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Powder Blue Tux EP sampler
The sampler for Barney Hurley's upcoming 'Powder Blue Tux' EP is now available to order. Available on both 7” (180 gram audiophile vinyl) and CD (housed in a Mini-LP cover). The vinyl edition was cut by Scott Hull at Masterdisk, NYC - for optimum sonic excellence, and of course, his peerless mastering - to offer the finest sounding musical experience across both formats. Available from Amazon.
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A bit about Samuel Purdey
Hailing originally from Brighton, on the UK’s Sussex Riviera, Samuel Purdey consists of songwriting partnership, Barney Hurley and Gavin Dodds.
Before forming Samuel Purdey, Barney had a brief spell touring with Acid Jazz old boys Jamiroquai and Mother Earth, as well as occasional session appearances with amongst others, Robbie Gordon of Gil Scott Heron fame. Gavin also had a life before Samuel Purdey recording and touring with Jamiroquai.
Initially, albeit temporarily, the pair worked with Acid Jazz who included their Tower of Power cover of “Clever Girl” on Totally Wired 11. Quickly however they moved on and signed to the Sony backed “Good Sounds” label which would become their home for the recording of their first and to date, only album, “Musically Adrfit”, released in 1999.
Prior to the release of “Musically Adrift” 2 offerings were made to the great unwashed in the form of “Good Sounds Sampler 1” which as well as Samuel Purdey’s “Santa Rosa” and “Whatever I Do” included Tom Scott’s little know classic “Jump Back” from the cult cartoon movie “The Nine Lives Of Fritz the Cat” (1974) plus the painfully rare “The Theme from Black Belt Jones” by Dennis Coffey from the planned but never released Good Sounds soundtrack compilation “Movie Grooves”.
Next came the single “Lucky Radio” which charted at number 5 in the Tokio Hot 100 and also appeared on “Acid Jazz Past & Present” (Prophecy USA) and “X-Press 2 – Choice – A Collection of Classics” (Azuli UK). Lucky Radio was also released on the compilation 'Mellow Groove' (P-Vine Records, Japan) in July 2009 and again on the P-Vine Records' compilation 'Summer Dream - Modern AOR Vibes' in July 2019.
Samuel Purdey's "Whatever I Do" features on P-Vine Records' follow up compilation 'Mellow Groove - Sunshine Avenue' (July 2010) and P-Vine Records' 'City Soul - Today's Soul, AOR & Blue Eyed Soul' (November 2019).
The ‘Remastered’ version of Musically Adrift was released January 21, 2009 by Grey Dog’s Records in Japan and includes Kiss FM Japan’s No.1 single, Whatever I Do, plus an exclusive bonus track.
On February 5, 2013 Musically Adrift was released for the first time on 180-gram vinyl LP on the legendary RAK label. The album was also released on CD on August 12, 2013 by Tummy Touch Records. On the eve of its release, it reached No.1 on the Amazon Fusion & Jazz Funk album chart.
On March the 19th, 2019 a newly remastered reissue of Musically Adrift was released on P-Vine Records, Japan which includes an exclusive new bonus track.
On the 11th of November 2019 a 20th anniversary edition of Musically Adrift was released by P-Vine Records, Japan on 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl - the LP was cut from the original master tapes and includes an inner/lyric sleeve & Obi strip.
On the 24th of November 2021 Samuel Purdey's 'Lucky Radio' (with the album cut 'Bitter With The Sweet' as the B-side) was released on 7" single by P-Vine Records, Japan. The vinyl was cut from the original analog master tapes and pressed to 180-gram audiophile vinyl.
Musically Adrift
Samuel Purdey’s 1999 album 'Musically Adrift' is exactly that - the right record at the wrong time. An overlooked classic when it was first released, but a timeless body of work - as good now as it was then.
A discerning listener shouldn't fail to notice the influences; Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Earth, Wind & Fire, Hall & Oates, Airplay, Bill LaBounty, Leon Ware, Rickie Lee Jones, Pages, Tower of Power, Chicago... I could go on but I’m sure you get the picture.
