What people say about Mark

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Mark Harrison has been playing his unique style of Blues for years and looking back I can see that I have seen him live around a dozen times. 

This is the first album that really captures what makes his live performances so special – although a studio album the little inter-track vignettes mirror his raconteur persona.

What has not changed is the sheer quality of his playing and gentle singing style and the songs here are probably the best he has written. 

Live, he plays in solo, duet, trio or full band format and the names he has been associated with over the years are all well represented here: Charles Benfield’s double bass and Ben Webster’s drums underline his guitar playing and singing while at various points he is supported by Paddy Milner’s piano, Ed Hopwood’s harmonica and Gail Porter’s spoken introductions. A new name to me, Paul Tkachenko, adds tuba and other horns.

The songs on this gorgeous collection of songs have that most difficult of bases – they sound simple but when you listen closely he is telling tales that need to be told and the playing is of the sort of standard that most players take years to fail to achieve.

Harrison is clearly well versed in the history of acoustic Blues music and he brings that understanding through into 15 original songs that vary between Mississippi style Blues to New Orleans Blues, country Blues and almost ragtime but the key is that they are all original and there is no comparing them to any of the artists he name-checks in the intros. His obvious love of the great Bluesmen of history is to be seen in tracks such as ‘Don’t Die Till You’re Dead’ or ‘What Son House Said’ but equally he covers the Civil Rights movement on ‘Ain’t No Justice’ or Black legend such as his tale of John The Conqueror on ‘High John’. 

Any of the songs here are capable of standing on their own but inevitably there are some that stand out from the others – problem is that every time I listen through the album the standouts seem to change. 

Every track has a charm but his tales are individual and deliver something special to the listener depending on the listener. 

I do have a personal favourite in the slow and beautiful ‘Falling Down’ – “The oldest damn story ever told”.

He is a unique musician, British to his roots but happy to homage the greats and I really don’t think that there is a musician that can hold a candle to him at this time. 

Brilliant and well worth waiting for.

Folking

I really like Mark Harrison’s previous album, Turpentine, so I was delighted when he sent me The Panoramic View. Mark plays 12-string and National guitars and his core band is double bass and drums courtesy of Charles Benfield and Ben Welburn. His music is the blues but with the lightest of touches and an edge of country with piano by Paddy Milner taking us into a saloon somewhere and Paul Tkachenko’s brass taking us somewhere sleazier. On top of that he’s a very inventive song-writer.

The opening track, ‘One Small Suitcase’ is about escape and a line in the first verse suggests that our protagonists are slaves planning to run away. Without that line the song could be about a young couple eloping but perhaps both interpretations are true. You never know what Mark is going to write and so, perhaps with that in mind, he’s engaged Scottish television presenter Gail Porter to read introductions to the songs which otherwise would be printed in the booklet, going as far as to explain that the instrumental ‘Pool Meadow Strut’ is about a Coventry bus station.

Actually, Gail’s introductions are important as Mark bases several songs on old bluesmen and only a real aficionado would know that ‘Don’t Die Till You’re Dead’ was a favourite phrase of Mississippi John Hurt or that Eddie “Guitar” Burns gave up playing music and worked multiple jobs to raise the kids from two marriages as told in ‘House Full Of Children’. Although Burns’ name isn’t well-known to most people he is highly rated among Detroit bluesmen – just the sort of guy that Mark would know about.

‘What Son House Said’ is a possible interpretation of an alcoholic ramble, in fact nearly all the songs are hedged around with “might bes” or “could haves” and when the subjects under discussion are living under the Jim Crow laws in the 50s and 60s or the life of a Chinese track-layer in the 19^th century perhaps all you need is empathy for other people’s lives. Mark has that.

Dai Jeffries

https://folking.com/mark-harrison-the-panoramic-view-own-label/

Blues Blast Magazine (US)

Following on from 2016’s well-received Turpentine, The Panoramic View is British singer/guitarist/songwriter Mark Harrison’s sixth album and probably his best yet. In a collection of 15 original songs, played on a variety of acoustic instruments, recorded with crystalline clarity by Tim Bazell of Heart of Gold Studios in London, Harrison cheerfully mixes folk, blues and gospel to create an album that is uplifting, thought-provoking, entertaining and distinctly different.

In addition to singing in his unaffected yet curiously affecting voice, Harrison fingerpicks National and 12-string guitars masterfully in a Piedmont style, adroitly picking up a slide on “Ain’t No Justice”. Each song has a different line-up of musicians, from the solo ragtime instrumental “Pool Meadow Strut” (which is not, apparently, named after some rural paradise but the main bus station in the English city of Coventry) to a full band line-up. Harrison’s regular band of Charles Benfield (double bass) and Ben Welburn (drums and percussion) are joined at different time by Paddy Milner (piano), Ed Hopwood (harmonica) and Paul Tkachenko (trombone, trumpet, mandolin and even tuba on “Mess Is Everywhere”).

Like the best songwriters, Harrison’s songs are snapshots of moments in time that tell the listener more in the subtext than in the bald meaning of the words. He addresses historical events such as the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in the 1850s (“John The Chinaman”) or the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s (“Ain’t No Justice”). He proposes possible explanations for Mississippi John Hurt’s conversational farewell of “Don’t Die Till You’re Dead” in the song of the same name or what Son House was trying to articulate about the meaning of the blues in a drunken ramble recorded in the late 1960s (“What Son House Said”).

In “House Full Of Children”, Harrison sings about the love Detroit blues guitarist Eddie “Guitar” Burns had for all the children in his life and how his devotion to them prevented him from making more music. “Meet On The Other Side” is an uplifting gospel song about the hopes and beliefs of people in the afterlife.

An intriguing feature of the album is the spoken introduction to each song by Scottish TV presenter Gail Porter. It is surprising how a simple spoken sentence or two can have a material effect on the overall impact of the song by setting the scene or providing a little background to the composition.

Perhaps the emotional highlight of the album is the closing track, “Hooker’s Song”. With simple yet beautiful piano accompaniement by Milner, the song has hints of Mark Knopfler’s gentler acoustic work as Harrison sings “This is Hooker’s song and Hooker knew the truth, ‘Cos his eyes had seen the panoramic view. When you look across the scene, all so cruel and all so mean, How could anybody not sing the blues? It doesn’t matter what you think, it only matters what you do. That’s the only thing that anyone’s ever gonna know about. And if you hit me in the face, I’m gonna fall down to the ground. It won’t matter to me if you think you’re heaven bound.”

Alternatively wry, resigned, wise and optimistic, The Panoramic View is ultimately a wholly uplifting experience. The album realises Harrison’s musical vision in full Technicolor and is one of the most impressive releases of 2018. Unmissable.

http://www.bluesblastmagazine.com/mark-harrison-the-panoramic-view-album-review/

FATEA

Mark’s not only one of the most assured singer-songwriters on the scene, but also a tremendously accomplished National and 12-string guitarist. Mark’s trademark is a quirkily reflective look at contemporary life, generally couched in an idiomatically rootsy bluesy-folk styling, and this winning combination has so far seen him through five studio albums and a live set, all of which have been frequent visitors to my CD player – ample testament to their consistency and staying-power. Six years ago, I described Mark’s second album (Crooked Smile) as “seriously tasty”, and that tag will surely be Mark’s epitaph!

Mark’s latest offering, The Panoramic View, is entirely in keeping with his previous records in all the important ways: absolutely top-drawer musicianship; perceptive, empathic and often wry commentary, often (cleverly) from another person’s viewpoint, that makes you think again about the realities and tribulations of life; impeccable recording and engineering, with abundant presence and clarity; and “proper” packaging that once again observes the established, exemplary house-standard that was set right from album number one, complete with signature stylish artwork and a booklet including full lyrics. Where The Panoramic View differs from those earlier albums is in in one purely audio aspect of the album’s presentation – each song is prefaced by just a few well-chosen and relevant words of introduction voiced by Scottish TV personality Gail Porter. These give something approaching the background information regarding the inspiration for, or story behind, the individual songs, and with commendable economy of expression often reveal useful facts helpful to our understanding of the songs too. For instance, several of the songs reference vintage bluesmen (eg Rediscovery Blues and What Son House Said), and Mark’s erudition is invariably used to the benefit of his songwriting. (Incidentally, format-wise, Gail’s spoken intros are conveniently appended to the close of each preceding track, if you see what I mean – which makes it easier to skip them on subsequent plays should you wish.)

The musical idiom of Mark’s creations is genially eclectic, thoroughly accessible, light-textured yet rich, an enticing cocktail of flavours stemming from such modern exponents of roots-country-blues as Chris Smither and Ry Cooder while also displaying something of the cheeky good-time vibe of Brett Marvin or early Mungo Jerry. It’s fresh, bouncy feelgood music with a difference – in that it also invites you to ponder on the observations within. Also, tucked away in the tracklist is a delectable ragtime-flavoured instrumental, Pool Meadow Strut, which is named after a bus station in Coventry! Mark’s own guitar expertise is brilliantly supported by regular band-mates Charles Benfield and Ben Welburn who form his trusty rhythm section, with occasional embellishments from guest musicians and singers including Paul Tkachenko (brass and mandolin), Paddy Milner (piano) and Ed Hopwood (harmonica).

Needless to say, the whole album’s eminently satisfying, and virtually self-recommending on all of the above counts. Why on earth Mark’s talent is not more widely celebrated remains one of life’s big mysteries…

David Kidman

http://www.fatea-records.co.uk/magazine/reviews/MarkHarrison4/

BLUES & RHYTHM MAGAZINE

Down at the crossroads

Mark Harrison’s new album, The Panoramic View is a hugely enjoyable treat of modern acoustic blues, full of wondrous finger-picking and slide playing, and giving full vent to Harrison’s compelling story-telling and wry humour.

Mark Harrison is a London-based, blues-based troubadour, whose music making is fresh and original and whose songs are clever and compelling. He excels at intriguing you, making you tap your toes, and putting a smile on your face, with his distinctive style and memorable tunes.

With The Panoramic View, his fifth album (check out our review of Turpentine, his last album here), Harrison gives us fifteen original songs, all beautifully crafted, laced with humour and wisdom. All are driven by his fabulous acoustic guitar picking on his National resonator and 12-string guitars, and helped along the way by some nicely understated brass, which gives the songs at times a nostalgic feel without ever overpowering.

Harrison has an in-depth knowledge of the history of the blues which is evident in the stories of the songs and the echoes of the old acoustic masters like Mississippi John Hurt, Son House and Skip James throughout. Harrison channels these early blues influences, but doesn’t try to imitate too closely, creating his own, unique and thoroughly modern take on the blues. His connection to the blues is deep, down to the 1934 National Trojan he plays so skilfully, previously owned by Eric Bibb, one of his modern blues favourites.

The album has the unusual ingredient of a short verbal introduction to each song, which works surprisingly well and features the soft Scottish tones of Gail Porter, a UK TV presenter. Harrison is joined by his band, Charles Benfield (double bass) and Ben Welburn (drums and percussion), as well as Paddy Milner (piano), Paul Tkachenko (tuba, trombone, trumpet, mandolin) and Ed Hopwood (harmonica). The arrangements throughout and the sound quality is terrific.

The album gets off to a cracking start with One Small Suitcase, an up-tempo, piano driven, toe-tapping number where Harrison whisks us off from our lives into a new adventure. We then get some very cool songs that reference some of the blues masters – What Son House Said, with its steady alternating bass; Don’t Die Till You’re Dead, which quotes Mississippi John Hurt’s parting words to people; House Full of Children, about Eddie “Guitar” Burns from Detroit, who took multiple jobs to support his many kids; Rediscovery Blues, about the rediscovery in the 1960s of the old blues artists like Skip James, Mississippi John Hurt, and Son House; and Hooker’s Song, referencing John Lee Hooker.

In particular, I loved Don’t Die Till You’re Dead, with its John Hurt style picking and cool harmonica. It’s very topical, referencing people we come across who are inconsiderate, people who speak without thinking, people who have no shame, and who lie. “Ask yourself the question,” sings Harrison – “What’s so great about you?”

