"Michael Hurley came to play les ateliers claus early May 2013. A few days prior to the concert Michael flew into Brussels. For reasons - lets say unknown - Michael wasn’t picked up at the airport and tried to make his way to a hotel. There’s was no connection with Michael and we had no clue where he was. Nobody had. He went missing until a few hours prior to the concert.
Michael Hurley showed up - not very happy - telling us how he missed his pickup and checked into a random hotel. For some reason Michael managed to book himself a room in one of the shabbiest hotel - restaurants in Brussels. Happy to be amongst people and fans again, Michael played a long set, just not enjoying enough wine to forget about his lonesome adventure.
We gave number 13 with this reason to Michael Hurley."
Available as 320k MP3 or 24bit FLAC
Tracklisting:
1. 1954 Chevrolet 05:36
2. Heavy on Me, Heavy on You 03:17
3. Waitin' for the Aliens 03:54
4. Open Up 03:21
5. Eyes, Eyes 03:12
6. Knockando 04:51
7. O My Stars 03:32
8. Disaster on Your Wheel 03:07
9. Extra Love 04:32
10. Indian Chiefs & Hula Girls 04:32
11. The Slurf Song 05:49
12. Putting' Sugar 03:52
13. The Tea Song 04:46
14. I Paint a Design 06:32
15. Never River Blues 02:54
16. The Portland Water 10:08
17. Horse's Ass 04:06
18. Sun to Sun 02:40
19. The Code of the Mountains 05:42
20. Sweedeedee 11:15
21. Automatic Slim and the Fatboys 04:34
22. Old Black Crow 02:31
Michael Hurley grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As a teenager in the 1950s he fell in love hearing the music of Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley blast from the radio, and was enthralled by the records of Blind Willie McTell, Hank Williams and Uncle Dave Macon that he sought for his own. This love for music, true and unvarnished, supplied him with a finely tuned musical compass he has not wavered from for 50 years and counting. Hurley's music sounds old, like it has always existed, and simultaneously singular, like something you've never heard anyone else play quite like that before. This timeless quality ensures that Hurley's audience constantly renews itself. From the the beatniks in the NYC Village where he started in the early 60s, to the hippies in Vermont, to the Americana fans, indie rockers and freak folkers from the last two decades, Michael's music never fails to find fresh new ears. Pressed for a description, Hurley has called it "jazz-hyped blues and country and western music".
Hurley's early records were released on Folkways, Warner Brothers/Raccoon, and Rounder, while in recent years stalwart independent labels like Gnomonsong and Mississippi have been carrying the torch. The great news is that there is no stopping Michael Hurley. An album with brand new recordings, Bad Mr. Mike, was released on the Mississippi label in 2016, plus another LP with archival 70s material came out on Feeding Tube Records in 2017. Besides being a truly unique musician, Hurley is also a cartoonist and watercolor artist of note — the instantly recognizable results of which grace his album covers.
Hurley resides on the US west coast near Portland, Oregon. His appearances on the British isles have been scarce the last decade. Old and new fans should not pass up the rare opportunity to catch Michael in action.
