Kaz Murphy - Devil in the Barn

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Free Music Notes for Devil in the Barn

Free Music Review: Best Americana Recording of 2003
Hit: 5 Stars

OK, so what is good? In this case, by good I mean the overall and complete product: the songs, the singing, the playing, the cover art, not to mention I stumbled onto this jewel for a buck.

Kaz Murphy is not a name I recognized, and after a bit of research, all I can offer is that he must be one strange fellow (in a good way). He is a helluva songwriter, quite the picker on banjo and guitar, and sings like he is giving you advice in some songs then churning out some nasal twangs that would send Dwight Yoakam scurrying for cover.

The band, including his wife Jacque, some of his fellow ex-patriots from Seattle, and a collection of rousing good musicians, crackles with energy and color.

Some of the songs are strange enough that one wonders are these genuine or tongue-in-cheek or just plain weird (in a David Lynch way). Maybe all of the above, but whatever, this is real Americana roots music delivered with plenty of gumption and spirit.

It's just not in me to do a blow-by-blow for each song, and even if I did, you need to hear these for yourself and draw your own conclusions. That said, the opening track Dirty Ol' Town showcases the band's collective talents and covers themes of remorse and regret, not exactly ground-breaking. Total Eclipse In Paris has one of the best extended openings to any song I've ever heard with a perfect transition to the main tune. You have to hear it.

Another track worth a call out, and the only cover here, is a jaw-dropping remake of Hendrix's Castles in the Sand. Mr. Murphy's vocals float above a wonderfully countrified (or county fried) rendition. The last time a cover track got me this excited was when the Gourds cranked off Gin and Juice.

This largely unknown CD is another poignant example of everything right about music and creativity and fun and everything wrong about a music industry that is the antithesis of those good things.

Get a copy, play it for everybody you can get to sit still for 44 minutes, and just smirk.

Wait, Sunrise is playing now and I want to tell you how cool this song is, too. What imagery and the tempo and music meld seamlessly. So I better stop before I succumb to the temptation to profile every song.

And yes, that really is Kaz Murphy on the back cover.

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