Two other blues-history related songs are High John and Ain’t No Justice. John the Conqueroo was a folk hero from African-American folklore, based on John the Conqueror, an African prince who was sold as a slave in the Americas. Despite his enslavement, his spirit was never broken and he survived in folklore as a sort of a trickster figure, because of the tricks he played to evade his masters. High John is a great, catchy tune, with neat interplay between piano and deftly picked guitar. Ain’t No Justice, with its cool resonator playing and slide work highlights the situation in which the blues grew up, that of Jim Crow in the American South: “There ain’t no justice down on the farm.”

As well as all this, we get a delightful short ragtime instrumental, Pool Meadow Strut, and the beautiful tune of Meet on the Other Side. There’s the usual Mark Harrison quirky humour on Mess is Everywhere, where the tuba accompaniment adds to the wry consideration of life having gone considerably south, Ragged, which is dedicated to all those who aren’t neat and tidy, and The Biggest Fool, a story about a man who’s been two-timed, featuring some very cool harmonica work.

John the Chinaman is another great song. It proceeds like the train steaming down the track, and tells the story of the thousands of Chinese who built the trans-continental railway in the 1850s. Wonderful stuff. And we get a nice slice of wisdom from Harrison’s pen in the closing Hooker’s Song. “It don’t matter what you think, it only matters what you do; That’s the only thing anybody’s ever gonna know about you.” Quite.

Mark Harrison is a supremely accomplished song-writer, guitarist and performer and The Panoramic View a satisfying feast of modern acoustic blues.

Plunger

The Panoramic View looks on the brighter side…

“There is a lot of ‘trouble’ around but it is possible to take a positive view and occasionally enjoy yourself here and there: that’s basically where it’s at.” Mark Harrison’s songs may often be rooted in serious themes and the darker corners of history but there’s no doubting the uplifting good-time vibe pervading The Panoramic View, from the rattling backporch beat and barrelhouse piano of runaway tale One Small Suitcase to the resonator-slide and washboard civil rights field holler Ain’t No Justice.

The impromptu picnic jam feel continues in the jug band stomp of Ragged and Meet On The Other Side, which has more rollicking saloon piano from Paddy Milner as well as N’awlins funeral horns from Paul Tkachenko. Paul brings more lovely brass textures and interjections on House Full Of Children, and fat oompah tuba bass to Mess Is Everywhere, as well as adding hypnotic mandolin to the crystalline guitar and machine like precision drum-and-bass of Rediscovery Blues; while more of Paddy’s excellent piano contributes to the joyous revivalist feel of High John. There are a couple of harmonica cameos for Mark’s previous drummer Ed Hopwood, with fine meaty blues licks on the Bo Diddley-rhythmed Biggest Fool and cracking Ray Jacksonesque phrases on Don’t Die Till You’re Dead’s backwoods folk.

The current rhythm section of Charles Benfield bass and Ben Wellburn drums keep it crisp and unfussy, befitting the relaxed overall vibe, but they’re more than capable of tackling mark’s trademark rhythmic quirks in songs like Ragged, and shine on the Big Bad John shuffle of John The Chinaman with its spike driving percussion motif, and highly dextrous picking.

Mark’s chiming intricate guitar work is a joy throughout, and shown off to its best effect on the Laurel-and-Hardy-dancing-in-the-street instrumental gem Pool Meadow Strut. The excellent playing underpins a no-nonsense vocal delivery ranging from laconically matter of fact (as on What Son House Said’s unaccompanied resonator-and-vox unison off-kilter litany) through brink-of-a-laugh twinkling to surprisingly gentle and heartfelt. The latter feel is most evident on the hymn-like sermon on life Hooker’s Song, with church hall piano and sweet brass harmonies; and in the lush, wistful, cinematic Falling Down: mournful bugle like brass lines, ringing twelve-string and mandolin, and Mark’s breathy vox matched by sweet harmonies from Charles’ wife Hayley.

Depending on your chosen format, the new album includes spoken introductions to each track: not exactly reproducing the acerbic wit of Mark’s live intersong banter, but Gail Porter’s coolly delivered (explanatory or gnomic) prologues are an innovative addition.

The Panoramic View is proof that there’s no one quite like Mark Harrison for making you look afresh at your (and everyone else’s) troubles and maybe dance and smile your way through them.

the 525 to Glasgow

I was delighted when The Panoramic View by Mark Harrison dropped into my inbox. Despite my love of all things rock, rootsy/folk/blues singer songwriter Mark Harrison really is one of my guilty musical pleasures.

Over recent years I have watched Mark’s career go from strength to strength as he winds his way along a steady path to becoming one of this country’s musical treasures. With his unique quirky panache Mark is winning hearts with every show and every new album.

The Panoramic View, due to be released on 7^th September, introduces us to fifteen new original songs… I almost hesitate to call these tracks songs. Musical stories is a more accurate description. An extra element of eccentricity is added to this record thanks to the narration of each track’s introduction by Gail Porter. A nice idea but after a few songs it did grate on me a little (sorry, Mark)

This album tells tales that are part present day social history, part blues appreciation class and part mid-western 1850’s US history lessons. It’s easy to share Mark’s love of the blues through his lyrics. His skilfully crafted lyrics bring these stories to life as much as the music does. Each track covers a diverse theme; each track is subtly musically diverse. There’s even a rag time instrumental homage to the main bus station in Coventry!

The Panoramic View brims over with talented musicianship from Mark and the guests who share the space with him. Whether he’s playing his National (I have a real soft spot for those) or his 12-string acoustic, Mark’s prowess as a guitarist shines through on each of the fifteen tracks. He is ably accompanied as ever by Charles Benfield on double bass. They are joined by various highly skilled musicians including Ed Hopwood on harmonica and Paddy Milner on piano.

I’m not going to go through this album track by track for the simple reason that I don’t want to spoil the stories for you. I struggled to pick out a highlight track. Without a word of a lie, they are all great songs. For its song title alone, Don’t Die Till You’re Dead stands out a little prouder than some as does John The Chinaman. Love the harmonica on that one and the story behind the song. 

Mark himself has declared this record to be his “magnum opus.” He might just be right. This album oozes charm, talent and a refreshing level of confidence.

Don’t believe me? Then check it out for yourself.

10/10

Marsh Towers

Two years have flown by since we reviewed Mark’s Turpentine album here at Marsh Towers. 

Turpentine was, in some ways, the final part of a trilogy of albums and was predated by both Crooked Smile (2012) and The World Outside (2014). All three presented the quirky observations of the outsider who has to deal with an ever-growing number of eccentric people and baffling situations; in short, the modern world.

Although sharing some messages with its forefathers, The Panoramic View - newly released this week - takes the listener into brave new directions. As the title suggests, the outsider now turns his attention to the much wider world at large and this includes direct tributes to former blues greats, plans of running away to a better place, humiliation brought on by human feelings, a lack of social conscience, irreverent spirits and even an instrumental in honour of a Coventry bus station.

The individual song titles contain plenty of intrigue and they definitely up top Mark's usual creative and imaginative standard.

An innovative device employed by Mark on this album is the use of spoken word introductions, setting the scene for each mini-story to follow. Gail Porter delivers the little prologues in style: matter-of-fact, informative and kept short so they never outstay their welcome.

It is a bold innovation – and it works. It's not that Mark's fine songs don't tell the story in themselves - of course they do - but these spoken prologues set the listener thinking before the first note is played. 

For example, the introduction to Mess is Everywhere compliments the song perfectly and is thought-provoking in itself: 'Sometimes, everything can just fall apart, you don’t have to do much of anything for it to happen. The wheels just come off and you wind up in a ditch, wondering how you got there. No point pretending there is no ditch.' 

On the surface, Mark’s songs can often come across as jaunty roots and blues music. There’s nothing wrong with being just that, of course – but these are crafted songs that need to be listened to in order to understand the messages and secrets they contain. 

Take John the Chinaman, for example. At first impression it could escape as a light-hearted song, but a closer examination reveals a far deeper meaning dealing with very important subject matter. Here is the introduction, setting the scene for the song:
'When the transcontinental railway was built in the US in the 1850s, the owner of one of the two companies building it bet his counterpart 10,000 dollars that his workers could build 10 miles of track in one day. The workforce consisted of 3,000 Chinamen and 8 Irishmen in charge. The Chinese workers all got called John the Chinaman, their names too hard to pronounce or decipher, no records of them kept. At the end of the job, there was a celebration parade in Sacramento to honour ... the 8 Irishmen. This kind of thing of course goes on today, in different guises.'

It's not so easy to name highlights from such an extraordinary set of songs; there is certainly no 'filler' to be found here. However, I would like to give a shout out to Don't Die Till You're Dead, Falling Down and Meet on the Other Side. The latter song is a simply glorious piece of gospel music. Incidentally, the very word 'gospel' has been known to be off-putting to some, due to its obvious religious roots and overtones. However, one should not let such prejudices get in the way of enjoying fine music. Remember Patty Griffin's exploration of the genre on the outstanding Downtown Church, back in 2010? Patty had no history of gospel prior to the album but...those songs! 

Mark's band is tight, as usual.

If you have yet to explore Mark's music then now is a great time to start. All of the songs work on various levels, from toe-tapping along to the hooks and riffs to becoming wrapped up completely in each individual story and reflecting afterwards on the various observations and issues raised along the way.

The Panoramic View is highly recommended as a robust antidote to the surface-level material that is is too often passed off as music. Mark has clearly put an awful lot of effort into crafting these songs and it is high time his music reached a much larger audience.

Northern Sky

A curious release this time from country blues devotee Mark Harrison, with each of the songs prefaced by a spoken introduction by the familiar voice of Gail Porter, who effectively saves us the bother of reading the sleeve notes. There's a demo feel to each of the songs, as if they haven't been quite worn in yet, something that will no doubt happen after several outings. Still good though, quite unconventional in places, with direct references to such blues luminaries as Son House, John Lee Hooker, Mississippi John Hurt and Eddie 'Guitar' Burns and at one point assuming the role of one of the old blues masters himself, being rediscovered after several dormant years, and how that might have felt imagining what it must have been like to be confronted in old age by a curious white college boy clutching a microphone on his front porch on Rediscovery Blues. With Charles Benfield on double bass and Ben Welburn on drums and percussion, together with additional help from Paddy Milner, Paul Tkachenko and Ed Hopwood, the songs are fattened out and brought to life. 

Dancing About Architecture

On an increasingly packed shelf of roots music stands an artist who is quietly going about his business, blending and blurring the lines between country, folk and blues and playing shows all over the place, and picking up friends and followers as he goes.

If you’re a follower of Mark Harrison, or keep an eye on roots music in general, I won’t be telling you anything new here, you’ve already had the scoop and it’s I who is the late comer, but for those who stumble upon the cd cover and think “that looks interesting” or have heard his music on Radio 2 or perhaps wandered past an acoustic stage at a festival and heard a song or two by him, read on…

The Panoramic View is Mark’s sixth album and is a wonderful dip into nostalgia, these songs could have been written sixty years ago but the great success is how these songs also feel and sound contemporary. The opening track title, ‘One Small Suitcase’, sums up the feeling of the album in three words, these are songs to accompany a railroad trip, sat on an old wooden crate, passing the fields of Idaho, watching the miles and hours drift by with nothing but the stories and imagery that Harrison effortlessly seems to conjure.

Harrison encourages the listener to go on the journey, pack that small suitcase, get on board that train and visit the father surrounded by children, the heart broken man wronged by his woman, the legendary railroad worker and the man living on a farm scratching a living and trying to avoid temptation and passing on his words of wisdom to the upcoming generation. I guess this is a metaphor for what Harrison is trying to do, a blues man at heart, he is repeating and retelling the music of the blues, so it can hopefully find a home among the pop tunes and short-lived celebrity acts. But if you’re hoping for screaming guitar solos, look elsewhere because this is subtle story telling that clings on by its nails long after the song has finished.

There are acoustic songs like ‘House Full of Children’, ‘Ragged’ and ‘John The Chinaman’ but there is a growly earthy centre that is found in the superb ‘Hooker’s Song’. Obviously none of this can be done alone, Harrison surrounds himself with some fine musicians, bringing the different tones to life with ease. One thing that particularly stood out was the brass work of Paul Tkachenko, hearing a tuba being played on any record puts me in mind of the silver bands of Northern England, yet hearing it here, on an album so obviously American-inspired allows these stories to feel more relevant to me somehow.

