Michael Martin Murphey

Re-recording the classics that propelled him to a progressive country icon in the Seventies, Dallas native Michael Martin Murphey recruited a veritable Armadillo World Headquarters reunion. Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker, Kelly Willis, Steve Earle, and more pitch in, but the result is more mess than nostalgia. The soft arrangements behind Murphey's still vibrant tenor don't help with poorly aged material like "Wildfire," featuring Amy Grant. Guesting Earle, "Geronimo's Cadillac" smokes and Steven Fromholz's stripped-down "Texas Trilogy" rings true, but the group efforts of "Alleys of Austin" and "Cosmic Cowboy" disservice the originals.