ELLIOTT MURPHY : NIGHT LIGHTS

 

  1. Diamonds By The Yard
  2. Deco Dance
  3. Rich Girls
  4. Abraham Lincoln Continental
  5. Isadora's Dancers
  6. You Never Know What You're In For
  7. Lady Stilletto
  8. Lookin' For A Hero
  9. Never As Old As You

Label : RCA

Release Date : 1976

Length : 39:58

Review (AllMusic) : Elliott Murphy returned to recording in New York City for his third album, emphasizing the point by posing for the cover in the middle of 42nd Street. Enlisting producer Steve Katz, who had handled the last three Lou Reed albums, Murphy fronted a studio band including former Velvet Underground singer/guitarist Doug Yule and former Modern Lovers Ernie Brooks (bass) and Jerry Harrison (keyboards), who was soon to join Talking Heads. They gave Murphy a more contemporary and diverse rock sound, further distinguished from the first two albums by Murphy's development into a more expressive singer. He had even cut back on the referential nature of his lyrics, relying instead on clever wordplay and evocative free association, though he was still capable of throwing out lines like "Just a ballad of a thin girl," dangerous stuff for anyone who had been tagged a "new Dylan." For the most part, though, Night Lights showed Murphy to be moving beyond his obvious influences, even if his lyrics sometimes seemed in need of a sharper focus.

Review (Wikipedia) : Night Lights is the third major label album by singer-songwriter Elliott Murphy produced by Steve Katz and recorded at Electric Lady Studio. It was reviewed by Dave Marsh in Rolling Stone, where he wrote, "In 1973 and 1974 it seemed to many of us in New York that it was a tossup whether Bruce Springsteen, the native poet of the mean streets, or Elliott Murphy, the slumming suburbanite with the ironic eye, would become a national hero." The album featured guest appearances by fellow Long Island native Billy Joel and former Velvet Underground member Doug Yule. The cover photo of Murphy standing in Times Square early one Sunday Morning was taken by photographer Michael Dakota although stylised by Steven Meisel. The song "Lady Stilletto" was thought to be an homage to Patti Smith.