So, like I said earlier, if you have heard Mark Harrison before, I’m probably telling you nothing new here, the songs are good, the music is good and this is what you’ve come to expect from a musician writing and delivering this level of music, but if this is your first visit, you’re in for a treat.

https://dancingaboutarchitecture.info/2018/10/03/the-panoramic-view-mark-harrison-reviewed-by-t-bebedor/

Phillycheeze Blues (US)

By Phillip Smith

I absolutely adored Mark Harrison’s 2016 album, Turpentine. His latest release, The Panoramic View, described by Harrison himself as his magnum opus, now takes precedence. The UK-based roots artist is one of the best songwriters around, and I especially take notice when this man tackles the Blues with a nostalgic story-telling approach. With Harrison performing onNational and 12-string guitars, the rest of the band consists ofCharles Benfield on double bass, Ben Welburn on drums/percussion, Paddy Milner on piano, Paul Tkachenko on tuba, trombone, trumpet, and mandolin, and Ed Hopwood on harmonica. For a fascinating and unique twist, Harrison enlists Scottish television personality Gail Porter to provide a spoken word introduction prior to each song.

I love the sound of the National on “House Full of Children”. It sounds go great paired with the horns on this upbeat homage to Detroit bluesman Eddie ‘Guitar’ Burns. Harrison takes a deep look inside the words of Son House as he describes the meaning of life, and the Blues in “What Son House Said”. His performance is delicate and endearing. Harrison sings about life after death in “Meet on the Other Side”, a splendid country blues spiritual. A timeless melody and a subject matter everyone has experienced is the heart of “Mess is Everywhere”. With timely blurts from his tuba, Tkachenko keeps the song moving along its tracks. While on the subject of tracks, “John the Chinaman” honors the railroad Chinese immigrant laborers who made up the majority of the transcontinental railways workforce in the 1850’s. Harrison’s bright finger work on guitar keeps a locomotive pace on this delightful blues ditty.

From beginning to end, The Panoramic View is an exquisite listen. Harrison’s declaration of this being his magnum opus, certainly stands true.

https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/2018/10/355-mark-harrison-panoramic-view.html

BEST OF 2018

Music News

http://www.music-news.com/review/UK/13588/Album/Top-28-Albums-Of-The-Year

Down at the Crossroads

Mark Harrison’s new album, The Panoramic View is an entertaining treat of modern acoustic blues, full of wondrous finger-picking and slide playing, and giving full vent to Harrison’s compelling story-telling and wry humour. Mark Harrison is a supremely accomplished song writer, guitarist and performer and The Panoramic View a satisfying feast of modern acoustic blues. Our full review is here.

https://downatthecrossroads.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/best-blues-albums-2018/

Down at the Crossroads

Nice to be chosen on the playlist by prestigious US magazine The Alternate Root:

http://www.thealternateroot.com/topten112818.html

and as One To Watch for 2019 on a list of artists totally unlike me on Music Musings and Such:

Music Musings and Such

and to see Falling Down on Plunger’s list of the best tracks of 2018:

Mark Harrison - Falling Down - The Panoramic View

Domestic troubadour’s surprise cinematic scope
While most of The Panoramic View is Mark’s trademark economically delivered, finely-tooled cameos of events and personalities (historical and contemporary) Falling Down is a wistful wide-screen vista: plangent brass, chiming twelve-string and mandolin, and delicate harmony vocals underpinning Mark’s own soft emotional delivery.

http://plungermusic.tumblr.com/tagged/tracksoftheyear

'wonderful rootsy blues ..... innovative'

'his music is intriguing ... singular ... really very good and it's different'

David Freeman, Blues & Boogie Show, Jazz FM
• live sessions

'one of the British Isles great blues singers and guitarists ... totally and absolutely original'

'I really love that good timey old timey feel'

Mike Harding, The Mike Harding Folk Show

'one of the top blues men in the UK with a big following and rightly so ... really good stuff''

Frank Hennessy, BBC Radio Wales, Celtic Heartbeat

'his star has certainly ascended to where it deserves to be'

'absolutely cracking tracks … Mark has such a great way with words too'

'so much variety, so much originality''

Ashwyn Smyth, Digital Blues

'the effortless gorgeousness that is Mark Harrison's playing ....'

'a brilliant lyricist and a wonderful musician .... love his voice .... got some great people with him on the album .... a great album and you need to go and buy it'

'a phenomenal album ... subtle fusion of styles, you've got blues, folk and New Orleans'

Rick Stuart, Roots & Fusion
• live session

'a great, great album ... leapt out at me '

Dave Raven, Raven'n'Blues show
• live session

'I absolutely love it, there's no tricks in it, there's no synths, there's no drum machines, just pure rootsy blues'

The Blues Magazine Show, Team Rock Radio, Billy Rankin

'a really cool album ... great stuff''

Dave Watkins, The Blues Train
• British Blues Awards Winner, Best Show 2014
• live session

'very tasty indeed .... it's a great album, very rootsy feel ... even the design of the cover has a great feel'

Gary Grainger, The Blues Show

'the sort of album that begs you to sit down and not only appreciate the music but also listen to the words …. songs with meaning, intelligence and stories'

'you really need to sit down and listen to the words, listening to the words is the key to discovering Mark Harrison'

'the arrangements are great, the musicianship is great ... go and see him'

Richard Dunning, Blues On The Radio
• live session

'It's getting rave reviews, it's an excellent album, really worth checking out'

'I can't recommend this enough'

Big Boy Bloater, The Blues Magazine Show

'a great talent'

Kevin Black, Black on Blues podcast

'blues at its best, just fantastic, buy it'

Tony Fitton, Blues in the Nite, Phoenix FM

'acknowledged as being one of the best blues and roots artists in the UK, he's got a distinctive voice and a distinctive sound'

Martin Hodge, Roots'n'Shoots

'Mark Harrison has a very unique sound, he's instantly recognisable'

Tony Corner, Blues Corner

'Mark's very good and so is this album'

Howling Dick, Downhome podcast

'the mark of a good song or good album is that it leaves images in your head,, Crooked Smile takes me back to a train journey'

Dave Chamberlain, Acoustic Routes

'... an absolute cracker ... absolutely great'

Kevin Beale, Blues On The Marsh, Channel Radio

AND ...

'With an understanding of Blues from day one. he has inspired a great band of young musicians and displays the right mix of tradition, creativity and musical excellence which would make his favourite band - The Band - proud of his achievements.'

Dr Wart Hoover, The Blues Hour, Severn FM

'good to have you and your band in session today....another wonderful musical experience, great playing and a very hot session'

'Again it was a pleasure to work with you folk today, you have gathered a very cool band around you.'

Barry Marshall-Everitt, House of Mercy radio
• Live session

'I really rate what you're doing and I'm all for supporting artists that have the balls to do something different, or follow a particular genre which may not be obviously mainstream. There's a lot of considered, quality musicianship in your band – the young lady has a really interesting powerful voice too.'

John Drummond, promoter, Brewery Blues, Cirencester

'Very fine track you sent me. I dig the story line and the music. The band is cooking. Thanks for sharing it Mark.'

Michael Frank, manager of Honeyboy Edwards, about the song 'Honeyboy'

CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE

ACOUSTIC MAGAZINE

R2 MAGAZINE

BLUES & RHYTHM MAGAZINE

BLUES IN BRITAIN MAGAZINE

MESSENGER NEWSPAPERS

Blues Blast Magazine (US)

Mark Harrison is approaching “national treasure” status in the UK. In an era when the British blues scene is dominated by rock bands with a blues influence playing over-driven, over-loud and over-long guitar solos, Harrison’s exuberant music harks back to a much earlier age, featuring only acoustic instruments in a variety of line-ups, from full band to Harrison alone with his guitar. The musicians are all top notch players, but it is the song that matters, not the player.

On his latest album, Turpentine, the songs themselves also stand out from the crowd both through their construction – sitting squarely within the blues genre but rarely relying on simple 12-bar progressions – and through the stories they tell. Harrison wrote all 13 tracks on the album and, as with his previous releases, he turns his pen to a wide range of topics, from acute observations on the challenges of living in the modern world (“Hardware Store”) to taut reminders of how the original purveyors of blues had it so much harder than we do (“Shake That House”). There is often a moral to be found in the verses, although not always the one the listener might expect – in “The Treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek”, Harrison relates the story of Chief Greenwood Leflore and the Choctaw Nation losing their land in what is now known as Mississippi in the 1830s, but with an added twist.

Of course, he also addresses more traditional blues lyrical concerns, but he does so with rare wit and invention. In the opening track, “Black Dog Moan”, his opening lines are: “I’ve got a girl in Meadowland and I really love the bits of her that I can stand. The rest I can take or leave, and I’m pretty sure she feels the same about me.” It’s a great kick-off to a great album.

Harrison sings and plays guitar, and is superbly supported throughout by Charles Benfield on double bass and Ed Hopwood on drums, percussion and harmonica. Guest Paul Tkachenko adds subtle mandolin, piano, organ and accordion to various tracks. Hopwood in particular has a gift for playing minimally yet utterly musically at the same time. Harrison’s finger-picked guitar is continuously inventive and rhythmically driven. On “Hell Of A Story”, his 12-string guitar recalls the ragtime playing of Blind Willie McTell, while the instrumental “Dog Rib” features a lovely, slightly discordant, slide melody. Interestingly, Harrison’s main guitar is actually a 1934 National Trojan, a wood-body resonator guitar that used to belong to the great Eric Bibb and there are certain similarities between the two artists, both of whom openly display their folk/blues influences in well-constructed songs featuring intelligent, often uplifting lyrics and adroit finger-picking. There is also a gentle joyousness to the music of both. Even on potentially downcast tracks such as “So Many Bad People (Out There)”, Harrison’s slide playing conveys a sense of hope, or at least the possibility of hope.

Superbly produced by Tim Bazell, Turpentine is a very impressive release from Mark Harrison. There is a confidence and maturity about the album that suggests the musicians knew they were working on something special. Highly recommended.

Blues Blast Magazine (US)
Rhys Williams

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Elmore Magazine (US)
Cashbox (Canada)
Blues Magazine (Netherlands)

Mark Harrison is a London-based, UK acoustic bluesman. Turpentine is his latest self-produced release, featuring thirteen self-penned tracks that showcase his acoustic picking and tasteful slide-work.

Harrison is always interesting. Originality sparkles with every album released, and he works in a real old-school style, but always gilded by his mordant wit and refreshingly reflective thinking at the core. Old school with a positive, contemporary twist pretty much illustrates this guy’s style and musical approach.

Roots music is always his main base, and he has a wonderful ability to take unexpected subjects, twist and tune them up with humor, innovation and downright originality.

Harrison’s last release in 2015, On The Chicken Sandwich Train, was an album that burst at the seams with his skewed, piercing take on normally taboo subjects like death and disposal. It was also one of the finest UK independent traditional blues offerings of the year.

Now, once again, with Turpentine, Harrison has pushed out the musical and lyrical boat to deliver a truly unique album that is immediately appealing and arresting. An exceptionally clever, thought-provoking release from an acoustic blues/roots craftsman of note, Turpentine, and Harrison, is clearly one to keep on your music radar.

Iain Patience

Elmore Magazine Link »
Cashbox Link »
Blues Magazine Link »

Folking

I love melodic finger-picking, resonator and slide guitar so it should come as no surprise that I really like Turpentine. I hadn’t encountered Mark Harrison before he got in touch with us, and I’m very glad he did. This is his fifth album, I think, and he’s usually referred to as a bluesman although that rather understates what he does – he’s also a very fine songwriter.

At first hearing the songs collected here seem light – you can turn up the volume, admire the musicianship and kick back but they have an underlying power that can’t be overlooked. The opener, ‘Black Dog Moan’ opens with the lines “I’ve got a girl in Meadowland and I really love the bits of her I can stand” and if that doesn’t suck you in there is very little I can do for you. Add a really catchy chorus and you have a song that should go around the world. ‘So Many Bad People (Out There)’ and ‘Fade Away’ have a contemporary resonance – “Why’s the whole damn thing gone wrong?”, he asks. That’s what we’re all asking. I particularly like ‘Hardware Store’, a song for all of us who don’t really fit in.

