A$# 028 Murray McLauchlan | Gulliver's Taxi

I think Murray McLauchlan is one of of Canada's premier folk artists. When he released his first album, Songs From The Street, in 1971, he'd already been been playing at folk festivals and coffee houses in Toronto and New York for five years. Over the next 25 years, he released 16 albums of orignal material. He's beeen less prolific this last decade. Gulliver's Taxi, Murray's great 1996 release, is his most recent studio album.

As an artist, Murray's always conveyed a great sense of integrity and style. His big hits like Whispering Rain and Farmer's Song are honest and candid. He has always known how to tell great stories with his songs; though other artists like his friend and long-time label mate Bruce Cockburn may have enjoyed a somewhat higher profile, Murray has always been an unsung troubadour and a great entertainer.

Gulliver's Taxi continues that tradition. Usually he writes his material himself, but on this album Murray collaborated with several songwriting partners. "I've spent most of my career by being very protective of what comes out," he said in an interview when the album was released. "When I started to do collaborative writing it really opened my eyes to a liberating experience. There was a whole landscape of different people to springboard off of. It re-lit my desire to write."

There are 12 originals and one cover (of a Lou Reed song!) presented here. It's immediately evident that Murray has not lost his vitality. He's energized by his collaboration with producer Barney Bentall and artists such as Tom Wilson (frontman of Junkhouse) and The Odds.

He explores many diverse stories of everyday life, such as homelessness (Burned Out Car), immigrants in a multicultural society (Brown-Eyed Man), breaking a cycle of violent behaviour passed from father to son (I Put Away My Gun) and being a dreamer (Disappearing). His rendition of Lou Reed's Dirty Boulevard is also fitting as he explores the gritty side of city life. Where he really his stride, imho, is the plaintive yet anthemic story of fishers in Newfoundland and Labrador who struggle to make a living after the collapse of the fisheries:

No change in the weather
No change in me
I don't want to leave
But you can't live for free
You can't eat the air
And you can't drink the sea
No change in the weather
No change in me

You could shoot off a cannon
From the top of Long's Hill
And a Gulliver's taxi might be all that you'd kill
We were promised the sun and the moon and the stars
We got weathered old clapboard
And salt rusted cars

So I'll join in the leaving like all of the rest
Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver West
Lay down on the sidewalk
And kick off and die
Watch people not looking
As they hurry by

I hope Murray puts out another album soon. For the last couple of year, he's been part of the super group Lunch At Allen's with his friends Ian Thomas, Marc Jordan and Cindy Church. Catch them in performance if you can. On their 2004 eponymous album, they included a performance of No Change In Me.

Gulliver's Taxi is definitely worth a few spins in your CD player.

Track listing:

1. Columbus
2. Dirty Boulevard
3. Brown Eyed Man
4. Burned Out Car
5. Rock N Roll
6. Secrets Of Your Heart
7. No Change In Me
8. White Water
9. I Put Away My Gun
10. Disappearing
11. Where The Sweet Waters Flow
12. The End Of The Road