Description
Setting Yesterday Free is the sole album by the American folk-rock band Infinity Plus Three featuring singer-songwriter Mark Heard, originally recorded in 1970, originally self-released by the group. Re-issued on Spirit Records in 1972. The album was engineered by Doug Milheim with Mark Heard, Milheim, and “Jesus Christ in us all” producing.
One of the most sought after collectibles in Christian music is this three-guy two-girl Georgia group’s private press featuring a young high school Mark Heard. Although ‘Setting Yesterday Free’ has little in common with Heard’s respected solo recordings of the ’80s and ’90s, the album does have an artful refreshing acoustic folk-rock style, homemade as it may be. You can hear Heard on several tracks, but the other vocalists, songwriters and musicians do a fine job as well, so it’s definitely a collective effort. Five of the songs were written by Heard, some like «You», «Not Alone» and «A Place Inside» suggesting the James Taylor-ish acoustic style he would introduce on Turning To Dust. On «Second Best Friend» he sings of one who “opened the door to my best friend” (later identified as Jesus). Glowing organ presence interacts with the acoustic guitars on «Memory» and the rustling «Life’s Ocean», while piano takes the spotlight for «Friends» and «Love». The only non-original songs are «All My Trials» and Eric Clapton’s «Presence Of The Lord», Heard contributing harmonica to the latter. Nice layers of acoustic guitar work throughout. [Ken Scott, Archivist, 4th Edition]
Mark Heard is on the far left in the cover photo. He also conceived the album cover photo as he also was into photography at that time. Took a picture of a large leaf with the sun in the background making the leaf almost transparent where you mostly saw just the veins of the leaf, then took the group shot using a timer over the same frame. [Terry Jones Rogers, original member of Infinity Plus Three]
Mark Heard graduated from high school in Macon, Georgia, in 1970 and moved to Athens to attend the University of Georgia, pursuing a degree in film and television production. Heard formed the band Infinity Plus Three and became extensively involved with Campus Crusades for Christ. (Heard had played with various rock and R&B bands in high school, and had a rock band for a while in college in addition to Infinity Plus Three.) The following year the band recorded ‘Setting Yesterday Free’, an album released in 1972. Heard wrote six songs, contributed guitar, bass, harmonica, and vocals; as well as co-producing the album with Doug Milheim. Heard’s lyrics reveal an interest in metaphor, a capacity for introspection, and careful choice of words. In the liner notes to ‘Appalachian Melody‘, Heard recounted that not long after ‘Setting Yesterday Free’ was released, he was getting tired of the stereotypes surrounding Christian music, so he left the group and began performing solo. In 1972 Mark Heard was offered a recording contract by Columbia Records (a major label featuring artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen), but since he wasn’t 21 yet, he needed parental approval. Believing his son was better off staying in college, Heard’s father refused to sign the contract and the opportunity fell through.
This his amazing little gem may be the most difficult album of the entire list to track down. Released in 1970, this album predates classic Larry Norman and Love Song albums by a year or more. The album is most notable for the inclusion of Mark Heard on guitar, bass and vocals. Heard also lent his songwriting skills to the quartet and it is the very first recording of famed singer-songwriter.
The album contain a cover of Eric Clapton’s «In the Presence of the Lord» as well as original material. This is pure late 60’s acoustic folk and fits right in with early Fleetwood Mac, The Mamas and the Papas, James Taylor and Bob Dylan. The production is a bit rough, but nothing out of the ordinary for the time for independent releases forced to record on less than shoestring budgets. [ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “All My Trials” – 1:56
A2. “Life’s Ocean” – 2:32
A3. “You” – 1:19
A4. “Morning Light” – 3:17
A5. “Memory” – 3:41
A6. “Friends” – 2:22
Side Two
B1. “Presence Of The Lord” – 3:52
B2. “Second Best Friend” – 2:33
B3. “Not Alone” – 2:46
B4. “A Place Inside” – 2:37
B5. “Love” – 3:39
Note: A sealed unplayed copy of the vinyl was used to create at digital copy of the album, which was re-issued by Fingerprint Records as a Limited Edition CD-R in 1998 (“All proceeds benefit the Heard Family Fund”) featuring the following bonus live tracks: “Washed To The Sea” (2:36), “Nothing Is Bothering Me” (4:15), “With Broken Wings” (4:48), and “Rise From The Ruins” (3:06). Bonus tracks recorded live in 1986, except “Rise from the Ruins” recorded live at Cornerstone 1992.
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