Other songs are rooted in the past. ‘The Treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek’ is based on a moment of infamy in US history (what, another) in which the government conned the Choctaw out of their ancestral lands. The Choctaw’s principal negotiator wound up in the US Senate; there are always parallels. ‘Next Of Kin’, a traditional blues format is set in the deep south and recounts the situation of black people who were not full citizens. Finally ‘Shake The House’ comes from the juke joints and speakeasies and features Cajun-style accordion from Paul Tkachenko. Also supporting Mark are double bass player Charles Benfield and drummer and mouth-harp blower Ed Hopwood. Mark’s band is tight and loose at the same time; no-one is trying to be a star and you can sense the understanding between the players. Yes, I really like this record.

Dai Jeffries

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Folkwords

Turpentine’ from Mark Harrison - maintains its intense presence

Holding a reputation for both genuine old-time rootsy feel augmented by writing songs with ‘messages for today’ themes, Mark Harrison takes his idiosyncratic style, absorbs a range of influences and produces individualistic, original music. There's early blues mixed with contemporary folk, accomplished songwriting, and a generous slice of acerbic observation coupled to a plentiful feel for rhythm with gutsy hooks - take that and you’ve got ‘Turpentine’ from Mark Harrison.

This album is fresh as morning sunshine and as sharp as a well-honed razor. The vocals take you inside their narratives, while the music pulls you along without you ever feeling the slightest tug, you’re just there with it. As each song follows its predecessor with the same honest attraction, Harrison’s rhythmic finger-picked style on ‘Turpentine’ maintains its intense presence.

Which tracks standout? Well this album is so good it’s hard to choose, however for my money the best of the best are ‘Black Dog Moan’, ‘The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek’, ‘Dog Rib’ and ‘Fade Away’ – will you agree? There’s one sure-fire way to check -  buy a copy.

Tom Franks

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Music News

There are literally thousands of British Blues players out there and the vast majority are poor copyists of the classic styles – I’ve lost track of the number of SRV stylists, Muddy Waters wannabees and John Lee Hooker boogiemen. 

So when you come across a British artist who has his own voice – not even an attempt at an ‘American’ accent – and who writes songs that are relevant and modern with the feel of the classics then you have to laud them to the hills.

Mark Harrison has been around for about seven years or so and I have seen him live probably a dozen times either solo, in a two piece, three piece or – very rarely – full band format and however he appears his songs have the ring of truth about them. On the face of it very simple and when you look deeper they are loaded with subtleties and pithy observations on human nature. 

Musically the core is his jangling twelve string and resonator but here he adds mandolin, harmonica, Charles Benfield’s wonderful double bass as well as Ed Hopwood’s drums and percussion and the wider setting emphasises the songs rather than taking them over so that the focus is where it should be – the words and Harrison’s dry and elemental delivery.

He writes about modern traumas such as visits to the hardware store – ‘Hardware Store’ - as well as American presidents trapped into decisions they don’t want to make ‘The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek’. Simple and beautiful songs such as ‘Josephine Johnson’ and more complex and relatively powerful numbers like ‘Mister Trouble’.

13 songs all together showing a wonderful variety of texture and style and following on from his last studio album ‘The World Outside’ showing he has developed his style and continues to progress.

Mark Harrison is a delight to see live and this has the feel of one of his live shows, just missing the between song tale-telling. One of the best albums I have enjoyed this year.

Andy Snipper

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Down At The Crossroads

Mark Harrison is a very modern blues troubadour. His music evokes the blues and old-time American roots music, without ever being in thrall to it, but his songs address very modern issues. He says he owes a debt to the early acoustic blues and folk/blues artists, people like Blind Willie McTell, Mississippi John Hurt, Charley Patton, and Skip James, and for sure you can hear that in his music. Mark Harrison clearly knows his blues history. And he’s a fine guitarist, with rhythmic finger-picking and expert slide driving his songs. He’s been described as “one of the UK’s foremost acoustic blues performers.”

Harrison says that “real blues music is about lifting the spirit” and that it’s a misconception that it’s all expressions of misery. He’s dead right – though the blues often functioned as the expression of the harsh reality of life for African Americans, more often than not the blues singer used the song to work his way through the hard times to a better place.

And this is very evident in Turpentine, Mark Harrison’s fourth album. Here is a wonderful album of modern blues, clearly acknowledging its heritage in old blues, but each song sounding fresh, both musically an lyrically. The album has thirteen original songs, all with catchy tunes, and driven by Harrison’s nifty picking and sweet slide guitar work. There is one instrumental, Dog Rib, which showcases the artist’s fine slide guitar chops, and the rest are highly engaging lyrically, with stories, philosophical and ethical musings, and historical reflections.

Dirty Business equates dirty lying and stealing in the alleyway with dirty deals in the boardroom. Fade Away bemoans the madness at large in the world but takes comfort that “there’ll come a day when it’ll all fade away” – it brings to mind the Hebrew wisdom writer who tells us there’s a time for everything under the sun (remember the Byrds Turn, Turn, Turn?). So Many Bad People also takes up this theme of the world going to pot, but Harrison advises us to dance our way around the bad ‘uns – it reminds me of the Greek Poet Menander, “bad company corrupts good character.”

We get great stories in the songs as well – in Hell of a Story and Josephina Johnson for example. The latter is a finely observed portrait of a woman who “wasn’t going to sit there mainlining misery,” a “woman who does what she has to do.” She may have an angel smile but she has no heart of gold and there’s “no one meaner.” Brilliant.

My personal favourite is the amusing Hardware Store, written specially for all those men who are useless at DIY and, not only that, feel utterly worthless when faced with the simplest home improvement task. Yes, I am that man! All those things they sell at the hardware store, sings Harrison – “I don’t know what they do and I don’t know what they’re for.” I get it Mark. Everybody else in the hardware store loves browsing around those drills, hammers, tools boxes and other little gizmos which I have no idea about – but not me! “There are things I’m good at for sure, but you can’t find them in that hardware store.” Thanks, Mark, I need to keep reminding myself of that.

This is one very fine album, full of strong songs, cool arrangements, and lovely guitar work, with a joyous vibe evident throughout. This is a fresh take on the blues which should be in every blues and roots music lover’s collection.

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FATEA

I last reviewed London-based Mark's music on this site in 2012, when I was very taken with his second album, Crooked Smile, not least for its seriously tasty bluesy-folk groove. Four years on down the line, and Mark's reached album number five (following fast on the heels of last year's live set On The Chicken Sandwich Train).

Turpentine follows naturally on in the vein of its predecessors, in that it's another fresh set of original compositions penned by Mark himself, songs that provide a relevant, conversational, sometimes playful commentary on contemporary life, often with an underlying political edge but reflecting rather than sloganeering or preaching and likely quite subtle. And stylish too, dealing authentically with real issues.

Some songs are couched in the form of stories (Josephina Johnson and The Treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek for instance), while others (Hell Of A Story for instance) may take conventional story formats and give them a more than slight twist or shakeup for their own good, and others (Hardware Store) celebrate the oddball and non-conforming aspects of modern life. Black Dog Moan has a chirpy kind of resignation and a swirling momentum, Mark's assured vocal taking on something of a Chris Smither vibe.

Generally speaking, the songs purvey a kind of protective reassurance, you might say. In keeping with this, Mark's musical settings tend to be loosely feelgood in their demeanour, with a bouncy tempo and a syncopated upbeat. Much in the Ry Cooder mould, especially on songs like Dirty Business and Hell OF A Story. Other tracks (Next Of Kin and Fade Away) are more in the tradition of the dust-bowl blues era.

In fact, a lot of what I said about Mark's earlier album applies here too, albeit with an even greater conviction in his writing. Additionally, Mark's able backing crew has a common denominator between the two albums - the animated, bustling rhythm section of Charles Benfield and Ed Hopwood who fit behind Mark's expert guitar work (National resonator and 12-string); this time the lineup's completed by Paul Tkachenko who provides some delicious fills on mandolin, piano, organ and accordion.

The intelligently rootsy feel of Mark's music is most convivial, and his writing is genial yet irresistible in the best traditions of the relaxed country-blues. There's a more live feel to the disc's Cajun-inflected finale (Shake The House) which visits the local juke-joint and even finds room for a couple of cheeky little solos. And midway through the disc there's a fresh-minted slide-guitar instrumental cut (Dog Rib) that proves more substantial than just an excuse to rest the voice.

Mark's got a great sense of style, and Turpentine continues to develop his winning formula. Just occasionally, repetition of an obvious sentiment wears thin, as on So Many Bad People (Out There), but Mark's deft and idiomatic picking always keeps us listening, and he's not running out of ideas just yet. As you can confirm by perusing the lyrics, all available in the booklet of this well-upholstered package.

David Kidman

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American Roots UK

I wrote a positive review about Mark Harrison's 2014 recording 'The world outside,' praising every element of his musical skills from his excellent song writing, virtuosic guitar playing and his warm expressive vocal style. Much of that can be transposed to this review because he certainly hasn't gone downhill! If there is a difference it is that this excellent recording has taken the quality up a notch, because if memory serves me right, whilst I enjoyed 'The world outside' it never struck me as having quite the variety of this new recording.

The thirteen songs on this album were all written by Mark and whilst rooted in the blues, in many cases there is a strong folksiness, even elements of country. The sound is always sparse but includes extra little pieces of instrumentation such as bass, percussion, even an occasional mandolin, harmonica and accordion, but nothing gets in the way, neither should it, of Marks incredibly melodic guitar sound and his warm expressive vocals. This is Marks fifth album including one live recording and it is quite incredible to think that a man as skilled and as authentic at playing a brand of American roots music that few others would be capable of, is actually British and lives and gigs in and around London.

Maybe one of the things that made me feel this album is a slight improvement is that so many of the songs on this recording can easily be imagined as being from an early Ry Cooder album. I know Cooder is a man who can't really be copied, thanks to his ability to inhabit a variety of styles and I am certainly not suggesting Mark has tried to do so on this recording. He is completely his own stylist but It is more the feeling that Cooders early experimental mantle has been passed on to Mark and he too cannot be tied to a hard and fast genre such as the blues. Certainly, in the case of guitar playing, originality and talent I detect very little difference; where there are differences are in the superior vocals and better song writing that come from Mark. Although I've mentioned Ry Cooder several times no one should get the idea that Mark is a Cooder clone or even that the similarities are particularly pronounced. He is very far from a clone of anyone but both men's original guitar sound and ability to invent their own genres that borrow from myriad roots styles is what links them and sets them apart from others.

And so to the songs. So many bad people (out there) is a lovely song that is driven by Marks beautiful classy guitar sound and evocative vocals with a little percussion and an occasional bass drum thud plus some excellent harmonies, but it is his guitar that wins out on this song. It is followed by Hell of a story, with its easy going guitar sound and excellent percussion on a song that is probably a much more defined blues, also includes some really nice harmonies. It has the feel of a song that Ry Cooder could have recorded for one of his early 1970s albums and whilst Cooder was rooted in the blues much of his output was generically ambivalent as is Marks. There is a lovely chiming guitar with a little percussion and deep bass supporting Marks vocal that is at its expressive best on a song that could be as easily descibed 'hillbilly' as blues. In fact when you think about it rural blues and 'hillbilly' are about as closely related as two supposedly separate genres could possibly be. A lovely mandolin adds just the right amount of colour to an exceptional song. On Dog rib there is more excellent guitar work that almost sounds as if it could have been lifted from the 'Paris, Texas' soundtrack, with some tremendous percussion adding to the sense of drama despite the lack of vocals. Could be the best instrumental I've heard so far this year! Final mention is of Dirty business with some nice varied colour added in terms of the accordion, with the usual tremendous guitar playing plus heavy driving percussion that combine to bring a light feel to Marks vocal on another song that could be plucked from the young Ry Cooder!

Many will feel I have made too much of any similarities with Ry Cooder and after listening a few times may still feel the same way. There is nothing that I can clearly define but the feeling I get is that neither artist can really be compared to anyone else but both have their roots in the blues and are not prepared to sit on their laurels in one genre. They both have an easy vocal style, although Mark Harrison's voice is the better of the two, both have a classy and virtuosic command of the guitar and they both push the boundaries outwards on their albums. For me this recording merely confirms what I and many others already knew. Mark Harrison is a hugely talented musician who deserves to be heard by many more people and on the strength of this recording that could well happen very soon!

