For Gurf Morlix, paying tribute to Blaze Foley has been a life long passion. Gurf was introduced to Blaze as he was first sprouting his own musical roots in Texas, and was able to see the good and bad that followed Blaze as he went through his short life.
In
Blaze Foley’s 113th Wet Dream, to be released February 1, 2011, Gurf covers 15 songs originally composed by Blaze. The songs chosen here represent the different facets of Blaze’s short life. Perhaps best known musically for songs covered by John Prine (Clay Pigeons) and Merle Haggard (If I Could Only Fly), Blaze was a character with many talents and unfortunate personal demons. While these demons prevented him from achieving great musical success during his lifetime, they also shaped a person who could write the most heart wrenching poignant music you could imagine. There were times within his music that Blaze would also display his wry humor. These peaks and valleys are all presented here by Gurf with this short synopsis of a music legend.
I say “legend” because to me he is exactly that. While defining the word
legend, you see similar words such as myth, fairy tale, and marvel. These words fit Blaze Foley and his talents all too well. Blaze was a character known as
The Duct Tape Messiah, due to his love for using duct tape on everything. As written by Blaze’s own love, girlfriend Sybil Rosen, in a book titled
Living In The Woods In A Tree, Blaze was also known to live with little or no conveniences we all take for granted, including the joy of living in a tree house. This was a man who needed nothing to see and enjoy happiness, but had no idea how to grab it and hold onto it. He was a man who was killed in 1989 at the age of 39, and the killer walked away without punishment through a chain of odd circumstances. Just like the life he lived, a sad but all true tale indeed.
Blaze’s musical talents are often compared with his personal friend Townes Van Zandt. Each being gifted talents with their own demons, their music was at times foreign to those of us without similar issues. However, when you take the time to peel the layers back, you find they each had a unique ability to drive a feeling home to the listener.
Gurf has succeeded here by capturing the essence of Blaze’s music in 15 songs. While including the fun (Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries), the desperate (Cold Cold World) and the poignant (If I Could Only Fly…helped here by Kimmie Rhodes exceptional harmonies), Gurf allows the music to speak for itself, without embellishing it by making it his own.
The highlights here are numerous. While I must admit it is difficult to listen to someone cover a song you feel is untouchable, as I do Blaze’s own versions of his songs, Gurf has maintained the same passion throughout that allows this CD to be successful. Performed by Gurf, along with Rick Richards on drums, these songs vibrate warmly and show the timeless artistic virtues not only of the original writer, but the performer as well. Gurf is certainly one of few who could pull this off, and he did exceptionally well.
02 Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries
This CD is being released in conjunction with the documentary
Blaze Foley:Duct Tape Messiah. 12 long years in the making, Kevin Triplett has spent many long hours putting together this video documenting the life of Blaze. It is something that truly needed to be done, allowing others to see the man, the music, and the legend.
Song list:
1. Baby Can I Crawl Back To You 2:26
2. Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries
3. Clay Pigeons
4. If I Could Only Fly
5. No Goodwill Stores In Waikiki
6. For Anything Less
7. Oh Darlin'
8. Picture Cards
9. Down Here Where I Am
10. Oooh Love
11. Small Town Hero
12. Rainbows and Ridges
13. Blaze Foley's 113th Wet Dream
14. In the Misty Garden/I Shoulda Been Home
With You
15. Cold Cold World
Link for the documentary web site where you can watch the trailer:
http://www.blazefoleymovie.com/
Link for Gurf's web site:
http://www.gurfmorlix.com/index.html
