Mark Heard - High Noon

This collection of songs from Mark Heard's last three recordings before his death in August 1992 is a roots-rocker's delight. Electric mandolin, guitar, Chapman Stick, and the occasional accordion and fiddle grind out music that is equal parts rock, Cajun, country, and folk. The real beauty, however, lies in Heard's lyrics, which rise above romance, religion, or politics to address the human condition. Whether it be the lonely despair of "Orphans of God," the confrontation of one's fears in "Look Over Your Shoulder," or the plea for resurrection in "Treasure of the Broken Land," Heard sought out the best and worst in all of us, trying to find the "miraculous circumstance, where the blind ones see and the dry bones dance." --Brad Caviness Amazon.com

The Best Music You've Never Heard

Unlike many singer/songwriters, Mark Heard's later music is at least as good as his earlier work, and probably better on the whole. (His musical growth reminds me of the Beatles'.) This CD picks four or five of the best tracks from each of his last three CDs, adds in four unreleased tracks (each of them very good), and BINGO!-- you have a generous 18-track album that's hard to equal: musically very listenable and memorable, lyrically poetic and full of insight, spiritually poignant and uplifting. Wow. It's like a great meal that's delicious and leaves you comfortably satisfied. Not only that, but it's probably the best place to start if you're not familiar with Mark's work-- or if you haven't heard his later work-- because you get to sample each of his last three albums. The "Satellite Sky" CD in particular was stylistically quite different from most of his other work, so it's nice to be able to sample some of its best tracks to see how much you like them before deciding whether to buy the CD they were originally on. October 17, 2002

Essential Mark Heard

If you only want to own one Mark Heard CD - shame on you!! Just kidding. But seriously, this CD belongs in every CD collection. Mark was a stellar musician and a gifted songwriter. This is a collection of songs from his later CD's and has a few unreleased gems on it as well. Mark is an artist who deserved a wider listening audience, but died before he could achieve that honor in his lifetime.

All of the songs on this CD are wonderful examples of Marks passion for life and music. His music reflects life as it really is and the joys and heartaches that we all share as human beings. Undergirding all of the songs are Mark's Christian beliefs, probably best illustrated by the song 'Stong Hand of Love'.

"We can laugh, we can cry, and never see the stong hand of love hiding in the shadows". July 11, 2001

A Good Place to Start

This record is a good place to start if you've never come across any of Mark's music before. You get songs from his last three recordings ('Dry Bones Dance', 'Second Hand' and 'Satellite Sky') plus some unreleased stuff plus a track lifted off the multi-artist 'At the Foot of the Cross' album. This should have been a double album so as to showcase the length and breadth of Mark's talent and sweat-stained recording work. Nevertheless, unlike a lot of artists his later work is just as vital, creative and passionate as any of his earlier stuff. His untimely death in 1992 left a legacy of work that belies his lack of 'success'. Mark's lyrical depth and his commitment to roots music is powerfully displayed by this collection. Musically this record runs the gamut from aching solo-piano-driven balladry ('What Kind of Friend') to rollicking, noisy, full-tilt hillbilly-inspired, country rock ('The Dry Bones Dance'). The songs 'Another Day in Limbo', 'Hammer and Nails', 'Treasure of the Broken Land' (from 'Satellite Sky) and the previously unreleased 'She's Not Afraid' have a 'harder' electric feel, (unfortunatley they seem to have that tinny, treble-friendly sound common to recordings made by sound engineers with hearing damage :-)), and the first three have an almost '80s New Wave edge to them (as bizarre as that might sound!). The use of classic roots music instruments like piano-accordian, harmonica, upright-bass, hammond organ and fiddle flow over a consistently excellent foundation laid by Mark's own great guitar work and the likes of Michael Been ('The Call') on bass and David Raven on drums. This whole delicious, rootsy sound is augmented by kalimba (an African (?) thumb piano which sounds like a synth on these recordings), hammered dulcimer, electric mandolin, chapman stick (courtesy of Fergus Jemison Marsh, a long time Bruce Cockburn co-conspirator), pump organ, a horn section and more percussion than a world music festival! - you get the picture right?! Mark wore his spiritual and socio-political bents un-selfconsciously and they are laid bear here with such poetic, beautiful gentleness that you'll be crying out for more. Mark's lyrical creativity touches upon everything from domestic bliss under pressure (the humorous 'Shaky Situation') to the plight of illegal migrant workers (?) ('Another Day in Limbo') to the unseen presence of God in our lives ('Strong Hand of Love'). The bitter-sweetness of 'House of Broken Dreams' which mourns the fact 'That dreams are quickly spent/Like a pouring rain on dry cement/Or fingerprints in dust/Nectar on the wind/Save them for tomorrow and tomorrow lets you down again' is only one example of the lyrical gems on this album. Enjoy! September 27, 2000

Until people start to listen....

If you've never heard Heard (sorry) then it's time you did. Criminally underrated, Bruce Cockburn called him America's greatest songwriter and Pierce Pettis swore to record a Heard song on every album until people started to pay attention. This is a great album, with all of his usual lyrical depth, but it's a little one paced. You should buy Dry Bones Dance if you want a real intro to Mark, but until that's available on Amazon, buy this. Great songs, relevant lyrics and lots of rootsy groove, you'll love it. March 6, 2000

what an album!

A few months ago, I was listening to a friend perform an acoustic show in Nashville, TN. My friend did a cover of Mark Heard's song Orphans of God. I immediately bought this album and can't stop listening to it. If Orphans of God was the only song on this album, I would still give it five stars. December 24, 1999

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