And the personnel on the record is not to be sniffed at either, further validating the pedigree of this precious gem which, over time, is earning the cult status it so deserves. Ten points for spotting performances of any of the following (day jobs in brackets to give you a head start): Frank Floyd (Donald Fagen/Steely Dan), Elliott Randall (Steely Dan/John Lennon), Robbie Gordon (Gil Scott Heron), Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai/Mark Ronson), Jan Kincaid and Andrew Levy (The Brand New Heavies), Ian Thomas (Mark Knopfler/10cc), Luís Jardim (Paul McCartney/David Bowie), Neil Cowley (Adele/The Neil Cowley Trio) and The Kick Horns (Dr. John/Michael McDonald/Eric Clapton). And the guys twiddling the knobs weren’t bad: Elliot Scheiner (The Eagles/Steely Dan/Van Morrison), Brian Tench (Bee Gees/Kate Bush), and Bob Power (Erykah Badu/A Tribe Called Quest).
A few nice things some famous people have said about Samuel Purdey and their music
John Robinson (Uncut Magazine)
Barney Hurley is a Steely Dan scholar, and hip priest of sophisticated pop.
Jay Kay (Jamiroquai)
Lucky Radio was the best single of 1996.
Jay Graydon (Airplay/Hall & Oates/Steely Dan)
I am a sucker for quality pop with hints of jazz and R&B! The composition, musicianship, vocal performance, and production is as good as it gets! I am also a sucker for unexpected hip chord changes along with melodies that are memorable that float over the chord changes seamlessly! Very well done gentlemen!
Elliott Randall (Steely Dan/John Lennon)
It's pretty unusual, in this day and age, to find a more dedicated, fun, and inventive bunch of guys than 'Samuel Purdey'. My hat is off to them, and I can't wait to make more magic with these folks.
Bob Power (Grammy Award-winning Producer for Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Q-Tip, De La Soul, Chaka Khan, Pat Metheny et al)
These guys are the real deal; superlative musicianship, finely crafted songs...this harkens back to a different, treasured era of record making.
'Hollywood' Steve Huey (Yacht Rock host and AllMusic critic)
During Westcoast music's wilderness years, Samuel Purdey kept the fire burning bright, embracing the smooth and sophisticated sound of the so-called L.A. session mafia long before it was considered a hip target for revival. Back when the likes of Steely Dan and Michael McDonald were still dismissed across the Internet as overly polished easy-listening dreck, Samuel Purdey had the balls to draw direct inspiration from the much-maligned sound of Yacht Rock, years before the genre was even retroactively christened as such.
Swimming against popular currents in their unabashed, unironic love of those influences, Barney Hurley and Gavin Dodds unapologetically filtered westcoast-style Jazz-Pop and Blue-eyed soul through the sensibility of the U.K. Acid-Jazz and Rare-Groove movements. Way ahead of its time, their lone album Musically Adrift anticipates the 21st century's reappraisal of the musical value of Yacht Rock, but arrived far too early to capitalize. Right this historical wrong, and pick up a copy today!
Ashley Beadle (X-Press 2)
This record has echoes of The Doobie Brothers & Steely Dan, & being a great white soul freak it just struck home right away. The only thing written on the label is Samuel Purdey, and the label it was sent out on went bust before it even got started. It's mysterious - and I like it like that! Why wasn't it a massive hit? It's called Lucky Radio and sounds brilliant on the radio, it should be in the top five today. It's timeless. I'll pick this record up in ten years and it will still sound just as fresh as it does today. It's in its own era - which is no era.
Sean Rowley (BBC radio DJ and originator of 'Guilty Pleasures')
Musically Adrift is an album of soft-rock glory.
Bill Champlin (The Sons Of Champlin/Chicago)
Man, your stuff sounds great. Kind of a cross between 3 or 4 great things out there. Steely meets Ambrosia meets The Average White Band and, well, after 3 tunes I just realized you got your own thing and it's really good.
