SPORT MURPHY
Uncle (Kill Rock Stars)
Reviewed by Holly Day

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It was with great dread that I put this album on the first time. I mean, the album was written about and dedicated to Mike "Sport" Murphy's nephew, Peter Vega, who died saving people from the World Trade Center, and if the album turned out to be just awful, how could I in good conscience say so? Luckily, while the album is incredibly sentimental and sad, it's not maudlin or sappy or stupid - in fact, it's just right for this sort of thing. Sport Murphy's sonorous voice is both sweet and reflective in these songs about his nephew, who was raised as his little brother in the same household, and the instrumentation throughout is excellent, ranging from folksy guitar - heavy arrangements to bouncy pop songs to piano ballads with horns and strings. Not many people could have pulled this off, and Sport Murphy has done so here magnificently.

© 2003 - Holly Day