Mike Morrison

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The Alternate Root (US)

By maintaining a distinct individuality, Mark Harrison honors multiple periods in Blues history. His recent release, Turpentine, distills 1940’s USA-born Blues, his resonator guitar echoing and emulating the styles of Blind Willie McTell, Charley Patton, Sonny Boy Williamson blending with British Blues as he dusts off the 1950/1960’s sound of London buskers on Soho’s Wardour Street, and the music coming from The Flamingo Club.
Mark Harrison is a natural, the music a fit for his delivery as he warns of “So Many Bad People (Out There)” on slide guitar and sparse percussion, spreads sparkling note patterns over marching drums and accordion breaths with “Dirty Business” and rattles out trouble with “Shake This House”.

The songs of Turpentine flow on a steady current of Blues music as it speaks Mississippi history in “The Treaty of the Dancing Rabbit”, lets the playing take a bite of “Dog Rib” as the instrumental weaves over a solid beat, and lightly touches notes for “In the Dark” as Mark Harrison enters with a traveller’s wisdom while he tells a “Hell of a Story” on a rolling rhythm section.

Danny McCloskey

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Folkall

To use a well-worn phrase Mark Harrison has come out of left field. After what he calls a lengthy layoff, he started to listen to music again and it seems what he was listening to was some of the greats of the travelling blues players.

Harrison, in his own small way, is carrying on the tradition of legends such as Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie McTell and Sonny Boy Williamson I to name but a few.

Turpentine is the Londoner's fourth album and he has been making quite an impact on the music scene. 

As you can imagine, there is a wonderful retro feel to his style of blues and the only thing which is missing is the scratches and crackles of the early recordings but other than that it's about as authentic a blues sound as you will find.

Black Dog Moan sets out Harrison's stall and straight away you get that feel of the blues from the depression and dust bowl eras. The twanging sound of his national and 12 string guitars adds to the atmosphere of the song and yet he manages to pour in a modern twist on it including a spiritual sounding organ undertone. 

The track which follows, So Many Bad People(Out There), carries on this style and the sound of his slide guitar gives it authenticity, you can almost see him in a sweltering studio, with a mic the size of a small briefcase cutting the disc as he sings for a few dollars. Hell of a Story has a more modern feel to it, a style you would attribute more to someone like the great Eric Bibb. The clipped percussion adds to the thump of the country/blues feel of the song and even brings memories of songs such as Country House by Blur.

You can't help but think of Robert Johnson when you hear the opening bars of Hardware Store. Harrison's guitar picking is just a sheer delight and you can even enjoy the stomp which keeps things moving. 

The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek is an absolutely cracker of a song. Harrison's voice is not the strongest but it works and fits fantastically with the old style blues he is so good at reproducing. What's more he lets his steel guitar off the leash which is just wonderful to listen to. You hear the bent notes, the blues harp and it makes you yearn for scratchy shellac records again.

This gives way to In The Dark, which has a stronger rhythm than the previous track and is slightly less bluesy in an obvious way, it has more of the showband sound to it.

Dog Rib has a feel of Ry Cooder about it, certainly in the opening bars it also has a slightly Asian feel to the sound of the strings in this instrumental where there are parts which could easily transfer to the sitar. The percussion comes in strongly to push the music along and gives everybody something to stomp to. 

There is a lighter sound to Dirty Business which has a skiffle feel and it's the kind of track, when played live, would have the whole audience jumping along to the strong beat. Somehow it's got the feel of summers, fairground and festivals attached to it. It also brings memories of Lindisfarne.

With Fade Away you get a chance to enjoy Harrison's wider picking skills on the guitar, the blues feel is far more subtle and he makes it a light and laid-back ballad.

Harrison brings the darker, deeper blues sound back with Next of Kin. The classic blues sound, along with his singing, punches out every note and the more you listen to it the harder you find it to keep your feet from stomping out the rhythm. 

Josephina Johnson is another one of those songs that should really be listened to on a 1920s valve radio. It does have that feel of the R Johnson's style bringing a rawness and simplicity to the tune.

With a slightly more commercial sound, Mister Trouble still carries that hopping blues sound which Harrison is so good at producing with his strings.

The final track, Shake The House, is a good travelling song with the drums keeping everything moving along at a good speed and, like the opener, it does carry that spirit of the original travelling bluesmen. Harrison knows how to open an album but he also knows how to close one with him throwing almost everything into the finale including a little Cajun sounding accompaniment.

The bluesman has a real talent for recreating the sounds which gave rise to so many modern blues players but he has done it in a way which is both traditional and fresh, and manages to incorporate other styles into the music without diluting the mojo in any way. Harrison clearly displays a love and respect for the genre without being bogged down or frozen in awe of those who have inspired him. For anyone who has a soft spot for the blues then this album just has to be part of their collection and perhaps the only way to improve it would be a spot of time travel.

Danny Farragher

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Phillycheeze Blues (US)

UK musician Mark Harrison is one hell of a story-teller and songwriter.  He delivers his roots-rich music acoustically using National and twelve string guitars. His latest album, Turpentine, is a delightful listen to say the least.  Playing alongside Harrison on this thirteen track album of all original material is Charles Benfield on double bass, Ed Hopwood on drums, percussion and harmonica, and Paul Tkachenko on mandolin, piano, organ, and accordion.
           
Make the best with what you have, is the message shared in “Black Dog Moan”. The light and carefree melody captures my full attention.  I can totally relate to the frustration Harrisonsings about in “Hardware Store”, as he sings ‘”All those things they sell down in that hardware store.  I don’t know what they do and I don’t know what they’re for”.  The fabulous instrumental, “Dog Rib” is a haunting bluesy treat with a tribal beat.  This is acoustic blue at its best.  Tkachenko straps on the accordion and sprinkles some New Orleans-style Cajun seasoning into “Dirty Business”, a song about greed and thievery.      

I absolutely adore the “The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek”. This amazing song tells the story of the deal made in 1830 between the US government and Chief Greenwood LeFlore of the Choctaw Nation, in what is now known as Mississippi.     

One listen to Turpentine, and it is quite apparent why Harrisonreceived two nominations in the British Blues Awards, for Songwriter and Acoustic.  The album is an instant treasure in my books.

Phillip Smith

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Plunger

You’ve probably already been seduced by those adverts.

You know the ones, the ‘summer’s coming, al fresco living, let’s all have a picnic, bring a guitar!’ ones.

Well Mark Harrison’s Turpentine is the ideal of what one of those should sound like, instead of the ugly reality.

Mark (with able assistance from Charles Benfield double bass with Ed Hopwood drums and harmonica, and additional keys organ and mandolin from Paul Tkachenko) has produced an excellent album that distills the essence of an ad hoc summer beach party or off-the-cuff picnic jam. Good time songs, fresh as the daisy-chains adland kids love to make, presented simply: and as we all know that kind of casual simplicity requires a lot of hard work!

From the folky stomp of Hell Of A Story to Black Dog Moan’s Okie two step, and from the pared-back, street-corner troubadour offering of Josephina Johnson to the Albion Band meets jug band Mister Trouble the sunny tunes keep coming. Revivalist mission singalong vibes underpin the dextrous finger-picked resonator slide of So Many Bad People (Out There) and Dirty Business with its accordion and marching band snare. There are darker undercurrents to the bouncy Hardware Store (what does he really mean?) and in the ominous slide-led back porch blues The Treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek, a song that shows Mark’s love of a quirky subject and the less obvious moral of a story.

Next Of Kin is an unexpected dark New Orleans slink, with a rare splash of reverb, but largely the instrumentation and production is kept simple and organic, as in the moody slide instrumental Dog Rib, which has more than a hint of Trucksian Indian flavours and appropriately exotic-sounding percussion, or the delicate folky picking, atmospheric harp and sweet harmony vocals of Fade Away, the song that epitomises the outdoor impromptu jam vibe. Turpentine closes with skiffle-via-North-Mississippi-Hill-country-Zydeco mash up Shake The House, that features short solo spots for drums and slap upright bass.

The only thing lacking is Mark’s now-legendary inter-song aperçus but he has thoughtfully included some in the liner notes that you can read out to yourself if the urge strikes. So if you are planning to emulate the ads, stick this on and enjoy some quality tunes: it’s got to be better than listening to your mate murder Wonderwall on his guitar for the umpteenth time…

Turpentine is available now from his website here: http://www.markharrisonrootsmusic.com/shop.php and it sounds just as good indoors, when it’s raining, on the tube, up a mountain...

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Rhythm & Booze

Turpentine, Bottled By Mark Harrison

Mark has the habit of producing albums, packaged in lovely ‘vintage’, artwork sleeves, and this is no exception. Inside, a 6 page booklet, lists credits, lyrics, and a few pictures. All songs are written by Mark, and as you would expect are observational, social commentary on a tough life in recent US history, and often an introspective self-deprecating view of himself. All done in the best possible taste, with a hint of an inner smile, vying with serious intent.

Joining Mark in the recordings are Charles Benfield on double bass, Ed Hopwood, on percussion and harmonies, and Paul Tkachenko, on a mix of mandolin, piano, organ and accordion.

The album starts with 'Black Dog Moan’, that reflects on a life scratching out a living from an exhausted mine. Survival with a faithful woman in a shack, and nothing but the spirit of turpentine to dull the edge, as the dogs moan outside. The picture Mark paints, and it is a picture, is a regular theme for Mark, 'The Treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek’, covers a much larger canvas, the demise of the Choctaw Indians as their chief seeks solitude with his false standing in a fascinated Western society. Its 'One Hell Of A Story’, and the paint has long dried and cracked on that one.

'Dog Rib’, is an opportunity to hear Mark’s guitar take the spotlight, I picture him on his old National, proving he is not just a word-smith, a lovely 'break’, that slots neatly into the centre spot.

Mark is ably accompanied by Charles, Ed, and Paul to the doors of the 'Hardware Store’, but he’s reluctant to enter. Its a 'Dirty Business’, they’re awaiting payment, a lost cause, but no one cares. Our lives are under the microscope, as we 'Fade Away’, opportunity and aspirations evaporate, its all a gloomy outlook, but that’s life, and we are going to hear about it, as Mark charts the way through his songbook.

The musical structure is roots acoustic, pared down, but delightfully delivered, no one is going to feel compelled to the dance floor, that’s not Mark Harrison’s aim. He will sit on his podium, and tell us that life is a trial, and always has been, especially if your from the wrong side of the tracks, whilst those with the power, are intent on maintaining the status quo. Mark is the recorder, logging all in his deadpan way, never sounding too excited, rarely smiling, but there’s that narrow seam of humour that’s embedded in the pathos. The album ends on an upbeat note, 'Shake The House’, it ain’t rock 'n roll, but its deftly picked out on the guitar strings, as the drum rolls in and accordian accompanies, never mind what awaits, lets just get on with now. A finely crafted, easy listening, album of roots blues. The Cajun style of, 'Dirty Business’, the 'Treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek’, and 'Hardware Store, for me, stand out, but I am always happy to listen in on Mark’s music, live or recorded.

Words And Photo Graham Munn

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The 525 to Glasgow

Sometimes in life you stumble across an artist or band who perhaps doesn’t naturally fit with your preferred genre of music but who swiftly become your guilty pleasure.

Since I was first introduced to rootsy blues/folk maestro Mark Harrison, when I was asked to review his third album, The World Outside, almost two years ago, he’s become my guilty musical pleasure.

Turpentine is Mark’s fifth release and follows swiftly on the heels of his live album, On The Chicken Sandwich Train. It was recorded at London’s Heart of Gold Studios and produced by Tim Bazell.

Armed with his trademark National and 12 string acoustic guitars, Mark is ably accompanied by fellow musicians Charles Benfield (double bass and backing vocals) who appeared alongside Mark on 2015’s live recording, Ed Hopwood (drums, percussion, harmonica and backing vocals) and Paul Tkachenko (mandolin, piano. Organ and accordion).

Turpentine brings us thirteen, lucky for some, songs, all written by Mark Harrison. Three of these, Black Dog Moan, Hell Of A Story and Hardware Store, premiered on On The Chicken Sandwich Train but these, along with the remaining ten, are fresh and vibrant.

