GM7W RELEASES

“Yeah Yeah” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders
(©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Catalyst Production 2024).
Words, Music & Artwork by ©James Gregory Murray 2024.
“The Way She Talks” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders
(©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Mark Eyden at Sun Street Studios 2024).
Words, Music & Artwork by ©James Gregory Murray 2024.
“Lay Your Head Down” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders
(©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Mark Eyden at Sun Street Studios 2024).
Words, Music & Artwork by ©James Gregory Murray 2024.
“Show & Tell” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders
(©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Catalyst Production 2024).
Words, Music & Artwork by ©James Gregory Murray 2024.
“Stop Making Stupid People Famous” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders
(©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Catalyst Production 2024).
Words, Music & Artwork by ©James Gregory Murray 2024.
“Who Would Have Thought Of Sending Flowers (Flowers)” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders
(©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Catalyst Production 2024).
Words & Music by ©James Gregory Murray 2024, Artwork by ©GMD&L 2024.
“Trust Me With Your Life” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Catalyst Production 2024).
Words, Music, Artwork & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2024.
“Who Have You Lifted?” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Mark Eyden 2024).
Words, Music, Artwork & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2024.
“Always For Love (featuring Shimmer Johnson)” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (©James Gregory Murray 2024, Production by Catalyst Production 2024).
Words, Music, Artwork & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2024.
“Only At Christmas…The Bells Ring On” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (©James Gregory Murray 2023)
Featuring Matt Finney on bass, Mike Insley on guitars & James Gregory Murray on everything else.
Words, Music & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2023, Artwork by GMD&L 2023.
“The Pain & Glory” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (© James Gregory Murray 2023, Production by Catalyst Production 2023).
Words, Music, Artwork & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2023.
“Wish I Was In Love With You” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (© James Gregory Murray 2023, Production by Catalyst Production 2023)
Words, Music, Artwork & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2023
“Mystery Machine” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (©James Gregory Murray 2023, Production by Catalyst Production 2023)
Words, Music, Artwork & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2023

‘Mystery Machine’ – Latest single by Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders

Despite it’s namesake, ‘Mystery Machine’ is nothing to do with the van in the ‘Scooby Doo’ cartoon. It is quite an old song that Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders have been signing out with, on lots of our live shows.  It never used to receive such an accolade but we’ve since added numerous aspects of audience participation, so maybe that has helped in it’s set position. But I’m glad it’s our next single, as I always firmly believed that it should have been our first single. The reason not, possibly being, that some people just don’t get us – we’re the band with guitar riffs, keys riffs, brass riffs, harmonica, squeezebox, harmonies, all thrown into the mix on many songs with aplomb. I try to reflect the positivity of the lyrics with the positivity of the musicality and seldom hold back. In fact, more time is spent in post production, taking away the instrumentation from the canvas, rather than adding it! ‘Mystery Machine’ is a song that has grown steadily in my appreciation of it, over the years. It’s that song in our set where we always seem to have enough in us to supply it with the energy it requires and deserves. Sometimes this can’t be said for some of our previous singles with a more fragile instrumentation/arrangement. So to put you out of your misery of just wondering what or who the ‘Mystery Machine’ is; let me tell you – we all have one and how we use it is up to us…it’s our heart – not the physical muscle that we all have, pumping blood around our bodies, but the mysterious machine that influences and motivates us to feel, love and express ourselves every moment of every day.  

The first verse sets the scene of our everyday ineptitude of expressing those three little words that we all find hard. We’re bogged down with the same pressures of life that often rise in importance before we know it.  Caught in the mortal coil or the clutches of life’s grind, if you like.  We forget to live for the day, so failing to see the beauty in life, in people, in relationships.  It’s taking that time out to ‘…stop and smell the roses’ that we just can’t get our head around.

“Can’t really say / Get in line / Haven’t got time
Caught up again / The same thing we / Get bogged down”

The pre-chorus delivers the ultimate pessimism that we should be making changes before we’re too old to appreciate what we have.  Before it’s gone and the opportunity no longer presents itself; we should be attempting to embrace what we have, who we are and the friends, family, love of our lives and the life we’ve been blessed with, before it’s too late.  But all’s not lost when we believe that the good in us, outdoes the bad – preventing us from feeling, communicating, loving and expressing ourselves for who we are – most of the time.

“The frail and the old / Less of them around
The good outdoes the bad / Most of the time”

The pessimism is turned on its head in the chorus with my attempt at some life affirming positivity where I try to make the song literally take off and soar (lyrically, vocally and musically) delivering it’s message to anyone who is willing to hear it.  I threw everything instrument-wise at the chorus to make it rise in optimism – cliché driven, I know, but I hope it gets the message across in its brash and optimistic grandeur.

“The mystery machine is our / Energy
The greatest love / We’ll ever have / You and me”

The title of the song was originally going to be “You & Me” but I already had that working title on another song, so I went for the more obvious “Mystery Machine” which I think delivers a more obscure title with listener’s wondering what the song is about, etc.  I love a good out-of-focus, cryptic lyric/title, which comes clear when you take the listener through the journey of what’s going on in the songwriters’ head. The second verse addresses the ‘love at first sight’ cliche, which we’ve all experienced at least once in a lifetime.  But it’s whether we react on it and do something about it, that counts.  We risk failing on all counts, don’t we – but is it worth the gamble?  But that’s the beauty of it – we won’t know til we’re knee deep but at least what might have been never enters our heads. It’s always worth the gamble for we’ll never know unless we take that leap of faith and sure what have we got to lose.

“Your glance / Makes it all / Worth my while / I can’t fail
Fall by the way / Side I go / One more time”

It’s a song about faith, hope, love, optimism and turning away from ever letting regret fill our psyche.  I’m hoping the optimism comes across in the arrangement of brass and guitar riffs emulating the positivity of spirit and the heart over-ruling the head in making any decisions of the heart in this life.  Love moves in mysterious ways. Go on, take that chance, for you never know when anything like it, will ever come along again.

James Gregory Murray

 

“Bought A Ring” (Re-mix) – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (©James Gregory Murray 2022)
Words, Music, Artwork & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2022
“World Stealer” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (©James Gregory Murray 2021, Production by Catalyst Production 2021)
Words, Music & Artwork by ©James Gregory Murray 2021

“Bought A Ring” – Greg Murray & The Seven Wonders (©James Gregory Murray 2020, Production by Catalyst Production 2020)
Words, Music, Artwork & Video by ©James Gregory Murray 2020

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