Tom Snow (Grammy and Oscar winning songwriter for Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Barbra Streisand, George Benson et al)
This music makes me smile, move, and want to play it again and again. Always for me, the first thing any kind of music should do is activate my soul, not my head. My initial reaction to anything new I listen to is fundamentally emotional. And, in the case of Samuel Purdey, it was like getting a shotgun blast to my groove center. Slamming tracks, great vocals all intelligently rendered.
Peter Paphides (Broadcaster and journalist. The BBC, Mojo, Q, Melody Maker)
Musically Adrift is pushing Steely Dan buttons I didn't even know I had - solid, obscure, gold.
Brian Sweet (Steely Dan biographer)
How did I miss Samuel Purdey and more specifically Musically Adrift back in the day? I probably was musically adrift; not for me the likes of Fatboy Slim, Blur, Britney Spears, Oasis, The Corrs et al. But miss it I did and for that I'll always be somewhat embarrassed. So having been finally exposed to it all these years later, it's immediately apparent that there is an abundance of professionalism and craft behind these songs. And the roster of crack former Steely Dan session players who have been more than happy to make guest appearances in the studio also testifies to that fact.
These guys wear their influences right out there on their sleeves. Even now that 1999 funky style of Samuel Purdey sounds like some Californian dude ranch recording sessions which were unearthed in a 1970s time capsule. The Japanese heard it and got it big time; oh those Japanese. So I'll go with them - give me virtually any song on Musically Adrift because it's really hard to select just one or two. How come it wasn't way bigger? Well, here's a thought: what about if Walter Becker had produced Samuel Purdey instead of China Crisis ...?
Richard Page (Pages/Mr. Mister)
Nice to hear someone's keeping the old flame burning.
Jan Kincaid (The Brand New Heavies/MF Robots)
I have nothing but good memories on being involved in this record (Musically Adrift). The musicians involved, the attention to detail and the love put into it made it a rarity even as it was being made.
Great songwriting and a quality control in the production and musicianship which drew from some of the greatest benchmark studio albums of the 1970’s, a testament to how good music could be in an age before Pro Tools and easy editing techniques. Good vibrations ooze from the grooves of this wonderful piece of plastic. Maybe it’s time they left their large country piles and laid down some more love?
Bill LaBounty (West Coast/AOR royalty)
'Musically Adrift' is a great album with lots of vibe!
Tom Saviano (Founding member of 70's West Coast/Jazz-Funk band 'Heat' and saxophonist with Earth, Wind & Fire, Chicago, Ray Charles et al)
Upon listening to the first three cuts from the Samuel Purdey album "Musically Adrift", I hear jazz influenced chord changes, lush vocal, string and horn arrangements reminiscent of Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Michael McDonald and Ambrosia. The rest of the songs on this album follow suit. This is music of substance performed by high quality musicians. What makes Samuel Purdey stand out and separate itself from the pack is the originality of the song writing. As a writer, I can tell you this is no easy task by any means! If you are a lover of excellent music, this album is a must have. I recommend you purchase a copy of "Musically Adrift" before it sells out!
Don Breithaupt (Emmy winner/Monkey House founder/The Breithaupt Brothers)
Musically Adrift is anything but! Samuel Purdey's focused, nuanced pop is ageless and — hurrah! — made of ingredients you cannot buy in plug-in form.
Robyn Flans (Mix Magazine journalist and author of 'It's About Time: Jeff Porcaro - The Man and His Music')
Samuel Purdey is music's best kept secret! I must take exception with the title of their 1999 album, 'Musically Adrift', however. As a wordsmith, I would say Samuel Purdey is anything but adrift/aimless. This band is spot on and knows exactly what it is!
Toshiki Nakada (Music journalist/Cool Sound label owner/Composer)
'Musically Adrift' was first released in Japan in 1999 and I still can't forget the impact that album had on me. It was truly groundbreaking that a Steely Dan-loving unit from the U.K and not the U.S created a Steely Dan sound without being just another Steely Dan imitation band. Core member, Barney Hurley, is a peerless AOR/West Coast fanatic and has become an indispensable friend. Keep up the good work, Brother!
Paul Crockford (Manager of Mark Knopfler, Tears For Fears et al)
Swimming out from a sea of shoe gazing miserable Northerners came the cool, cool sounds of Samuel Purdey on a wave of honey sweet harmonies, irresistible tunes, punchy horn arrangements and facial hair.