The album opens with Black Dog Moan. Instantly toe tapping, this upbeat song delivers a positive message in a slightly downbeat fashion that life’s not always perfect. This song contains perhaps my favourite line from the whole record. “And I really love the bits of her I can stand.” I’m pretty sure we’ve all felt like that about someone at some point in life!

One of the highlights of this record is The Treaty Of Dancing Rabbit Creek. This is a solid rootsy blues tale, telling the story of Greenwood Leflore and the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi in the 1830’s. Love the harmonica on this one. Great track!

Dog Rib is the only instrumental on the album and showcases not only Mark’s musical prowess but that of his fellow musicians. Stunning slide guitar work here. The bowed double bass is a subtle touch. When the drum beat begins, the toe begins to tap. Love it!

Next of Kin brings things down a notch and adds another dimension to proceedings. It’s slow rootsy blues vibe creates slightly sleepy mood. I can visualise myself sitting on a swing or a rocking chair on the front porch of a house in the Deep South at dusk while this is played. There’s a dark, swampy, gothic edge to this one. A powerful piece of music.

I want to meet Josephina Johnson! Maybe we’ve all met her. Maybe some of us are part Josephina. This track spins the tale of a formidable lady who might be walking down the street in downtown Chicago during the Great Depression or down the main street in a small town in the Mississippi Delta or she could be walking down the street ahead of you. Can you see her? Great simple song. No frills. Just good old honest playing. Inspired!

Turpentine is brought to a fitting close with Shake The House. There’s a real upbeat feel good vibe here. A ray of hope! As the liner notes explain “when blues music was invented, juke joints were the social scene- bars and shacks in small towns or on the edge of plantations for partying away from the gruesome rest of life”. The story goes that on occasion folks partied so hard that they went straight through the floor. (Cue a vision of the scene from Disney’s Aristocats where Scat Cat and his band crash through the floors of the house and keep on playing.) Great track to end on! We’ve shaken the house to its very foundations with this one! This would be a great set closer in the live arena…hint!

I’m going to be honest. I don’t have enough technical musical knowledge to do justice to describing Mark’s musicianship. To my uneducated ear, I recognise brilliance when I hear it and it resonates through every one of the thirteen songs on offer here.

Mike Harding, renowned folk musician and TV/radio presenter, has described Mark as “one of the British Isles’ great blues singers and guitarists…totally and absolutely original.” He’s right but he perhaps forgot to add that Mark is an incredible lyricist, spinning stories with every song.

So, if you allow yourself only one guilty musical pleasure this summer, treat yourself to a copy of Turpentine and Shake The House! 9/10

Coral McCallum

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FATEA

I first came across Mark Harrison a few years when I organised a music festival called BAMfest in Bedale, North Yorkshire.

I was looking for up-and-coming blues players to give them a helping hand with their careers, and being a blues player myself, was delighted when Mark, who hails from London, got in touch.

Needless to say, he went down a storm at the festival, and I have taken a keen interest in how he has progressed since then.

Turpentine is Mark's fifth album by my reckoning, and follows his last effort, a live recording called On the Chicken Sandwich Train, recorded in Wigan.
There are 13 tracks, all original songs, which have a heavy bias to the blues but are not slavishly following the genre.

It is a delightful collection of modern lyrics that use the backdrop of the blues to tell their stories.

The opener, from which the title comes, Black Dog Moan, is an upbeat song with lovely percussion, organ and syncopated guitar.

So Many Bad People (Out There) is a slower slide blues, with Mark displaying a fine touch on his vintage National. Hell Of A Story is a whimsical tale that moves along sweetly. There is more fine tinkling guitar on Hardware Store.

This is a neatly produced album which shows a musician who is enjoying himself playing his brand of blues.

There are clearly influences of the likes of Mississippi John Hurt on songs such as the delicate Josephina Johnson, but throughout Mark puts his own stamp on his songs.

The final song this fine album is Shake The House, another upbeat song with the introduction of accordion to give another flavour. The band stretch out with some fine double bass, harmonica and drums - a fitting way to wrap things up.

Yes this a fine collection of blues-influenced songs. If you love acoustic blues I heartily recommend.

John Knighton

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Liverpool Sound & Vision

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

It is in the simplicity of music that many battles are fought and won, the everyday alignment of words and images in a harmony that just catches the ear in a motion of peace and the result is that life can viewed as not being so bad; verging on pure, wholesome and more interesting than can be appreciated when revelling in self-doubt and unjustified melancholy.

It is a situation to which Mark Harrison excels, the comfortable velvet tones, the clarity of expression and to one in which the texture of Turpentine adds gloss and a flavour in the air. The resin, the polish, the protection offered by the musician makes his latest album feel homely, calm and content, safe in the knowledge that what is ever thrown against it, it will stand resilient and with purpose. Turpentine is the restful with something deep to say but related not as anger but with security in mind.

That is not to say that the words are full of fluff or painted on with cotton wool, they are coated firmly, with one thing at the very centre of their life, a tale well told and charming in its existence.

Mark Harrison finds these musical gems with the same depth of persistence that a diamond hunter might strive in the middle of a dense and unforgiving jungle, the prize of enlightenment and riches can be seen as one and the same thing when viewed with myopic eyes, however when seen with the benefit of open heart, enlightenment is a crown best worn with honour and one that outweighs the mass of all jewels on the Earth.

The album is full of riches; truthful endeavours which shine brightly and which add a strong grip beneath the velvet glove. Tracks such as Black Dog Moan, Hell Of A Story, the fate of The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, Next of Kin and Josephina Johnson all serve the musician well and add weight to the growing discography of the man. If riches are measured by what they offer the soul rather than the pockets of the idle then Mark Harrison has hit such a opulent vein that it cannot be kept secret; nor should it be seen as such.

Turpentine is a terrific addition to the continuing story of remarkable story teller, one that is coated and primed with security.

Ian D. Hall

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Marsh Towers

Mark Harrison has returned with a new album, taking his flair for songwriting and musicianship to a whole new level.

It's been a while since we reviewed albums here at Marsh Towers so we are now reversing the trend and hoping to add our thoughts about new music on a more regular basis.

The works of Mark Harrison have appeared here twice before, namely with Crooked Smile (2012) and The World Outside (2014).

Checking my earlier thoughts, I found:

"If Crooked Smile was Mark's view of the world from his own personal standpoint, then Outside World sees him step through the door to encounter the rest of the world in all its glory, from the eccentric to the scary, from hectic modern life to the hard times of a bygone era."

I was intrigued to see how Mark's third album would sound and in which direction he would take the listener. The song titles revealed Mark has not lost his penchant for the quirky and unusual.

The songs hit the ground running with Black Dog Moan, setting the scene for the rest of the treats in store. In typical style, Mark sets dark lyrics to a jaunty tune. This has the dual effect of making the foot tap while making the brain think; real happy/sad blues. The lyrics depict a man who is almost making excuses to be happy in a world conspiring to bring him down. If there's no liquor, he'll drink turpentine...which gives us the name for the album. This is already very clever writing. Anyone who has ever used turpentine will find the title conjuring up the unique smell and feel of the oil, evoking many memories from times past. Ultimately, despite the charade and facade, there is no outrunning the black dog.

The characters in the songs stand out as eloquent outsiders, observing and commenting on the world around, full of So Many Bad People.

Paranoia raises its head on Hardware Store, which encapsulates the fish-out-of-water feeling we all experience when forced out of our comfort zone. This is undoubtedly one of the album's highlights. The lyrics are very amusing - some will make the listener laugh out loud - but the social message lurking barely below the surface is quick to emerge following a single scratch. It is, in short, a song to which we can all relate.

Let's face it: we live in a world where 'breaking news' is all about who may or may not still be part of a channel-changing cookery program; a world in which headlines regarding top-dollar divorce proceedings scream from the highest rooftops. Is it any wonder these songs of isolation, alienation and despair really hit home?

Hell of a Story is another standout track. The subject appears to have turned his life around in the most unlikely fashion, but the twist of the song casts doubt upon the veracity of the account.

Throughout the tales of people at odds with modern life, we are musically satiated by an almost endless supply of catchy riffs. At the end of the journey we are encouraged to 'never mind that now' but to Shake the House; a positive note on which to finish.

This is roots music at its best, offering up the ideal combination of folk (narrative songs), blues (happy/sad down-and-outs) and country (songs evoking the Dust Bowl). The entire album is thought-provoking. The songs, riffs, lyrics and messages will stay with the listener long after the immediate listening experience has come to an end, leaving an indelible impression - just like the smell and feel of the turpentine itself.

Breaking news: there is a new live album, which includes songs from Turpentine. Let the good/bad, happy/sad times roll!

Sean Marsh

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Northern Sky

A clue to how British blues singer Mark Harrison came up with the title of his fifth album release might be found in the opening song Black Dog Moan, but also the idea might pertain to Hardware Store, a lilting country blues, which aptly addresses this reviewer's own particular fear of everything DIY.

If we can for a moment rid ourselves of the prevailing smell of turps, we also discover a further ten songs and just the one instrumental, each of which somewhere along the folk end of the blues spectrum, with a nod to such notable influences as Charley Patton and Blind Willie McTell on both National steel and twelve-string guitars respectively. The general feel of the album is of a jingle-jangle guitar picking nature with occasional electric guitar runs thrown in. There's a lightness of touch rarely heard on blues records these days, which makes the album feel relaxed and even dare I say, cheerful.

The Cajun feel to the concluding track Shake the House, shows a further side of Harrison's repertoire and allows for a bit of a band workout. Produced by Tim Bazel, TURPENTINE also features Charles Benfield on double bass, Ed Hopwood on drums, percussion and harmonica and multi-instrumentalist Paul Tkachenko handling the rest.

Allan Wilkinson

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Just Listen To This

The CD booklet has a stern image of the star plus song lyrics and pictures of a resonator guitar, band members, Harrison smiling and a stage shot of him playing an acoustic twelve string with his band. Oh and some liner notes on the songs included. From these, Harrison seems taken with blues history and origins and has a lyrical bent to what Canned Heat dubbed ‘ The Human Condition’.

The players are Mark Harrison vocals, national and 12-string, Charles Benfield vocals and double bass, Ed Hopwood vocals harp and drums and Paul Tkachenko mandolin, keys and accordion. Production by Tim Bazell.

Opening with nimble guitar we hear a voice that sounds more folk in timbre than bluesman. This song Black Dog Moan includes reference to ‘turpentine’ the album title. So Many Bad People features slide resonator guitar and tells it like it is. This would and probably does sound great in an intimate folk club room. Out with the 12 string for Hell Of A Story which a has a ragtime feel and a tinge of Dylan. In The Dark seems like a nod to early Ry Cooder, albeit with a lighter voice; Dog Rib has some effective slide. Dirty Business could be a Jesse Fuller tune, the accordion fattening the band sound.

The gentle tumble of Fade Away is a pleasant interlude; Next Of Kin is the most atmospheric song on the record and sounds unremittingly sad. Mister Trouble is very much the kind of number that Paul Jones would play on his radio show.

This is a mixed bag of a record for me – the musicians are excellent and tasteful and I like the fact that many of the songs are stories. I think Mark is from the UK and I never like the adoption of a quasi-American accent, so many performers do this and it’s not for me. Harrison loves these styles of music, it is clear. But at present he sometimes seems more curator than creator. For all that, this record oozes love and positivity and moreover skill.

Pete Sargeant

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Cashbox, Canada
Music News, Nashville

Mark Harrison is an English acoustic guitarist with his heart and soul in the Deep South of Mississippi, The Delta and the blues in general. The title of this, his latest release, comes from the vitals many old black musicians and share-cropping migrants carried on the long rail journey North to the anticipated riches of Chicago and other northern cities where developing industry offered a possible income and escape from the grinding poverty of the southern states of the USA in the pre-war years.

Harrison is an all-round entertainer, a troubadour who has wit and an evidently astute understanding of his favourite music and its extraordinary history. With twenty-two tracks here, mostly self-penned, he displays a rare talent and enjoyably quirky squint at themes and topics often ignored by his acoustic picking peers.

For me, at least, three tracks positively stand out as gems of the genre, all his own compositions and clear illustrations of his style and ability – ‘Big Mary’s House’; Crematorium Blues’ and the wonderful, funereal ‘Your Second Line.’

