Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to review Mark Harrison’s work. His fame and his fan base have been growing exponentially with each album cycle so I was thrilled to receive a sneak preview of his latest album Fools & Clowns, which is set to be released on 30th August.
I’ve previously said that Mark’s music was my guilty pleasure. It’s not the genre that you might expect me to be listening to but to quote Classic Rock Magazine “Everybody should be talking about Mark Harrison!” They really should!
Mark Harrison is a breath of fresh air to songwriting! He is the ultimate lyrical storyteller.
To quote from the album’s press release –
“FOOLS & CLOWNS is a collection of brand-new and totally unique songs in a timeless style that would sit well right next to the classic artists of the golden era such as The Band and Little Feat. It’s music to sit and listen to and pore over, and it’s music to make you smile and get up and dance too. You won’t hear anything else quite like it. The extraordinary MARK HARRISON BAND has a unique sound and style that is very much their own genre, and incorporates elements of classic roots, rock, folk and blues. Each track on FOOLS & CLOWNS is an event in its own right, each with its own highly distinctive arrangement and sounds. The album features Mark on National,12-string and electric guitars and vocals, Charles Benfield (bass, harmonies, electric guitar, keyboards, mandolin) and Ben Welburn (drums and percussion), and guest Guy Bennett on lead guitar and keyboards. Superbly produced, mixed and mastered by Buzz Allan, FOOLS & CLOWNS is beautifully packaged, with superb artwork by Andy Hall of We Are Frank, whose artwork on all Mark’s previous albums is much admired.
FOOLS & CLOWNS covers all manner of topics not normally found in songs, including house rent parties, the modern workplace, episodes in the lives of the original blues artists, a comparison between the great inventions of the past like sewage systems and modern inventions like social media, and today’s charlatans in new industries extracting money from the hapless citizen. Mark’s songs together present a world view, upsides and downsides of the human condition, common experiences of trying to get by, and fun in the face of adversity. In short, the human spirit.”
Ok maybe that’s cheating a bit but it gets the facts out there from the get go.
Now to the new songs themselves. I’m not a musician so am not qualified to comment on the complexities of each new song. I can only comment as music loving fan.
Each of the 13 new songs is as quirky and catchy as we’ve come to expect from Mark. Think of this record as 13 new 21st century contemporary tales as much as 13 new songs. My personal favourite as much for the title as anything else is The Great Stink. I loved the sleepy easy feel to Road Ahead Closed. Album closer is Ricky and if you listen to the lyrics, I think we all know an aspiring star like “Ricky.” Well, who are we to quash anyone’s dreams. We’ve all seen someone in a small club venue play as if it were Wembley Stadium.
Another sonic masterpiece from Mark and co. Do yourself a favour and check this one out.
You can purchase the album and Mark’s other records at
www.markharrisonrootsmusic.com
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