Tryin' to Get There (Audium, 2004)

Once upon a time, David Lee Murphy was on top of the heap with "Party Crowd" and "Dust on the Bottle," but in the music world of today, that was eons ago. Murphy, who puts some meaty guitars in his country tank, took it easy for awhile, forgoing releasing CDs for the road.

On his first album in six years, Murphy could not be accused of altering his basic formula. The Illinois native still alternates between power type ballads ("Inspiration") and more uptempo country rockers (the lead off "I Like It Already" and "Same Ol' Same Ol'"). And Murphy still sings well with a warm voice evident on songs like "Mama's Last," and the title track, which sounds like something Waylon would have sung - with good reason. He and Murphy wrote the song.

Where the long break may have done Murphy good is in the marketplace as the pop country sound that dominated country radio in recent years was his death knell. With changing times, the result is a hit with "Loco." There actually are many better songs among the 12 than that. Murphy generated a consistent album ready for these times.