Ancestral Swamp

by Michael Hurley

Overview

Michael Hurley's music hadn't changed much in the 40-odd years between his first recordings and this 2007 release. In Hurley's case, however, that's a good thing; you wouldn't want his brand of rustic yet eccentric folk to get slick or diluted, and it's not exactly as if he's been overexposed on disc over the course of his lengthy career. This is relaxed, earthy eclectic folk with a sitting-on-the-porch feel, the recording so sparse that you often feel as though you're listening to a solo or nearly solo performance, though in fact three other musicians do help out multi-instrumentalist Hurley over the course of the record. Although it's grounded in traditional Americana type acoustic folk, it's not reverently traditionalist, adding touches like gutbucket tremolo electric guitar on "Dying Crapshooter's Blues," electric piano on "Lonesome Graveyard," and (on "El Dorado") almost subliminal backup vocals by Tara Jane O'Neil. Hurley sings his tunes with a wizened voice and an off-the-cuff narrative flavor, but it's more structured and cogent material than that of many other (usually younger) folky musicians whose songs owe something to a stream-of-consciousness sort of style. American folk idioms were so deeply etched into Hurley's DNA by the time of this recording that it's not possible to pigeonhole him into any one or two of them; certainly there's some Delta blues, but there's also some country and Appalachian music, none of the forms taking particular supremacy over others. This is the kind of music you'd love to hear on a lazy night after a full home-cooked meal; it's comfortable and homey, but at the same time accomplished and thoughtful despite its casual air, emanating unforced, ingratiating charm. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	09/25/2007
Label:	Gnomonsong
UPC:	0655035050713

Tracks

1. Knockando
2. Dying Crapshooter's Blues
3. Lonesome Graveyard
4. New River Blues
5. El Dorado
6. 1st Precinct Blues
7. Light Green Fellow
8. Gambling Charley
9. Streets of Laredo
10. When I Get Back Home
11. She Got a Mathematic

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Michael Hurley   Primary Artist,Fiddle,Guitar,Vocals,Fretless Banjo,Piano (Electric)
Dave Reisch   Guitar (Bass),Bass,Guitar
Lewi Longmire   Guitar (Bass),Bass
Tara Jane O'Neil   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

Michael Hurley   Composer