Description
The Lost Artifacts of an American Poet, sub-titled The Original Recordings of Mark Heard, Part II, is a compilation CD featuring previously unreleased recordings by the American singer and songwriter Mark Heard, posthumously released on Solid Rock Records in 2008.
These recently uncovered Mark Heard songs contain many of his primary recordings. Solid Rock Records had signed Mark Heard two years before the “Mother” company finally agreed to release his Solid Rock album, which was largely produced by himself. So from the first week Mark moved to Los Angeles and went into the Solid Rock Studios until he was able to make official recordings, he would often drop by SRS and record these beautiful renditions of songs he had written.
His skill as a guitarist and the subtlety of his chording is alarmingly clear. One only has to listen, in contrast, to the songs he later made official recordings of to see that any augmentation through arrangements detracted a great deal of the beauty of his natural instinct and disciplined gift.
Close your eyes. And welcome to Mark’s world.
(Master Recordings #2) [CD liner notes]
The second volume in this series sees 11 more demos recorded at Solid Rock Studios in the ’70s by the late US Jesus music pioneer Mark Heard. Less Christian in context than the previous instalment, Heard’s natural flair for songwriting is captured in the delightful «Bluegill On The Line» and «To Walk In The Wood» which betray his melodic sensibility as well as a country boy persona. Nonetheless, Heard references his relationship with God in the evangelical «Goes A Long Way» and the Christmas song «Bethlehymn». More experimental than its predecessor, songs such as «Life’s Ocean» and the wonderful «Not Alone» may well have come from his time as a member of the short lived folk rock band Infinity+3 but unfortunately the liner notes do not shed any light on this matter. Another Infinity+3 track, the cryptic «Second Best Friend», makes an appearance to seal what is already a hugely enjoyable release. [Lins Honeyman, Cross Rhythms, 2008]
CD tracklist:
01. Bluegill On The Line
02. Cold Soaking Rain
03. Life’s Ocean
04. October Farms
05. Second Best Friend
06. To Walk In The Wood
07. How Long
08. Not Alone
09. Even So Come
10. Goes A Long Way
11. Bethlehymn
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