He could only ever take the Luke Kelly fixation so far. For a 17 year-old to possess such a wildly evocative, drunken, Dublin howl was extraordinary to the point of being unbelievable. Sure, Murphy could do a mean Luke impersonation but that’s essentially what it was – the sound of a singer who had yet to find his own voice. His shift, however, from folk-covers-beyond-his-years to a sound more in tune with his age is impressive. He is a great singer, and with his second LP, And So The Story Goes, he has effectively positioned himself for a marathon rather than a sprint.
Produced by Dido and Manic Street Preachers knob-twiddler, Mike Hedges, it’s no surprise that And So The Story Goes sees Murphy moving closer to Williams and Ashcroft than Kelly and Moore. There are some superb moments: on the emotive ‘Sweet Surrender’ and the bouncy summer-time pop of ‘Something Outta Nothing’, the Dubliner demonstrates that he can punch his weight, even in that kind of exalted company. Hedges production style specialises in pushing vocals to the fore and this suits Murphy as a singer. However, it also provokes an interesting question. With a myriad of writers contributing to each track, there is a feeling still that George is singing lyrics written by people who are in a very different place to him, in terms of life experience.
There are exceptions. On the darker toned ‘Round And Round’, we get an insight into the teenage world he inhabits – one of girls looking “deadly”, friends “half past dead”, and a peer group who “plan on getting out”. More of this and And So The Story Goes could have been very special.
Still, it marks a successful transition into the international mainstream for the Dublin youngster. While there are no guarantees that it will set the world alight, it will certainly surprise the doubters and that’s enough to be going on with. George Murphy is a serious contender. Now you know.