Trish Murphy Album Review:
Hidden Jewel at 2006-04-13
I bought this CD years ago, and continue to buy copies to give to friends and relatives. Id only heard of 3 or 4 of the bands when I bought this back then, its the best CD I own, bar none.Acoustic versions of every song - so good that even Rob Thomas (the ultimate spare) sounds good on the Matchbox 20 cut.Dont question me on this one, buy the freakin thing and thank me.


Trish Murphy Album Editorial:
The Zone - Zone Cuts Live // 1. Storyville - Good day 2. Matchbox 20 - Push 3. Abra Moore - Dont feel 4. Big Head Todd The Monsters - Please dont tell her 5. Jackopierce - Trials 6. Freddy Jones Band - Wonder 7. Sister Hazel - Wanted it to be 8. Robert Earl Keen - Over the waterfall 9. Trish Murphy - Concession stand song 10. Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing 11. Tom Faulkner - Fried Chicken Skin 12.Old 97s - Big brown eyes

Trish Murphy Album Review:
Great Album! at 2005-04-01
Ive been a fan of Trishs since I heard the early version of Trouble with Trouble from Captured on the radio. Since then Ive seen her in concert at least half a dozen times, and I have to say that this latest album of hers is probably my favorite. We finally get some full band versions of songs from Captured, and shes recorded some of my favorite staples from her live shows, such as All I Want, Love Never Dies, and The Eternal Dream. There are also some great new songs like Thelma and Louise. Trish has recently rereleased with the album with a larger record label. Hopefully this will get her the exposure she deserves. The album is a perfect blend of rock and country music, and also manages to retain some of the energy from her live performances.
Trish Murphy Album Review:
One Of Texas Best Kept Secrets!! at 2005-07-07
When Trish Murphys major label debut, 1999s RUBIES ON THE LAWN, faded from view with only minimal fanfare, I was really bummed...here was a new artist - sort of a more fun, kid-sister version of Sheryl Crow - that Id really been looking forward to hearing from, album after album. GIRLS GET IN FREE, her 2003 return-to-the-indies release, has now been repackaged (albeit with a new Sex As A Weapon cover) and rereleased, a move that (hopefully!) will garner it some richly deserved attention. A little more country-leaning and Texas twangy than the pop/rock elements of RUBIES..., GIRLS GET IN FREE is nevertheless a rootsy work of art from a major, albeit undiscovered, talent. Opening with All I Want, things get off to an easy-going start. Framed by a steady backbeat and tasteful guitars (both electric and acoustic), Murphys lead vocal is both breathy and angelic. A very nice start, indeed! Next we have the bouncy, fun-filled The Trouble With Trouble. You just HAVE to know that any song with a chorus of ....it wasnt my idea/I did it on a double-dog dare/Its a cold hard fact when youre young and dumb/The trouble with trouble is/It starts out as fun is going to be a kick! With its sassy lead vocal and buoyant arrangement, this ode to good times that can take a (slightly!) wrong turn, and how those times can be passed on from generation to generation, is clever, cute, fun and fresh. One of GIRLS...s true gems! Thelma And Louise is both reflective and melodic, but theres also a depth to the song that becomes apparent only after a few listens. Its take on domestic violence (You holy rollers dont know jack/About domestic strife - Until youve seen my daddy lit/And beatin up his wife), respect among the sexes (So if you love her treat her kindly/Thats what its all about/My sweetheart wasnt sweet to me/And look how I turned out/So fellas take your hats off/Say thank you maam and please) and surprises (Cause her name might be Thelma/And mine might be Louise) is made all the more thoughtful - and enjoyable - by spirited instrumentation and a sexy, almost sly, lead vocal. Theres a pop urgency to Crying As Fast As I Can that is capped off by a melancholic lead vocal and some stinging guitar lines. Up next are two of GGIFs best tracks, the haunting One For The Boys and the understated Love Never Dies (It Just Gives Up). Theres an aching resignation to One For The Boys that is just palpable...you feel this womans pain, sorrow and regret, and you can just picture the course her life has taken, in large part due to Murphys hushed vocal and the sleepy sway of the arrangement. With its chilling chorus (Love never dies/Love just gets tired/Love just decides/When it can tell its not enough/Love never dies it just gives up), Love Never Dies.... is all about that relationship that lingers on long after its over, refusing to go away quietly. Theres a sense of longing and truthfulness to much of Murphys work, a sort of Everywoman quality that supports Love Never Dies in a sort of sad, yet ultimately strong, way. Things take a 180 degree turn with Eternal Dream, a straight-on traditional country/bluegrass number. All strumming guitars and mandolins, sorrowful pedal steel and delicate vocal, Murphy just nails it. Another beauty! St. Christopher is a mid-tempo rocker about the difficulties of letting go (I paid the payphone bandit/I took the call and slammed it/Cause now that numbers old and youre not there), while Paralyzed is a soaring stomper with a touch of whimsy and a bit of punky edginess. Both tracks hark back to more of the pop grooves of RUBIES...., with a sorrowful cello anchoring St. Christopher and some snappy percussion providing a nice rhythmic core for everything else to grow out of on Paralyzed. GIRLS GET IN FREE ends brilliantly, and on opposite ends of the musical spectrum! First you have Cowboy Man, a rowdy honky-tonk duet with fellow Austin wonderkid Bob Schneider (if you love quirky, fun, thoughtful music, check out Schneiders wonderful 2001 release LONELYLAND, as well as last years IM GOOD NOW). In the tradition of Porter and Dolly, George and Tammy, Gram and Emmylou or Rodney and Rosanne, these two match up like they were meant to be duet partners. Add a rollicking arrangement and you have a slice of good-time, pure and simple! Things slow down and mellow out for the ethereal I Dont Want To Believe. Theres almost a 60s girl group vibe going on throughout the track, whatwith its airy vocal, muted instrumentation and last-to-know lyrics (Theres a rumor going round/By some people downtown/Youve been hanging on/To someone elses arm). By the time Murphy gets to the stinging lines of If you told me its a lie/Then I wouldnt have to die/Its a stupid mess/You could put to rest/And stop me wondering why, well, its heartbreak time! A real beauty! So....youve been given a second chance to discover this album....do yourself a favor and do just that! (As with all my reviews, Im giving the disc an extra half a star for including the lyrics).


