Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks & Alleys is the eighth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his first live album. The first five tracks were recorded at the legendary Palomino Club in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, an important West Coast country music venue. The remaining five tracks are studio recordings. The live tracks showcase Murphey's early work with some interesting twists. His "Cosmic Cowboy" turns into a breakdown, while "Another Cheap Western" is coupled with The Olympics' 1958 hit, "Western Movies". The album produced the singles "Backslider's Wine" and "Chain Gang" that peaked at numbers 92 and 93 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart respectively.
It was the final album in which he was credited as "Michael Murphey"—all of his subsequent releases have been under his full name.
The woman featured on the album cover with Michael was his girlfriend and future wife (1980-2001), fashion model, Mary Maciukas
Track listing "Cosmic Cowboy" / "Cosmic Breakdown" (Murphey) – 6:08 "Another Cheap Western / Western Movies" (Murphey, Cliff Goldsmith, Fred Sledge Smith) – 4:08 "Years Behind Bars" (Murphey) – 3:11 "Backslider's Wine" (Murphey) – 3:25 "Geronimo's Cadillac" (Murphey, Charles Quarto) – 6:47 "South Coast" (Murphey) – 4:05 "Chain Gang" (Sam Cooke) – 3:57 "Once a Drifter" (Murphey) – 4:41 "Texas Morning" (Murphey, Castleman) – 4:12 "Lightning" (Murphey) – 4:31
Credits Music Michael Martin Murphey – vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica Sam Broussard – guitar, background vocals Dan Dugmore – steel guitar Doug Dillard – banjo Byron Berline – fiddle Rod Phillips – keyboards Jai Winding – keyboards Don Brooks – harmonica Bob Glaub – bass Mike Botts – drums Gary Coleman – percussion Tom Kelly – background vocals Katy Moffatt – background vocals Timothy B. Schmit – background vocals Bobby Kimball – background vocals
Production John Boylan – producer Paul Grupp – engineer
References
External links Michael Martin Murphey's Official Website