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LOOKING AFTER NO. 1
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TUMBLING DICE - 1972
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"...That Rainbow Man..."
Trading under the aliases of Travis Lewis and Boomer Clarke - Texans Michael Martin Murphey and his pal Boomer Castleman had been in the short-lived one-album band The Lewis And Clarke Expedition. Their "Earth, Air, Fire & Water" debut LP had appeared on Colgems Records in November 1967 (COM-105 Mono and COS-105 Stereo). As Lewis and Clarke, they had also managed to place their song "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round" (from that L&W debut) on Side 2 of The Monkees LP "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd" (Colgems COS-104, also issued November 1967). Probably kept them in peanuts and coffee for a while.
Years later, legendary Producer Bob Johnston of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen and Simon & Garfunkel fame brought Michael Murphey to A&M Records and Nashville as a Promising New Artist. And that brings us to this, his rather lovely but kind of obscure Country-Folk-Rock debut solo album "Geronimo's Cadillac".
Issued May 1972 on A&M Records in the USA and October 1972 on EMI's Regal Zonophone label in the UK - Murphey in fact re-visited "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round" on his debut - and again in his own stylistically Terry Reid-ish gruff-voiced style. To the digital...
Hip-O Select's CD reissue is part of their Limited Edition to 5000 numbered series - hard card sleeves with inners and various original features. Good news and bad news there. The original American LP was on their Tan Label variant and came with an inner sleeve that printed all the lyrics - this CD rather stupidly uses a pressing probably around 1975 that has the Silver and Gold A&M label, advert inner bag for other A&M Records and no lyrics. This means that you get the Silver & Gold label on the CD and a rather silly repro of those A&M Records advert bag on a single slip of paper. The hard card gatefold sleeve (numbered in gold on the rear, see photos) is truly gorgeous and is oversized compared to say those Japanese SHM-CD Mini LP Repros. But the best news is what I really want - a stunningly pretty and clear CD Remaster courtesy of GAVIN LURSSEN from original tapes.
I've got Lurssen's stellar transfers across a multitude of releases - Stephen Bishop ("Careless" and "Bish", both issues in this numbered series too), Joe Walsh ("Barnstorm"), Steppenwolf and The Crusaders ("Gold"), Terry Callier ("Occasional Rain"), Jimmy Cliff ("The Harder They Come" DE 2CD Version), Bo Diddley ("Chess Years") and right on up to Tom Waits ("Blood And Money") and Robert Plant and Alison Krauss' magnificent "Raising Sand" set in 2007. Lurssen is the kind of Audio Engineer I seek out - and make no mistake - his work here is just beautiful. Only seconds into the lovely Acoustic Guitar of "Boy From The Country" and you'll be done and dusted. If you have any love for "Geronimo's Cadillac", then this is the digital version you need to own. To the details that 'take me back'...
US-only released 20 August 2004 - "Geronimo's Cadillac" by MICHAEL MURPHEY on Hip-O Select/A&M Records B0002878-02 (no Barcode) is a Limited Numbered Edition of 5000 Copies. It's housed in a Hard-Card Oversized Gate-fold Mini LP Repro Artwork Sleeve with a Hip-O Select See-Through Plastic Inner and Mid-70ts A&M Records Advert Bag reproduced as a single page insert (no lyrics). It plays out as follows (44:49 minutes):
1. Geronimo's Cadillac [Side 1]
2. Natchez Trace
3. Calico Silver
4. Harbor For My Soul
5. Rainbow Man
6. Waking Up
7. Crack Up in Las Cruces [Side 2]
8. Boy From The Country
9. What Am I Doin' Hangin' Around?
10. Michael Angelo's Blues (Song For Hogman)
11. Backslider's Wine
12. The Lights Of The City
Tracks 1 to 12 are his Debut Solo Album (as Michael Murphey) "Geronimo's Cadillac" - released May 1972 in the USA on A&M Records SP 4358 and October 1972 in the UK on Regal Zonophone SRZA 3062. Produced by BOB JOHNSTON - it charted September 1972 USA and peaked at No. 160 some weeks later (didn't chart UK).
MUSICIANS:
MICHAEL MURPHEY [ex The Lewis & Clarke Expedition] - Lead Vocals, Acoustic, Bottleneck, Mandolin, Piano & Harp
LEONARD ARNOLD [ex Lavender Hill Express, later with Blue Steel] - Electric and Pedal Steel Guitar
GARY NUNN [The Lost Gonzo Band] - Bass, Piano And Background Vocals
ROBERT LIVINGSTON [The Lost Gonzo Band] - Bass and Background Vocals
BOOMER CASTLEMAN [ex The Lewis & Clarke Expedition] - Electric Guitar with Hand Levers
KENNY BUTTREY [Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry] - Drums & Percussion
KARL HIMMEL [Mother Earth] - Drums
CHARLES JOHN QUATRO - Vocals
These Hip-O Select numbered CD reissues are lookers, lovely and so aesthetically pleasing, but again it's the GAVIN LURSSEN audio that thrills. To pre-empt the album in Blighty, Regal Zonophone issued "Geronimo's Car" as a 45-single on the 1st of September 1972 with the equally melodious "Boy From The Country" on the flipside for RZ 3062. But while it tanked in England, the USA afforded the same track combo a cool LP-artwork picture sleeve for their 7" single on A&M 1368. That July 1972-issued 45-single rose across months to No. 37 on the Billboard charts. So lingering around since May 1972, the LP then suddenly began getting traction and finally charted Stateside in September 1972 for a stay of 9 weeks. Speaking of sweet sounds, the slide guitar and warm bass of "Natchez Trace" and the Acoustic Plainsong-sounding strum of "Backslider's Wine" (the rain ruining his alibi) are other examples of beautiful audio.
While his brand of Country Rock and Acoustics meant zip in the UK, Murphey would go on to chart another seven albums on the US Billboard Album Charts on a variety of labels (A&M, Epic and Liberty) between 1973 and 1983. Arnold and Nunn would both be part of The Lost Gonzo Band on MCA Records from 1975 onwards, while Charles Quatro (poet and singer) would go on to have his own solo LP on Atlantic Records in 1971.
But "Geronimo's Cadillac" is Murphey's mellow even Country-Soulful starting place. And Hip-O Select have done it proud on the audio front at least on this now rare American-only 2004 CD Remaster - even if the packaging sloppiness kind of let the lyrical side down somewhat.
Summing up - as the piano and organ in the LP's hymnal finisher "The Lights In The City" (written by Ray Lewis) swells around your room and talk of light shining down fills your speakers - I suspect fans and newcomers alike will be basking in this disc's audio glow. Rare but nice...
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