jmreviews

"A new form of Blues. A fusion of the Delta and their own haunted visions. In a way, when performing live they're like a classic jam band that can take a song and it's theme on for great lengths, never getting boring in the process.But what ever they are, they're extremely innovative with a sound completely their own....This quartet should be viewed as sculptors, or painters. They're creating a new demension of the blues within our dreams...exhilerating and mind-enchanting...a very new and very exciting vision of the blues" Cascade Blues Association, Portland Oregon 2008

Joe McMurrian Quartet PROGRESSIVE BLUES 2007
"rich, muddy Delta bottom of blues sources, and onward past the limitations of the form to a more progressive sound, one open to original material as relevant as that of any contemporary, folk-based singer-songwriter...the bluesman’s two recent releases—last year’s studio effort, Rain of Days, and the brand-new Live at the White Eagle—are both truly rewarding listens. Rain’s a quiet, contemplative hour of songs treading through dense emotional territory. McMurrian’s shown impressive growth as a songwriter; his words have become as musical as his guitar playing is lyrical. And there’s an encouraging sense of reach, as though he’s struggling to express something just beyond his language, suggesting more growth to come... Some expansive moments here recall early Fairport Convention at its most atmospheric.."
Willamette Week music review, jeff Rosenberg Portland Oregon 2007

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Blues to brood by - by Don Campbell 2008
Joe McMurrian, the Delta and hill-style guitarist, has been a fixture Tuesday nights at Portland's White Eagle for a number of years. Over time he's added some of Portland's finest blues players to the mix, including former Fabulous Thunderbirds drummer Jimi Bott, harmonica ace David Lipkin and bassist Jason Honl....This quartet, like some muddy river, rolls on with dark and hypnotic intent, roiled by the occasional musical eddy. Their free-form explorations of the blues evoke the sounds of the Rev. Gary Davis, R.L. Burnside and Son House, but they play well outside the confines of rural blues.That sound, propelled by McMurrian's fierce guitar and smoky vocals, has been captured in the band's first CD, "Live at the White Eagle." The 13 songs are an absolutely true reflection of the band's live sets. With deft and keen interplay, the players spin around McMurrian's core guitar and vocal. The sum is a dark, trancelike sound that easily steals listeners' attention and draws them unforgivingly in..."
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"McMurrian plays mystic, conjuring up the dark side of the heart armed only with a guitar and voice. You have to wonder if he didn't strike the same deal as Delta shaman Robert Johnson." Don Campbell, Oregonian, Portland oregon 2007
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" I really did like that way you did Big Road, and Catfish too. You know my buddy Tommy Jonson did that song, he would have liked that.."
Delta Blues master Honey Boy Edwards (traveling partner to Robert Johnson) 2007

" Folks, I just want to say that that was one of the finest versions of Big Road Blues I have ever heard.."
Earwig Music founder/owner Michael Frank 2007

" I like your playing, you sure can rip on that Delta style...."
Charlie Musslewhite 2004

" His fingerpicking and slide skills amaze and challenge listeners while his moving vocals draw them into the world of a true story teller.."
Cascade Blues Association Portland, OR 2006

" Your a great player man."
Louisiana red

" Joe McMurrian is a great, gritty singer and a fluid fingerstyle guitarist with more than a little Delta influence in his sound - and the artistic moxie to make it sound fresh yet timeless"
Oregonian, A&E music review.

McMurrian, Joe Quartet
Live At the White Eagle
Self-Produced
Hear It!

www.blueswax.com

Not To Be Missed

Joe McMurrian recorded his weekly sets at the North Portland venue, White Eagle, for about two months and compiled this album. Portland, Oregon, has a music scene that is as busy as the one in New York City. McMurrian has worked hard to get his name out there and keeps steady gigs with plenty of competition around. He is welcomed to many of the venues in the area.

He has studied the guitar masters of the pre-war Blues. He picks the strings to the sounds of Robert Johnson, Fred McDowell, and Blind Willie McTell, as well as others, on this album, Live at the White Eagle. The songs aren't readings of these artist's thoughts, they are McMurrian's interpretations of their music.

This is a quartet so let's bring in the other three artists. Jimi Bott bounces the drums, David Lipkind blows the harp, and Jason Honl thumps the bass. Most acoustic guitarists don't take the stage with a three-piece band, but McMurrian has the gall to do it. And it sounds good to me. The creations that these guys put together are fresh and inviting. You want to keep listening.

When you hear the title "Last Fair Deal" don't even think of Robert Johnson, 'cause McMurrian takes the song and gives it his own breath. The song has a serious groove on it and Lipkind adds to it with his harp riffs. The song goes for over eight minutes and closes out as it melts into "T for Texas." McMurrian shows what is possible with music, not just what has been done.

McTell's "Brokedown Engine" surely lacks no steam here. McMurrian gets deep on this song, while Lipkind makes the steam whistle blow. Bott and Honl come in only when needed, providing plenty of room and atmosphere to this song.

If you want to hear the guys just play their instruments then check out "Moby's Blues." The song jams at over six minutes and just boils in intensity. McMurrian plucks the banjo for the tune and this is a song not to be missed.

My favorite two tracks are the first two, both McMurrian compositions. "Broken Window Blues" opens the album and gets you ready for the rest of the album. The band drives the song perfectly while McMurrian steers the wheel. Then you get "Bogg Dog," a haunting sound starts out the track and it has an eerie Louisiana sound to it.

