Our Pick : Murray Porter - Songs Lived & Life Played

Artist— Murray Porter
Song—Dog House
Album—Songs Lived & Life Played
Label—Independent

Back in 1995 there was a release of an album called 1492 – Who Found Who, which changed how people looked at music released by an Aboriginal artist. People found Murray Porter! It seemed everywhere you went, people’s music players were loaded with this cd. Very quickly Murray Porter established himself as one of the most recognizable voices in music with an instantly classic gritty and silky smooth vocal. People anxiously waited for the follow-up release that didn’t come until eight years later with a collaboration cd by Pappy Johns Band. For Porter fans this proved to be only a teaser. Now it’s 2011 and Porter fans finally get what they have been waiting 16 years for.

Opening the cd, Porter delivers an earthy blues number “Rez Blues”, reminding us that Native people have probably earned the right to sing the blues as much as anyone. A classic harmonica accompaniment by The Twister’s David Hoerl makes this a classic redman sings the blues song selection. Porter may be classified as a blues/rhythm & blues performer by many and though he doesn’t stray far from those roots, it’s a shallow description of what this album delivers. Murray Porter is a song writer first and foremost and every song is instantly enjoyable, easy to listen to in almost any setting. Songs Lived & Life Played includes both uplifting cheerful songs and slow ballads. Porter touches on serious subjects by dedicating a song to murdered and missing women and their families with “Since She Went Away”. A song favorite for sure is “Dog House” which is delivered with humour, from a man’s point of view asking his woman to give him more respect. This album satisfies the hunger for more Murray Porter music, though I hope Porter recognizes 16 years is way too long to wait for the next fix. Properly aged and aired, this album tastes great to the ears.