He tours France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia when he's not writing. He's had collections of short stories and a novel published in Europe during the last couple of years. He's realesed well over a dozen of the most passionate, literate, intelligent rock albums of our times. Sidemen on his albums have included members of The Violent Femmes, The Smithereens, The Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground, neo-folkie Shawn Colvin and even AOR warhorses like Phil collins and Billy Joel. During his last European tour, when Bruce Springsteen played Paris, Elliott Murphy was the artist he asked to join him on sage, where the two performed an acoustic version of Murphy's signature song "Rock Ballad". He made endless, slogging rock and roll tours and played in stripper joints. His name is Elliott James Murphy and his is one of the more remarkable stories in modern rock'n roll. The
Aquashow Aquashow, Murphy's debut, was released by Polydor in November 1973. The critical response was immediate and overwhelming. Feature stories appeared in Rolling Stone,News week, The New Yorker and elsewhere. More albums followed, Lost Generation and Night Lights for RCA in 1975 and 1976, Just A Story From America for Columbia in 1977. In 1980, Murphy formed his own label and released the six-song EP. Affairs, which, although limited by distribution in the US, sold strongly and received glowing press notices. It also sparked considerable interest in Europe, where Murphy began touring regularly. "It was astonishing" he says in retrospect. "All the effort had been directed at making me a star in the US.-I had no idea I had any following abroad until I played a theatre show in Paris. I got six encores and the audience sang along to all the songs". In 1982 he released Murph The Surf, an album that saw his talents reach full fruition in exquisitely crafted folk-rock. 1984's Party Girls/Broken Poets, recorded for Warner Brothers in Europe, made several US critics' Ten Best of the Year lists and was nominated for Album of the Year by the New York Music Awards. Fan clubs sprang up in France, Italy, japan and the US. Murphy was writing extensively, penning articles and short stories for Spin, Rolling Stone and numerous other publications, including interviews with Tom Waits and Keith Richards. In 1986, Murphy released the stunning Milwaukee album with Jerry Harrison (keybordist for the Talking Heads and former Murphy bandmember) as producer. The follow up, Change Will Come, recorded in new York with Smithereens producer James Ball, was also warmly received. A live album, Hot Point, with Chris Spedding guesting on lead guitar, followed, and in 1990, following his move to Paris, Murphy released what it probably his major work until now, the intensely personal twenty four song 12 (released in shortened form in the US under the title Unreal City). In the last few years two anthologies have appeared, Paris/New York and Diamonds By The Yard. Beginning in the summer of 1995 Murphy began work on his newest studio album, Selling The Gold. The album was recorded at ICP Studios in Brussels, Belgium, whose unique collection of vintage guitars, amps and keyboards, plus definite pro-artist environment was very attractive to Murphy. "The album is a return to the studio production and sound of my 70's albums like Night Lights and Just A Story From America" says Murphy. "I wanted to return to a big sound but with no synthesizers (actually there's one little one but you'll have to find it). I had been working in my home studio on the songs for the album for over a year...but I just didn't know how to give birth to them. Luckily, I discovered ICP Studios, whose director John Hastry shares the same attitude as I do towards a studio environment that is geared toward the musicians-not the equipment". Murphy began working on the album with a new team of musicians: Andy Newmark (Roxy Music, Eric Clapton) on drums; Chucho Merchan (Eurythmics) on both acoustic and electric bass; Luis Jardim (Rolling Stones) on percussion. Special guests included Bruce Springsteen who sings on "Everything I Do (Leads Me Back To You)", The Violent Femmes and slide guitar virtouoso Sonny Landreth ."Having such wonderful friends as Bruce Springsteen, Sonny Landreth and The Violent Femmes appear on the album is nothing less than an act of grace and an immense gift to the soul" he says. "Selling The Gold was most enjoyable recording experience in over twenty years and some fifteen albums, so no matter what it sells I would have to call it (in my humbel opinion) a grand sucess".The album contains eleven tracks, all written by Murphy. Highlights include "Love To America", "Is Fellini Really Dead?" and "Take Your Love Away".
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