This is a song about parents, teachers, work mangers and leaders all messing with your head and making you feel inferior when they have got no more of a clue than you'll ever have; so feck it and go with your gut, so long as it isn't hurting anyone :) That's what I say anyway. I've had a lot of practice and experience; but still, what the hell do I know eh? :)

Left of Hardin

Rip up the Rulebooks

Lyrics largely written while descending Helvellyn in the English Lake District amidst the buzz of ascending it via the challenging 'Striding Edge'. The music followed as soon as I got back to my guitar. Flanging out the chords on the piano felt a bit 'Lennon' and the arrangement came from there.

The Mountain Song

A track from the current sessions for my 'difficult' third collection of self-penned songs

FOMO (the fear of missing out)

A song inspired by Dartford's finest sons.....

Ballad of a Small Town

Song inspired by The Wonder Stuff and other stuff and written in the mid 90s. Known as 'Jiggy Jiggy' until first played live. An imaginary tale of a newly divorced woman.

1 Football

Love Again

Song from about 1990 influenced by S. Central and Don't Go Back To Rockville by R.E.M. Middle 8 inspired by Bruce Springsteen's The River...... not about anyone

Michael Murray's Album

Perfect Standing

R.E.M. influenced jangly guitar track. Had the chorus lyric and melody for years but never really finished the song off. In my head it's the story of a guy somewhere in the US pining for a girl he left behind in England in search of new life, some north of a statue standing somewhere east of London.

East of London

A new-ish song that evolved over many years from messing around with the riff from Pink Floyd's, Wish You Were Here - had a different lyric originally and was more of a Johnny Cash/Roy Orbison deeper "here I stand, divided by your love. I ain't sure, what you're thinking of".... I think this is a bit more 'me' although I'm not sure it's as Springsteen as it sounds in my head :)

Two Different Kinds of Love

I reconnected with an old friend on social media and it came up that they had 22 tattoos (I'm inked; but way down on this number).... just loved the alliteration in the sound of all those ts and wrote it down in my notebook hoping to use it one day. I had this track that was mindful of a melancholic early eighties big sounding track like 'Story of the Blues' by Pete Wylie and Wah but lyrically inspired by a mate who split with his wife and and had to go back to live with his parents in his 40s and started having a great time living the life he had previously enjoyed before he got married! He is fortunate to look good for his age and he was enjoying the company of much younger ladies. I'd got bored with it to be honest, but after listening back to it shortly after 22 Tattoos had caught my ear, I worked it into the lyric and inspiring the 'skin knows time flies' middle 8 which the track needed. Might record this again in the future with a shorter and sharper arrangement......

22 Tattoo

The tale of a slow bus journey to work one morning when I wasn't feeling very good about my job at the time in particular and life in general. With hindsight, I was having a bit of a panic attack. These women on the bus just didn't stop talking shite all the way and I just couldn't 'tune out' in the panic. Everything was winding me up. Every spot of rain, every sneeze, every cough. I like the tune and sound of the guitar more than the lyrics.

726 (The Falling)

A simple song about a one-sided relationship. I like it but I've never forgotten a band mate once referring to it as "another one of Muzza's unfinished ditties"......... it takes me a few years sometimes, but I get around to finishing most of my half-ideas eventually.......

Slowly Turning Blue

Re-recorded, retitled and rearranged from early 2000s Mid-Life Crisis Lyrics changed to make it more neutral/less personal but the DNA of realising that time was moving quickly when suddenly I'm driving a diesel engine MPV having gone from being single to a married dad-of-three in just over three years.

1st World Crisis

Very early song with lyrics made up while jamming the song with mates  as 16 or 17 year old. Inspired by Alice in Wonderland and the soldier playing cards painting the roses red.......,

Academy

Mid 90s. Pretty sure this was penned before Oasis broke through but that's what I hear now. I was mad for Oasis although they're not a band I ever go back to now,  Made up lyric at the time which I can decode to how I might have been feeling in the mid-90s but to be fair, about as insightful as a horoscope though, to be honest!

