The Year: 1971The Album: Michael Hurley, Armchair Boogie
Who It Influenced: Cat Power, Jolie Holland, Devendra Banhart, Vetiver, Will Oldham, Jason Molina
When it comes to musical legacies, sometimes it's not how many people you inspire, but who you inspired. Michael Hurley is a still-going-strong songwriter (who just released his 18th (I think) LP proper, Ida con Snock) who was, perhaps, the original vanguard of the New Weird America.
Hurley has been, for most of his career, a complete obscurity, a genuinely underground oddball known on only the most cult-like level. But, his albums have found their way into some notable hands, and Hurley has had some notable fans. Most obvious is Cat Power, who's covered three of his songs. Acid-folkies Espers have also covered Hurley. As have the Violent Femmes.
Devendra Banhart and Andy Cabic of Vetiver release Hurley's new albums on their Gnomonsong label. Tara Jane Oneil and Ida have played on his recent records. Jolie Holland just took him on tour. And then there's just those who've sung his praises, a glittering litany that ranges from country starlet Lucinda Williams to jam-band weirdos Sunburned Hand of the Man.
Out of the 20+ records that come bearing Hurley's name, none is better than his second; 1971's Armchair Boogie. It captured a mood that the songwriter would sustain throughout his career: simultaneously goofy and poignant.
- Full review: Michael Hurley, Armchair Boogie
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