McMurrian could be compared to fellow Northwestern musician Kelly Joe Phelps. Although Kelly Joe has many different roots, McMurrian has more solid Blues in his fingers. Both are taking old music and giving them new voices. Don't pass McMurrian up. This is one of the best albums that's come across my desk in awhile.

Copyright Visionation, Ltd 2004. All Rights Reserved with limited rights offered to artist and their agents for publicity purposes only with proper citation to BluesWax, BluesWax.com, or www.blueswax.com.

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sound check
Friday, April 07, 2006
By DON CAMPBELL COUNTRY BLUES FROM THE CROSSROADS --

In most cities, Tuesdays can be a dreadful, dead-quiet night for live music. Not so in Portland. Acoustic country blues guitarist, banjo player and singer Joe McMurrian takes the stage every Tuesday at the White Eagle, McMenamins' No-Po outpost and a place long haunted by lusty, rough-and-tumble lore born of Portland's unruly waterfront past.Among the ancient brick and timber, the Eagle is a venue perfect for McMurrian to spin his spellbinding yarns. In among the mischievous spirits and tortured souls, McMurrian plays mystic, conjuring up the dark side of the heart armed only with a guitar and voice. You have to wonder if he didn't strike the same deal as Delta shaman RobertJohnson.

McMurrian, a California native with family roots in Texas and Oklahoma, gravitated to Portland after a lengthy tenure playing the West Coast and beyond. He's absorbed an edgy, insistent and hypnotic swirl of Delta- and hill-style blues that he picks with a one-step-closer-to-hell aggression.You'll hear Son House, Rev. Gary Davis and R.L. Burnside in there, for certain, plus some Coltrane and Dylan. But it's the depth of his songwriting and smoldering voice that set him apart. He reveals places that are emotionally unsettling and uneasy, plying a kind of restless poetry that he renders in vocals of smoke and ember. From a song called "Mr. Pete Driving By," he sings, "Beyond the lake land/Where dredgers are stacking rhyme/We all turned into preachers/with our hands open for a dime."

McMurrian plays in a trio format at the White Eagle, though his recordings are all solo. From 1996's "Divining Rod" through "Under the Sun" in 2001 and "Dredge" in 2004 (plus a couple of cuts on two KBOO "Radio Dharma Wheel" CDs), McMurrian is a musician who seems to step from a shadowy place, consumed by the demons that haunt us all but fearless in taking whatever chances he needs to with form, modality and delivery to avail us with what he's discovered.

Whether he's a prophet or pariah is up to the listener; regardless, McMurrian is a formidable old soul whose music will haunt you to your bones.

"Joe's voice has a natural quality that eludes to many lifetimes of living. It surrounds his songs with an urgency of truth and wisdom that begs the listener to take note....An instant River City Juke Joint favorite. Once he got started, the audience just wouldn't let him stop."

Brad Brenner
River City Juke Joint
KMHD Radio 2004

(joe) “ Hello Mr. Red”
You’ve got some mighty playing there Joe, I like that bending thing you do with your fret hand..
(L.R)Is That a Stella Guitar! Oh man, I lost mine years ago and have not been able to get one back, man that feels good. I thought that was a Dobro out there. What’s this?
(joe) “ I added a seventh string”
(L.R) Wow, that’s good man…how much you pay for the guitar?
(joe) “$27"
(L.R) What! Well, get me one if you can, I’ll stick around town if she’ll let me.
Ya son, find me a good one if ya can, but without the extra string thing.

"Joe McMurrian has an amazing way of drawing a listener in. He effectively wraps up Delta Blues, Folk, Hill old time and such modern influences as Nick Drake, Chris Smither and early John Martin into a truly engrossing listen. His complete adeptness at finger style and bottleneck slide guitar are truly matched by his Smokey resonated voice as it throw's out great originals like Gentle Man or Rope is Thin, and fresh covers of such great traditional songs as Cuckoo Bird or Skip James' Hard Times. His music reminds one of the tradition, but oftentimes he revels in juxtaposing a slight chaos with a smooth flow, as if to cross your expectations up and then cradle them unexpectedly... Acoustic blues and roots based music is in good hands...." Sierra Madre Vista Los Angeles, CA

" Them young men downstairs, that Joe McMurrian he's good, they're playing that real blues, the old stuff I used play when I was young...." Eddie Kirkland, Portland Waterfront Blues Festival Blues Cruise, 2003

Rural fingerstyle fluidity across a rhythmic delta blues intensity. An amazing listen.." Kpsu Radio, Portland, OR, 2003

" To say Joe McMurrian is an artist is an understatement, his visual story telling put him on par with Tom Waits with the musical delivery of a seasoned professional. He delivers a rare power and personal perspective to his own brand of blues and roots based material straight from the delta and hills of acoustic America and beyond.." Burlingame Acoustic Room 2003

" You play some F'n good guitar..." Michael Beglan at the Alberta Street Public House, Portland Or. 2004

"Steeped in classic acoustic idioms (Delta blues, folk, bluegrass), McMurrian distills it all into a personal style on his collection of mostly original songs such as “The Gentleman & the Promiscuous Lady.” On this and other tunes, the artist’s passionate, lightning-quick guitar skills and Dylanesque vocal vibe allow him to conjure a dramatic urgency that draws the listener in. “Wishing Well,” meanwhile, is a light, free and easy blues a la Taj Mahal. All of it is grown-up material, and labels in search of a roots-oriented artist of substance should make the call.." Music Connection Magazine Los Angeles, CA April 2001