Cascade Blues Music Reviews

Under The Sun

Joe McMurrian

Music Review Reprint from the
December, 2001 BluesNotes
By Steve Nassar

The Gentleman And The Promiscuous Lady
East Virginia Blues (Buell Kazee)
Mr. So 'N' So
Over The Hill
Joe's Cafe
Habit Man
Omie Wise (Traditional)
Water Trail
Little Ray
Drying Out The Redwoods
Moving On
The Fisherman's Eye
Wishing Well

Portland fans of Acoustic Roots & Blues Music, look out! There's a new guy in town that deserves a listen. Since arriving in Portland several months ago, he's been playing local coffee houses, hawking this self-produced CD and has been recently heard on Puddletown's favorite community radio station, KBOO. If this fine recording gets around, Joe McMurrian will soon become a favorite of Stumptown's acoustic music aficionados.

Joe was born in Oklahoma and raised in the California small farm community of Brentwood, near the Sacramento River Delta. He earned his first set of calluses learning to play John Lee Hooker tunes, taught by his banjo-pickin' granddaddy and steel guitar playin' daddy. The rural influence shines through his intricate finger picking, open tunings, and liberal use of the bottleneck slide.

Imagine the fluidity of a Martin Simpson on the fret board behind the course growl of Kelly Joe Phelps' raspy, but soulful vocals, and you'll get an approximation of what you're in for. His music has garnered the #1 downloaded artist from MP3.COM for three months running and enjoyed significant airplay in San Francisco before Joe moved to the Rose City. You can download Joe McMurriau's music free from his web site, www.JoeMcMurrian.com.

Eleven of the 13 tunes on "Under The Sun" are original tunes, influenced by the likes of Doc Boggs, Fred McDowell and Big Joe Williams. Every song tells a story and Joe's stories are a delight to listen to, both musically and lyrically.

From the "Gentle Man" turned violent by his passion for the "Promiscuous Lady", to the "concrete fields" in the big city of "Mr. So'n'So", to the murder of "Omie Wise", to the shallows of your soul in the "Wishing Well", you'll find poignant reflections of life backed by a sometimes delicate, sometimes fierce attack on the steel and wood in his ragged hands.

You can't find this CD in the stores, folks. Sometimes, the best is the most rare commodity. Come on down to the Capital Coffee House (6445 Capital Hwy. in Portland) on Fridays in December to sample his music, live. If you do, you surely won't leave without taking a piece of Joe McMurrian home, whether you buy the CD or just carry him home in your hearts and minds!