Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks & Alleys

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.[2][3]

Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks & Alleys
Live album by Michael Martin Murphey
Released	1979
Recorded	Palomino Club, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Country, cowboy music
Length	45:05
Label	Epic
Producer	John Boylan
Michael Martin Murphey chronology
Lone Wolf (1978) Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks & Alleys (1979) Hard Country (1981)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

It was the final album in which he was credited as "Michael Murphey"—all of his subsequent releases have been under his full name.

Track listing

1. "Cosmic Cowboy" / "Cosmic Breakdown" (Murphey) – 6:08
2. "Another Cheap Western / Western Movies" (Murphey, Cliff Goldsmith, Fred Sledge Smith) – 4:08
3. "Years Behind Bars" (Murphey) – 3:11
4. "Backslider's Wine" (Murphey) – 3:25
5. "Geronimo's Cadillac" (Murphey, Quarto) – 6:47
6. "South Coast" (Murphey) – 4:05
7. "Chain Gang" (Murphey) – 3:57
8. "Once a Drifter" (Murphey) – 4:41
9. "Texas Morning" (Murphey, Castleman) – 4:12
10. "Lightning" (Murphey) – 4:31[2][3]

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[2][3]

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Worbois, Jim. "Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks & Alleys". Allmusic. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
3. "Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks & Alleys". Discogs. Retrieved May 24, 2012.

External links

• Michael Martin Murphey's Official Website