Harrison is genuinely remarkable in many ways. He doesn’t just play blues with a traditional touch but instead moves it on, always thoughtful and complex with, at times, hints of musical trickery. He shakes the music by the scruff of the neck and with Chicken Sandwich Train succeeds in delivering an excellent, sparkling album of striking originality. Highly recommended.

Cashbox, Canada Link »

Music News, Nashville Link »

Plunger

If you’ve been bingeing all Christmas on blues turkey maybe you need something lighter, like a Chicken Sandwich?

Too rich a diet, or too much of the same thing aren’t good in any situation so Mark Harrison’s new album is the perfect palate cleanser. Recorded live at Wigan Parish Church this stripped-back, rootsy Americana collection won’t overpower you with more ingredients than you count, rather its simplicity is its virtue: guitar (of various varieties), upright bass and percussion mixed expertly and leavened with a generous pinch of wit, both in the lyrics and the inter-song banter.

It would have been a crime to leave out Mark’s drier-than-Twelfth-Night-drumstick asides and stories and there are many here: from the management consultancy crash to the Shoreditch film director glut, from ‘50 years of British social history, all in four verses. I think that’s something of a bargain’ to channelling Kenneth Williams.

Mark’s deceptively simple songs capture the spirit of Appalachian back porches or Okie camp fires, fresh and seemingly spontaneous although the lyrics often betray the careful thought that has gone into their making: from sly digs at contemporary mores to hard-edged critiques of bigger issues from economics to war, all delivered in a similarly matter-of-fact tone as his song introductions.

Moray Stuart

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The 525 to Glasgow

It’s almost eighteen months since I was first introduced to the music of Mark Harrison.

At that time, I’d been given Mark’s 2014 release The World Outside to review.

I’ve been hooked ever since!

Unfortunately, I missed Mark’s visit to Glasgow back in January when he performed as part of the Celtic Connections festival.

On The Chicken Sandwich Train, a live album, recorded as part of Acoustic Roots at Wigan Parish Church on 17 April 2015, is Mark’s fourth release.
Live albums are a bit of a love/hate thing for music fans. Some people love them; some people loathe them. Me- I love them!

Listening to this almost makes up for missing the Glasgow show!

This fourteen song record is interspersed with a handful of “stories”, little insights into the story behind the song and little insights into the gentle, dry humour of this talented performer.

The album opens with Big Mary’s House, from The World Outside. This is possibly the quirkiest start to a set being played in a church! Love it!

Mark has a beautifully subtle finger-picking style that sparkles throughout this entire album. Playing either his 12 string or his 1934 National, he’s equally at home creating his distinctive soundscapes.

In the past, Mark has been accompanied by a variety of equally talented musicians. On this outing, the lucky gentleman is Charles Benfield on double bass and additional vocals. He compliments Mark perfectly.

I’m not about to go through On The Chicken Sandwich Train track by track…or should that be carriage by carriage?. That’s a journey I’d strongly encourage you to buy a ticket (CD) for and enjoy at your leisure.

Even to pick out the highlights here was a challenge. Long Gone Miles and Panic Attack, both from The World Outside, stand out for me. Crematorium Blues from Crooked Smile is instantly toe-tapping but also subtly different in style to many of the other tracks. Love Your Second Line, again taking this musical journey down another track.

One of the main attractions for me to Mark’s music is his ability as a songwriter. His musicianship is beyond question but as a songwriter he’s fantastic. This album echoes with fresh, vibrant lyrics that tell stories, several of which hark back to days gone by as do a lot of his musical influences, but it all sounds as fresh and new as if it were penned only this morning. That’s a rare talent that comes straight from the soul.

This album finishes with Georgia Greene, another finger clicking, toe tapping tune. Perhaps it’s the edit of this record, but where’s the audience? I’d have loved to hear a bit more passion from them here.

Normally it’s the 5:25 to Glasgow I’d be boarding but I’m very pleased to have journeyed On The Chicken Sandwich Train.

Fantastic musical journey.
Who knows, if and when Mark returns to Glasgow, I may yet board the 5:25 to see his show.

9/10

Oh, and if you want to know the story behind the Chicken Sandwich train, buy the album! You won’t regret it.

Coral McCallum

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Music News

I think that artists like Mark Harrison get less than their fair share of kudos and appreciation. 

He plays beautifully and writes songs that both move the listener and produce a wry smile from time to time and in his various live forms – in this case he is ably supported by Charles Bonfield on Double Bass – he creates a bond between singer and audience that is rare in this day and age.

Harrison is a storyteller in the classic Blues form, tales of his experiences and of the different themes to his life. The stories are relevant to his audience and he has somehow created a genuinely British Blues within the classic form.

Playing his National Resonator or a twelve string, there are no ripping solos or pyrotechnical playing, his guitar chimes like a bell and the gentle playing lulls you into following his words instead of being the be all and end all of the song. Couple that to the tales he tells of the songs or little self-deprecating jokes at his own or his fellow musicians and it would take a hard hearted type of person not to be smiling all the way through.

The songs are, mainly, from his latest album ‘The World Outside’ and the simple presentation adds to the quality of the songs from opener ‘Big Mary’s House’ to his personal statement about modern masculinity in ‘Hardware Store’.

He has a relatively deadpan delivery (he does originate from Coventry after all) but there is no shortage of understated emotion or subtly twinkling humour. However, when the song requires it he manages a harder edged sound – ‘Crematorium Blues’ or ‘Bombs Coming Down’.

The recording quality of the album is superb, every note and lyric coming over clearly and with a sense of the size and acoustic of the Wigan church he was recorded in. Harrison is an excellent guitarist with very much his own sound either finger picking or playing occasional slide and Charles Bonfield’s double bass and percussion gives him just enough backing but never dominates. <

All told this is a lovely album and perfectly represents what sounds to have been a fine night in Wigan.

Andy Snipper

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Blues Magazine Netherlands (translation)

The fourth album from the British blues musician Mark Harrison is a live album in which the bulk of the tracklist from his previous album The World Outside. Lome fingerpicking songs, interspersed with very dry British humor.

Mark Harrison (Coventry, England) is outside his homeland not as well known in the blues scene. However, he has so far been three albums released: The World Outside (2014), Crooked Smile (2012) and Watching the Parade (2010), he was in the act for include The Holmes Brothers and Doug MacLeod and by the British press described as' one of the UK's foremost acoustic blues performers.

Harrison plays mainly on a 1934 National resonator guitar and 12-string guitar. As he puts it on his website: "I'd never had a lesson, knew nothing about tabs and video tutorials. I just played what came into my head and fingers. The music is rooted in the blues, but it's not stuck in the suit. I'm tapping into the timeless quality of the early blues to produce music totally irrelevant to the present day. I'm trying to do something fresh and different. I'm picking the guitar, using the strong rhythms and feel of the originators, and putting hopefully memorable tunes on top. "(1)

His latest release On The Train Chicken Sandwich is a live album, recorded in the Wigan Parish Church (Wigan, Greater Manchester, England) on 17 April 2015. The board is assisted by Mark Charles Bonfield on double bass. The majority of the tracks on this release are live performances of songs from The World Outside (2014). Between songs - and also featured on the album - Harrison tells very dry way (the famous English humor) about the songs, music and everyday affairs. It makes the listener feel as if you were actually present at the concert.

Mark Harrison you will not catch on solid blues rock or lavish and super fast guitar explosions. He has a pleasant way of playing with a delicate fingerpicking style. Opener Big Mary's House is a blueprint of the album: an understated yet refined guitar playing with a backup of the double bass. A tone and atmosphere that is extended on songs like Hardware Store, Run, Panic Attack and Black Dog Moan. Beautifully intimate and small are the songs The Numbers Game, Hell Of A Story and Crematorium Blues; continue yak Office is Your Second Line and Easy Does It.

The songs also seeps Harrison political and social commentary through. Bombs Coming Down is about the social ecocnomische development of England, about how his father grew up when he was 21 and how Harrison grew when he was the same age. Changes Coming Here is preceded by a presentation by Mark in the title of his album, On The Train Chicken Sandwich, and is about how mechanized cotton picking was and what that meant for those who were looking for work.

On The Train Chicken Sandwich is perhaps not for everyone by singing or sometimes tricky susceptible English humor. But it is an intriguing picture of a musician who can play damn good.

Patrick Struijker Boudier

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Number 10 in the UK Independent Blues Broadcaster Association chart

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THE BLUES MAGAZINE

Mark Harrison's "The World Outside" is a Work of Art

The World Outside, the third album from Mark Harrison, stands on its own. From the start of the album, it is a journey with the listener wondering what's next on their travels. Each new song is a new location with a new curiosity, and you can't help but be continually fascinated. There is always a new sound or some quick highlight that makes the song stand out, be it a wind instrument or a style that sounds just a tad bit jazzy.

With all the old fashioned sounding vocals layered over each other, "Panic Attack" becomes a quick favorite, and probably the most notable song on the album. "Long Gone Miles" has a chugging rhythm that carries the onerous flute melody, providing itself a stand-out instrument in the composition. Harrison is definitely a superb artist.

The grim plucking of the low string on "Not Alright" feels like a lost folk song from a person haunted. It reminds of someone singing in the dark of a secluded tavern at the coast of a sea. The image and the sound are equally profound and paint an altogether sublime portrait. "Long, Long Way" sounds like a forgotten pioneer song. "Floating Around" is great with the harmonies, and "Hard Times Now" leaves you feeling good once the album ends.

What's so great about the album is that it paints images in your mind. You get these beautiful, folk ballads and old fashioned sounding folk songs, and they leave you with pictures. This album is pristine, and is worth every penny.

AMERICAN BLUES SCENE
Michael Brasier

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Cashbox Magazine, Canada

Harrison is one of the new current crop of English bluesmen, busy carving a reputation as a leading-edge writer and guitarist in the bars, clubs and music festivals of Europe and the UK. All twelve tracks that make up this release were written by Harrison and more than adequately illustrate his mastery of style and subject.

What makes this guy stand out from most of the rest is the simple key element that underpins everything he does: he plays acoustic, generally slide guitar in a traditional style but with his own material which is bang up to date. An interesting mélange that few can pull off with success, Harrison, not only succeeds he positively triumphs.

On this release he is joined by his old buddy Ed Hopwood on drums and vocals, plus a number of other fine backing musicians; the Harp work of Will Greener is particularly  strong and the vocal support from Josienne Clarke, who also doubles up on Tenor Sax, Flute and Piano, is a positively welcome addition.

The twelve tracks here are fine examples of modern blues in the UK today from a guy with his ear to the musical ground coupled with humour and a deft turn of phrase and pacing. Many themes are modern while others reflect an interest in social issues with lively thought.

At times introspective, 'The World Outside' represents a very fine slice of British acoustic blues music from a clearly talented singer-songwriter with a finely balanced sense of self-deprecating wit.

Cashbox Magazine, Canada
Iain Patience

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"The World Outside" is a far far better place with Mark Harrison in it.

Having pretty much played Mark's previous album, "Crooked Smile" to death, I was intrigued as to where Mark Harrison was going to go with his next album, well "The World Outside" provides that answer and then some.

"The World Outside" sees Mark Harrison really find his stride, both musically and lyrically, not that you would find the previous albums out of step, it's just that this new one has a really relaxed fluency that you can only get by being totally in the zone.

This is an album that couldn't sound more of the Delta if you switched the Mississippi for the Thames, it's only Harrison's accent that lets you know that this album wasn't born and raised on the bayou, it completely captures the essence of that pre-war blues sound, aided and abetted by an incredibly strong musical team consisting of Charles Benfield, Will Greener, Josienne Clarke, Ben Walker, Ed Hopwood and Guy BenneTt, all top musicians in their own right and all capable of suppressing the self for the benefit of the whole and what a whole it is.

There is a real passion that sits beneath the sounds of the album. Sometimes you can hear it almost turning to seething anger, but it's that quiet restrained anger that can often have way more of an impact than letting the rage get the better of you, powerful indeed.
Harrison has quite a turn of phrase that can simply fill your mind with thoughts and images. More importantly when he's trying to say something, it doesn't take on that preacher style that some bluesmen are inclined to take, rather he seems more like he's encouraging to think for yourself, to take inspiration rather than answers.

Leaving the narrative aside for a moment, you can't help but fall for Harrison's guitar style. Regardless of whether it's the 1934 National resonator or twelve string, you can't help but be fascinated by his combination of slide and fingerpicking styles.