The combined talents of Barney Hurley and Gavin Dodds bring you the unique but achingly familiar sound of their only album. Meticulously recorded and delivered with a swagger that is redolent of Laurel Canyon and the Santa Monica beaches but actually created on the UK’s own London by Sea of Brighton, ‘Musically Adrift’ is a triumph very rarely delivered by English musicians.
Standing proud of its musicianship and cocking a snoop at fashion of any kind, including sartorial, Gavin and Barney drift down the airwaves steadfastly ploughing their own furrow and daring to be photographed looking like a pair of Californian beach bums without the sun or sex appeal. Who can look at the shot of them next to and astride the radio and not be impressed?
These guys want to have their music played, they want you to like it and if you have intelligent feet they want you to dance to it. Multiple time signatures yet haunting refrains that insinuate themselves and stick around like '60s cop show themes, this is music to be appreciated, applauded and shouted from the highest point on Brighton Racecourse.
Buy this record and play it to your friends with that smug awareness that says, ‘I have something that you don’t.’ The feeling of superiority will be worth it.
Dean Rudland (A&R at Ace Records)
Hmmm, that’s nice…I opened up the post and pulled out the thick cardboard sleeve and the just as substantial vinyl for ‘Musically Adrift’ and it felt that a journey had been completed. The album had been one of my favourites since a Japanese copy was given to me by Keiron or Barney or maybe Gavin sometime in the late 90s. I raved about it to my friends, and told them that they had to get themselves a copy when it came out in the UK later that year. That date never came, and that CD was played and played again, transferred to my iTunes and listened to time and again across continents and at home in South London. Sometimes I would be asked where to buy this gem, but could never help.
The music was fantastic, influenced by the kind of AOR soul that is only today being truly lauded, and given its place in the musical canon. In it’s perfectionist tendencies it threw up images of driving a sharp open topped sports car down the pacific highway, the wind tousling your shoulder length hair and beard, the ocean spray flecking your American Optical sunglasses, as you fiddle with the FM dial on the radio, before ‘Valerie’ bursts out through the speakers. It needed to be heard by a wider audience, and ideally had to be on vinyl.
‘Musically Adrift’, audible heaven.
Some links for your delectation
Watch the official video for Lucky Radio in HD
youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=3_k_nYvJhRE
Inside MusiCast interview with Barney Hurley about the magic behind Musically Adrift
Recent magazine reviews of Musically Adrift
Q, MOJO and UNCUT magazine reviews
Where to buy Samuel Purdey's music
On the 24th of November 2021 Samuel Purdey's 'Lucky Radio' (with the album cut 'Bitter With The Sweet' as the B-side) was released on 7" single by P-Vine Records, Japan. The vinyl was cut from the original analog master tapes and pressed to 180-gram audiophile vinyl.
On the 11th of November 2019 a 20th anniversary edition of Musically Adrift was released by P-Vine Records, Japan on 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl - the LP was cut from the original master tapes and includes an inner/lyric sleeve & Obi strip.
Available at Tower Records Japan
On 19th March, 2019 a newly remastered reissue of Musically Adrift was released on P-Vine Records, Japan which includes an exclusive new bonus track.
The Tummy Touch (2013) release of Musically Adrift is now available on CD at Amazon.com
The RAK (2013) release of Musically Adrift is available on 180-gram vinyl LP from Amazon.com
The previous Remastered version of Musically Adrift is available on CD at Amazon.com
Samuel Purdey on featured compilations
Summer Dream 2022
Available at Tower Records Japan
Ashley Beedle's X-Press 2 compilation - Choice: A Collection of Classics
Acid Jazz U.K. Past & Present, Vol. 1
Acid Jazz Meets Free Soul, Vol. 2
Mellow Groove
Available at Amazon.co.jp (Japan)
Mellow Groove - Sunshine Avenue
Available at Amazon.co.jp (Japan)
Summer Dream
Available at Tower Records Japan
City Soul
Available at Amazon.co.jp (Japan)
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