmy Murphy (1925-81) never got to be as well-known as Hank Williams, Hank Snow or Ernest Tubb. Murphy has one of those classic, high and lonesome country voices, like the aforementioned performers (not to overlook George Jones or Dwight Yoakam). Like Williams, and unlike many contemporary country performers, Murphy's music is infused with the blues, gospel and bluegrass.

There are no string sections, steel guitar or background choruses. There is, however, plenty of dobro, energetic 6 & 12-string acoustic guitar playing and driving mandolin. He even covers Leroy Carr's "How Long Blues." (Carr was a great '30s blues pianist.) Recorded in 1977, this reissue includes four previously unreleased songs, two recorded live at the Wolf Trap National Folk Festival. If you're looking for real, undiluted country music, this is IT.

Recorded at Lemco Sound, Lexington, Kentucky and the National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap, Vienna, Virginia on July 27 & 28, 1978. Includes liner notes by Richard K. Spottswood.

Personnel: Jimmy Murphy (vocals, guitar); Ricky Skaggs (guitar, gut-string guitar, mandolin, fiddle); Tony Williamson (guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro).

Audio Mixer: Ricky Skaggs.

Audio Remasterer: David Glasser.

Liner Note Author: Richard K. Spottswood.

Recording information: Lemco Sound, Lexington, KY; National Folk Festival, Wolf Trap, Vienna, Austria.

Personnel: Jimmy Murphy (vocals, 6- and 12-string guitars); Flo Murphy (vocals); Ricky Skaggs (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, background vocals); Tony Williamson (guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); John Johnson (bass).

Engineers include: Cecil Jones, Phil Copeland, Tom Underhill.

Dirty Linen (4-5/00, p.84) - "...a talented songwriter, a dextrous guitarist, and a singer with a fine hard-country kind of voice....The music and recordings are superb, and Murphy is joined...by Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas, who make excellent contributions."