Trish Murphy Album Editorial:
With one song about a pair of renegade women doing their best to emulate Thelma and Louise and another a coming-of-age ballad about The Trouble with Trouble (is that it starts out as fun) Trish Murphy explores the reckless edge of the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun theme. The breathy rasp of Murphys vocals and the melodic buoyancy of her tunes should appeal to a younger audience than most Texas troubadours with fans of the sassier side of the Dixie Chicks finding a kindred spirit here. Though romance rarely runs smoothly in Murphys material even songs such as Crying as Fast as I Can and Love Never Dies (It Just Gives Up) have plenty of bounce. She shows a more reflective depth on the balladry of One for the Boys and Eternal Dream and teams with Bob Schneider for a high-kicking cover of Lyle Lovetts Cowboy Man. In Murphys music country storytelling and pop catchiness make an ebullient match. Don McLeeseI


Trish Murphy Album Editorial:
Girls Get In Free is the fourth album for Austin singer/songwriter Trish Murphy. With a new found confidence Murphy unleashes ten new songs filled with passion and charm as well as a tantalizing and rowdy duet with Austin heart throb Bob Schneider on Lyle Lovetts Cowboy Man. The Austin Chronicle has summed up the album and Trishs talents best: A striking tableau of empowerment whimsicality and longing set to rich rootsy textures Girls... firmly secures Murphys place in the upper echelon of Austin singer-songwriters. And its the songs on Girls Get In Free that are the real stars. From the first notes of the jangly set opener All I Want to the defiant The Trouble With Trouble to the impassioned country rocker Crying As Fast As I Can to the bittersweet atmospheric I Dont Want To Believe this is easily Trishs best work to date.

Trish Murphy Album Review:
A must have for Trish Murphy fans at 2001-11-06
This is a very scaled back offering from Trish Murphy recoreded live in Austin, TX this past summer. Along with four songs each from her previous two albums, Murphy offers five new songs. You can tell that she is having fun on the new song The Trouble With Trouble while Lightning Strikes is a beautiful, but sad song. She also tells the story behind Concession Stand Song, but youll have to buy the CD to find out what it is...Her voice is a little strained at times, but that gives the ablum a since of geniuneness that often is not there on polished studio recordings.Overall, this is a solid effort from an artist who makes music because she loves it. Give it a try, and you wont be disappointed.
Trish Murphy Album Review:
Trish at her finest live! at 2005-08-20
BRILLIANT! I saw Trish Murphy live in the UK recently, in Bristol, and this CD captures her live and acoustic sound perfectly - the story behind CONCESSION STAND SONG also came across well in the flesh! Some fantastic and sometimes superior versions of album tracks like SCORPIO TEQUILA, SMARTER THAN THE DEVIL and from the new CD Girls Get In Free - the amusing THE TROUBLE WITH TROUBLE(loved the line about the lingerie . . .) and a track Steve Earle could have penned in his lunchbreak - PARALYSED. Awesome. For those of you unfamilar with Trish, she can really rock out with her band(s) backing her on CDs such as CROOKED MILE, RUBIES ON THE LAWN and GIRLS GET IN FREE or be as relaxing with her acoustic sound as, say, Beth Nielsen Chapman or the likes of Edwina Hayes, as on here, but with a raw, gravelly but beautiful voice. I would heartily recommend you check her music out if you like either sound. OUTSIDER is also a track done well both acoustically or rocky(Avril Lavigne-style, actually - BUT YEARS BEFORE AVRIL DID IT!!!!) on RUBIES . . . What makes CAPTURED worthwhile is the raw energy and heart and soul put into the performances of the songs. You also get a bonus studio/band track - RELENTLESS, which is also on CROOKED MILE. I was also moved by CAN WE BE FRIENDS AGAIN - there is also a story about how this song came to be, featured herein. I would also like to say that Trish Murphy is also a very lovely person to meet at a gig - I turned up very early to meet her and get CDs signed, and have a great chat with about music and life in general - she is someone who comes across to me as very kind to her fans. Well Done Trish and keep making great music for us to enjoy!


