Michael Martin Murphey - Flowing Free Forever (1976)

Flowing Free Forever lent "Cherokee Fiddle" to the movie Urban Cowboy, but the rest of Michael Martin Murphey's efforts are just as pleasing. Not only does the album establish Murphey's love of wide open spaces and his desire to let his soul roam freely, but there's also a great deal of saxophone, steel guitar, banjo, fiddle, and mandolin to accompany his modern cowboy poetry. Although the album wasn't as commercially successful as a few of his earlier releases, Murphey's visions and persona remain intact, from the slight down-home feel of "See How All the Horses Come Dancing" to songs with a little more depth like "Wandering Minstrel" and "North Wind and a New Moon." Swans Against the Sun was released in the same year as Flowing Free Forever and it may have stolen a little bit of Flowing's thunder, but for Michael Martin Murphey fans, this album should be included in their collections.