"Originally released in ’95, but comprised of stuff recorded “1965-72 on a mono Wollensak…” Home recorded solo acoustic guitar/vox – pure backporch folk genius. The thing about Hurley is that he sounds like he drank a couple glasses of wine, casually picked up a guitar & started playing & singing, without a thought, without any particular effort, without even the knowledge that he was being recorded, & ends up with something so casually perfect – a little odd, some slightly crazy little turns, nothing showy or splashy…feelings implied, not overplayed, & all the more real for it. Guitar inventive, more than well played, but without the sort of virtuosity with which so many folkies try to justify their music. No Dylan moves, no folklorish purism or formalism. It’s a lot easier to reel off the things that this is not than to give a good idea of exactly what is going on here if you haven’t heard Hurley before, not because it’s radically outside the pale, but because the difference between this & standard issue folkie fodder is pretty subtle, but so, so crucial – its like a piece of driftwood you see on a beach full of driftwood – you pick this particular piece up, take it home. You look at it every day on your mantle, & you never tire of it. You never thought too much about driftwood before, its just this one piece, you don’t know exactly why, but you love it. Friends say, oh, you like driftwood – I have a whole room full of it. They show you all their best pieces, but you couldn’t care less. They’re similar to your piece, but your piece is still the best. That’s Michael Hurley." - exiledrecords.com