Trish Murphy Album Editorial:
Trish Murphy waters her Texas roots in a stripped-down live acoustic setting doing what she does best: telling stories and shooting from the hip. Planted firmly between the simple Southern poetry of Crooked Mile and the gritty pop of Rubies on the Lawn Captured distills the essence of her singer-songwriter heritage and ripens it to pure melodic fullness. This record features new material along with some riveting acoustic versions of songs from her two previous studio albums.

Trish Murphy Album Review:
EVEN BETTER!!!!!!!!! at 1999-10-11
After listening to RUBIES,it`s hard for me to listen to anything else!Loved CROOKED MILE but this is even better. Just wished she received some recognition in the Baltimore area.I`ll do my part!!
Trish Murphy Album Review:
This girl can write. at 1999-09-02
The product of the Texas prarie and a long tradition of great Texas artists, Trish Murphy is an ingenue in size 3 leather pants. Anyone who has seen her live performances has been electrified by her energy, her simple love of the music, and her uncanny ability to connect with the audience. Rubies on the Lawn is a jewel in her writers crown. Beautifully crafted lyrics settled into tunes that you will carry with you the rest of the day. The songs reflect a soul-searching innocence that is both refreshing and real. And her little-girl voice is fence-post rough, just enough to put the edge on her songs. Dont miss this terrific performance by an emerging Texas artist.
Trish Murphy Album Review:
These Boots Were Made For Rockin! at 1999-12-30
On her second album (her first with national distribution), Trish Murphy beats the rocknroll pants off virtually every major league femme-rocker (stand BACK Melissa and Sheryl!) with a sly, sexy, SMOKIN set of sizzlers perfect for machine-tooled highway drivin! Key cuts include a winning remake of These Boots Are Made For Walking and Me Behind The Wheel, a wonderfully upbeat tune with lots of personality! Nice jagged guitars, propulsive drums, expert production and THAT voice! Absolute joy!
Trish Murphy Album Review:
Rubies Grows on You at 2000-02-22
The more I listen to Rubies, the more I love it. I have been listening to it on the way to work (a 30 minute commute) for the last few weeks. Its rare that I find a CD that stands up to repeated plays. It seems I cant get enough of Johnny Too Blue and Vanilla Sun. And These Boots nearly puts me into a trance each time I hear it! After checking out this CD and Trishs web site, I saw her perform in Houston. She was incredible live. She reeks charisma and sounds amazing. I liked her so much I hired her to play for our company at an executive event!
Trish Murphy Album Review:
Singer-songwriter blends country and rock her way at 2005-01-13
Trishs music is hard to classify. It isnt country but there are definite country influences. Trish knows how to rock but I wouldnt call this rock music either. Frankly, it doesnt mater what you classify this music as (probably alt-country), its the quality that counts.Trish wrote or co-wrote most of the songs, but proved she can do covers too with her great cover of Nancy Sinatras These boots are made for walking. Her own songs focus on a variety of topics, even including a shoot-out (Sunday). I confess that the lyrics of Trishs own songs are sometimes difficult to understand though that wont matter if you play this as background music.The album title is taken from a phrase in one of the songs (Vanilla sun), a ballad in which Trish sings about how its raining rubies on the lawn - one of those hard-to-understand lyrics. So maybe the lyrics are a bit strange but most people dont listen to the words anyway. The music is great and Trishs voice is amazing - thats enough to make this album well worth listening to.


Trish Murphy Album Editorial:
Trish Murphy is a lot like Kevin Welch: she has absorbed the Austin scenes country-folk-rock sound and personal-incident-blown-up-into-modern-myth kind of songwriting. Like Welch Murphy is a good-but-not-great singer-songwriter and--not to ignore the obvious--very good-looking. After an unusually successful self-released debut album (1997s ICrooked Mile) Murphy makes her major-league debut with IRubies on the Lawn which leans away from her twangy Texas roots and into the adult-pop territory of Sheryl Crow Aimee Mann and Kim Richey. This is a smart move because Murphys strength is melody not literature. The discs first single Outsider will be remembered not for its lyrics but for the way Murphys husky soprano holds out the vowels with such attractive yearning. Whether shes singing about a Vietnam vet a violent holdup a restless driver or an ex-lover the real message is not in the perfunctory words but in the way her cowgirl-Austin voice hooks up with the creamy Beatlesque guitars. Geoffrey Himes


Trish Murphy Album Editorial:
After releasing the critically acclaimed Crooked Mile in 1997 on her own label and selling more than 10000 copies in her native Texas alone Trish Murphy released this stunning followup on the doolittle/mercury label in 1999.The songs on Rubies reveal both a gift for melody and the ability to sketch full portraits or distill complex emotions with just a few lines. If you havent heard about Trish Murphy yet ask around. Someone you know has and what theyll say is bound to be good.