Thank You, Charles Hardin

Break Up The Family

Track inspired by the D-Day landings. Has raised c.£300 so far for the Normandy Memorial Foundation https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michael-murray30

For Many Men

I'm taking the piss (liberties) here I know, but I've had this SKA influenced number knocking around for a year or so and I've just got to move it on from the pending songbook. I'm very influenced by post-punk/new wave and just love the Specials (the AKA bit is in-part a tribute to them), Madness, The Beat, Selector and so on. Love the Trojan Reggae that goes with that too. The song is an imaginary tale about a range of different perspectives involved in a fictitious knife crime. It'll make sense when I make the video :)

Charles Hardin

Anywhere in England

Inspired by the 'Americana' in the movie, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", I wrote this tale of a new guy in town who falls for a local 'ga'l. Who's letting who down? I'll leave to the listener to decide. The 'director's cut' features an alternate ending which just didn't didn't quite work out. I'll get this version out there and hope I can make that ending work in in a future re-recording.

Gonna Have to Let You Down

I taught myself guitar with the Beatles and Elvis music books when I was 16 but when it came to the piano many years later, after learning the basic major/minor chord shapes, I just began trying to busk/write songs to practice (I haven't improved much btw!!!!) and this song stemmed from that time trying to join chords together. The idea about "closing the door and never coming home" reminded me of the Beatles 'She's Leaving Home' and I just went with it: Imagining contrasts of George Michael or Morrissey singing the 'big' chorus I could hear in my head in their own unique ways. It's another story song and is about no one in particular. I don't expect this song to be an 'in-context' hit on Soundcloud but it is a personal favourite of mine.

Nobody Else

A song that mashed together a number of ideas and evolved purely from a sentimental perspective in the initial 2020 lockdown into a reflection of what the future might look like. Never spent more time 'producing' track and I'm not 100% with this but, It'll never get out there unless you go "That'll do!"

All You Need is Wi-Fi

People from Liverpool talk passionately about what they care about football and politics always are always topics you can get Scousers talking about. This is the tale of a very late night (a 'stay behind')in a pub talking about the latter with strangers and wishing we were talking about football. Worked hard to get the folky, sea shanty thing going on.

The Volunteer

A few tweaks to the original to give it even more bite for inclusion in my album.

Sleep is the Brother of Death (Album Mix)

Written after revisiting Manchester band, The Fall's catalogue following the premature demise of frontman Mark E Smith. When I first played a version of the song  live someone said it reminded them of a Madness song and I was rather flattered by that, so there's some SKA horns in there too.

A Nondescript Man

I am a singer-songwriter born and living again in  Liverpool (yes, that one; home to Cilla, Everton FC and a few other cultural icons) having spent many years living near London. I play in a ‘punk n’roll' covers band called the The Oddball 3 and my own songs solo at open mics. I’m a music nerd/geek obsessed with The Beatles and Bowie and like lots more: Costello (btw my ‘Elvis’ moniker is a nickname I picked playing rugby football – I think I started one season with a decent set of sideburns!), Squeeze, R.E.M., Smiths, Roxy, Bolan, Springsteen, Neil Finn etc. Partial to a bit of synth / electronica/ country/ SKA/ reggae/ Motown/Stax soul too – a very eclectic mix of inspirations and influences. I’m a vinyl and CD junkie and overall,  listening to, playing and writing music is my life's passion...... However, I try ,nonetheless, not to take myself too seriously and I do this 100% for fun and while I dream of writing a classic song(s) from which the publishing could allow me to quit the day job (I'm a school teacher) realistically, I have no ambition other than for friends and strangers to give me the privilege of their valuable time to listen to my songs; and, as a bonus, if they like it; maybe click and comment. I record all my stuff on my iPad using Garageband for iOS. Yeah; for sure I could get a better sound if I used X,Y and Z or mixed this up and that down etc. but I'm honestly not really bothered. Generally, I’m lo-fi, vintage, retro, 20th century kind of guy and everything I present here is purely a demo. It is all about the songs and the sound ‘idea’ for me and not the performance. Although I believe that I’m a very competent/experienced, (albeit technically ‘unadventurous’) guitar player; I’ll hold my hands up to a limited singing range and looping and pre-sets save my life given my keyboard skills extend barely beyond being able to flange out chords with one or two not accompanying bass notes. If you want to talk about my (or your) songs that's cool; as is anything geeky/nerdy about any of the artists above or similar. However, please don't get in touch with production tips and suggestions, because in the nicest possible way, I’m not that interested in such things - But I won't be rude if you don't read this first :) More than anything, think it’s really important that artists respect each other’s’ work even if they don’t like or rate it highly. Anyway, Love and Peace, ElvisOddball AKA Michael Murray

ElvisOddball AKA

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