I bought several of Elliott Murphy's albums when I was in college in the '70s, but for some reason I never replaced them on CD. In essence, I forgot him.I'm not alone. On a version of "Just a Story From America" included on "Live Hot Point," Murphy talks about being in a Milwaukee studio listening to the playbacks of some recordings when a woman came in and said it sounded just like Elliott Murphy. But it couldn't be, she insisted, because Murphy's dead.
Needless to say, he's still alive and rocking. His old friend Bruce Springsteen knows; the Boss has performed live with Murphy a number of times and sang "Everything I Do (Leads Me Back to You)" with Murphy back in 1995 for an album called "Selling the Gold." It's a beautiful song and a fine album worth searching for.
But if you're looking to explore Murphy's music, or reacquaint yourself with it, I'd recommend "Live Hotpoint," a live album recorded in Switzerland in 1989 that served as my re-entry point. "(It's available from iTunes for $7.99.)
"Live Hotpoint" includes "The Last of the Rock Stars," "You Never Know What You're Looking For," "Drive All Night" and several other great songs from Murphy's early albums. It also includes songs by Garland Jeffries and Chris Spedding, both of whom performed with Murphy at the concert.
In short, the album's filled with the kind of spirited rock that inspired Rolling Stone magazine to rave about Murphy's 1973 debut, "Aquashow," in a double review with Springsteen's "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle." It's music that shouldn't be forgotten.