"The World Outside" will be following its predecessor in spending a significant amount of time on my cd player, in fact I think if this was vinyl, I would be worrying for the record's physical integrity. Mark Harrison and co has found a way of making addiction legal.

FATEA
Neil King

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Britain today is blessed with a number of utterly unique and original musicians and the current Blues scene is blessed by the musicians that it has spawned – including Mark Harrison.

This is his third album and the characteristics that made his last, 'The Crooked Smile', such a joy to listen to and inhabit, are still there but he has refined his songwriting skills and the collection of musicians with him are playing with real joy and passion.

His music is Blues. Old fashioned in many regards, especially the way that he uses original instruments and phrasing, but completely original in his words and the way that the songs are constructed. His themes are as modern as yesterday and as timeless as forever.

The musicians on the album are Harrison's usual coterie of chums and acquaintances – Will Greener on harmonica, Charles Benfield (Double Bass), Josienne Clark on vocals, Ben Walker plays mandolin, Ed Hopwood drums and Guy Bennett adds some keyboards – but they are used only when the song needs them and no two songs have the same complement of artists so the sound is always fresh and every song has a character and identity of its own – there is no formula.

Opening song 'Panic Attack' sets the scene beautifully with Greener honking on harp and the mandolin giving the song a distinctly New Orleans feel and Harrison's midlands accent bringing the song back home. Harrison plays in his usual finger picking style and delivers a delicious statement on modern day life.
'Your Second Line' has been a live favourite for a while now – the second line is the group of musicians and dancers who follow the coffin in New Orleans and the quality of the musicians is determined by your status in the community – and he has captured it brilliantly. His 1934 resonator guitar set against Will Greener's harp has a lovely rhthm and the harmonies with Josienne are sublime.

Every track has a story and a meaning, every track brings you to a different facet of Harrison's music but none more than the haunting 'Not All Right' with Josienne on lead vocal and her folk phrasing set against Harrison's Blues resonator really setting the hackles on your neck up – in Harrison's own words "the world divides into people who do dreadful stuff that they shouldn't and people who are on the receiving end of that; just because that's always been the way of things doesn't mean its OK".

He sings about things that actually mean something to him – people's ignorance and the soma generation, loan sharking credit companies, youthful indiscretion and the like – but he does it with style and grace. Harrison never shouts but every word is designed to make a point and you can't help but smile and enjoy while absorbing some lessons you might rather not ignore.

Personal favourites include his autobiographical 'Long Long Way To Go' but every track works and he is a joy on record or live.

I urge you to see him live – either on his own or with some of his collection of musicians – he is one of Britain's quiet gems and deserves to be heard.

MUSIC NEWS.COM
Andy Snipper

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Mark Harrison's music has a unique Southern country blues flavour with folk blues and roots. This album showcases his talents as a writer and highlights some superb musicianship from the members of the band. All the tracks on the album are self penned by Mark.

The line up consists of Mark Harrison (lead vocals, guitars), Charles Benfield (double bass, vocals), Will Greener (harmonica, vocals), Josienne Clarke (vocals, sax, flute,) Ben Walker (mandolin, vocals), Ed Hopwood (drums, percussion), Guy Bennett (keys, vocals), Sonny (bass, vocal)

The first track, 'Panic Attack', gives us a taster of what we can expect from the album. Some great finger picking on guitar and mandolin with input from sax and harmonica. Mark brings a strong storyline in the well sung vocals with great harmonies. The next track 'Long Gone Miles', provided a bit of 'déjà vu' with flute playing on the intro', (a touch of vintage Canned Heat maybe?) A great track anyway, with excellent mandolin playing again from Ben, with an interesting storyline, this time about a travelling Lightning Hopkins.

'Your Second Line' one of my favourite tracks on the album, provided some 'stomp' with great slide on the resonator guitar and vocals from Mark. Some perfect backing vocals and harmonies from the talented Josienne and some good harmonica input. Following this is a folk blues, 'Run', with simple but effective percussion and great finger picking guitar on the 12 string guitar, with the addition of a bit of slide guitar and Hammond input.

A simple rolling track 'Big Mary's House' gives some great rhythms and magic slap bass. Nice harp input and excellent finger picking guitar with good vocal harmonies too. A change of pace on the following track 'Not Alright'. Josienne has a beautiful voice and takes the lead vocal on this deep, folk blues number , with slide on the resonator guitar. A very moving track with some class harmonies.

Changing the tempo with the lilting 'Where Ignorence Is Bliss' a Dylan'esk country track. Great mandolin playing with flute, harmonica and well put together vocals. 'Long Long Way' is a lovely country song with acoustic intro and superb mandolin playing, the band then comes in with keys, harp and great vocal harmonies.

Now for something completely different. 'In The Neighbourhood', an up tempo 12 bar blues with a full on band sound, featuring sax, harmonica and a good 'fuzzed' electric guitar solo. Next 'Floating Around' is a folk blues number with Josienne on vocals. Beautiful harmonies with added flute and mandolin.

'Numbers Game' is a laid back blues with a story. Guitar and mandolin work well together on this track. The final track on this exceptional album is 'Hard Times Now' , an upbeat blues with Hammond, electric guitar and harmonica input. Another well put together track from these exceptional musicians.

A great easy listen album with superb vocals, guitar playing and story lines from Mark. Josienne has the voice of an angel and with her flute and sax playing she brings the 'added extra' to the album. The input of the rest of the band puts 'musicianship' well at the forefront. A well put together and well mastered album so if you like folk blues and roots it will make a good listen.

BLUES IN BRITAIN
Rosy Greer

There's something so completely restful about Mark Harrison's approach to music. Adopting a laidback, rural sound that fuses equal parts traditional folk to the sort of earthy, country blues that John Mayall was dishing out back in the late '60's, it's the aural equivalent of a sunny day, a breeze-fueled hammock and a tall, cool glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade.

All original material, Harrison surrounds himself with like-minded players who embellish his lead vocals with a flurry of complementary instrumentation – mandolin, an assembly of largely acoustic guitars, banjo, harp, flute, keys and the warm embrace of an inventive rhythm section. Each song is a carefully arranged revelation, Harrison's occasionally thin vocals augmented by the generosity with which the ensemble makes individual contributions.

From the buoyant chorus of "Long Gone Miles" with its "going to the country" flute to the powerful New Orleans-inspired treatment of "Your Second Line" with its propulsive percussion and driving harmonies, each outing is unique. Adding the authoritative vocals of folk dynamo, Josienne Clarke, could've been a backfire, her robust sound potentially overpowering all others – yet she's woven into the whole like a favourite fabric. Standout tracks include the hypnotic "Big Mary's House" which, thanks to Ed Hopwood's percussive twists and Will Greener's 'chugga-chugga' harpwork, grows an elaborate groove all its own. Clarke's lead on "Not All Right" proves an elegant departure, yet stays within the confines of Harrison's stringband-oriented perspective. The mellow sleeper, "Long Long Way To Go", features superb harmonies (Harrison/Clarke) against a lush backdrop of mandolin while the ebullient, "In The Neighbourhood", quickly proves an animated 'state of the union' address with an amiable chorus and jaunty attitude.

A brave, satisfying and most subtle release – Harrison's third.

PENGUIN EGGS, CANADA
Eric G. Thom

The World Outside captures you from the first note with its fun rootsy beat, you know this is an album you are going to enjoy and listen to long after the review is written.

This self-released album is full of confidence, with a dozen songs written by Mark. The band is loving what they are playing Charles Benfield (double bass, vocals), Will Greener (harmonica, vocals), Josienne Clarke (vocals, sax, flute,) Ben Walker (mandolin, vocals), Ed Hopwood (drums, percussion), Guy Bennett (keys, vocals), Sonny (bass, vocal) and Mark Harrison (Lead vocals).

This album is full of bluesy roots textures and tones, lovely finger picking guitars, drawling vocals, percussion that drives the beat along and the overlaying superlative playing of a variety of instruments especially the mandolin delivered by Ben. Throughout there are overtones and a nodding of styles to Dylan, Honeyboy Edwards and more as they fleet on by and you are then back with an original sound that is put together with class and cohesion. Amongst these twelve strong tracks I love the country feel of Long Long Way To Go; the beautiful guitar intro that makes this track stand out, followed by the lyrics that flow as you watch the world go by.

Josienne's vocals are wonderful whether as a backing that adds depth or taking the lead. Not Alright, a folksy bluesy number where the slide guitar is used to great effect with harmonies to enhance this emotional track. The tempo never stays in one place every track takes a different approach to singing and playing roots music so the album is full of contrasts, as the mix of instrumentations are changed so that nothing overwhelms the song-writing skills of Mark Harrison.

The World Outside is an authentic roots based album where it is the words that drive the instrumentation so the story shines through, as demonstrated on the final track Hard Times; a tribute to the superb early blues artist Honeyboy Edwards with a great mix of blues-harp and Hammond organ. Mark and the band have put together an album that is full of rhythm, emotions and above all fantastic skills on every instrument played with the vocals always centre stage, I love the mix of styles and approaches there is no doubt that angelic voice of Josienne combined with her skills on flute and saxophone gives the album something special that makes it stand out from the crowd.

A special roots album that provides a great listening experience.

BLUES MATTERS
Liz Aiken

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R2 MAGAZINE

Mark Harrison really does find a new path through the prickly forest that can the the marriage of folk and blues. His new album is something of a masterclass in tapping into the essence of folk, blues and roots music - all too often they are blended in a superficial manner that loses their integrity - Harrison knows just what makes each strand to his music strong, then he has a field day with the possibilities.

The World Outside has a brilliant set of musicians on it as well as Mark on guitars and vocals, Josienne Clark and Ben Walker lend their considerable talent to the line up. Clark take the lead vocal on some tracks and gives a real depth to harrison's songs.

'Rootsy-blues-folk' is the best description of the music on The World Outside, its roots go deep into the strangely uplifting melancholy heart of the blues, whilst the folk elements bring a lightness to it all. This really is an album that will satisfy fans of both genres.

SPIRAL EARTH
Iain Hazelwood

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THE WORLD OUTSIDE SHINES BRIGHT FOR MARK HARRISON

Mark Harrison's third album release, The World Outside" takes the listener straight into the world of rootsy blues based folk with a smattering of jazz. This record is a follow up to the highly acclaimed "The Crooked Smile" and "Watching the Parade" and it doesn't disappoint.

Mark has composed all twelve tracks and there is a refreshing air to this album. The opening track, "Panic Attack" is catchy and quirky enough to grab your attention instantly. "Panic Attack" showcases Mark's finger picking skills along with the delicate mandolin of Ben Walker and strong harmonica of Will Greener.

As I listened to" The World Outside" I was reminded strongly of sound of created by The Humblebums, a Scottish folk group from the late 1960's who were fronted by the late great Gerry Rafferty and featured the musical talents of Billy Connolly. "Long Gone Miles" also has a vibe that harks back to the summer of 1970 and Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime".

"Not Alright" offers the listener a contrast of style with a deeply emotional vocal performance from Josienne Clark. This beautiful folk/blues song has clear echoes of Joan Baez.

Mark's lyrics bring this genre back into the 21st Century and my personal favourite line can be found in "Where Ignorance Is Bliss" – "everything I know about women could be written on a rat's ass." A lyric perhaps that Bob Dylan would be proud of as the song overall is reminiscent of his style.

This album falls into a musical genre where there have been many iconic names in the past that are a hard act to follow."The World Outside" is a refreshing addition to this genre of music and brings it bang up to the here and now. It harks back to bygone days of delta blues/folk and jazz but it also proves to the listener that this world is safe in the talented hands of Mark Harrison and his 1934 National resonator. "The World Outside" is a strong rootsy album, true to its heritage, perhaps a little repetitive in parts, but is an album that I will be listening to for some time.

PHOENIX MUSIC ONLINE
Coral McCallum

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A tremendous recording of some highly original folksy blues songs by a master singer, songwriter and guitarist who really should be a household name.

Mark Harrison has been feted as an accomplished, highly skilled and original blues singer/songwriter as well as guitarist, and yet in the music world nothing is ever quite that simple. You really can't place a man with his abilities in one narrow genre, although the comments about his skill are correct, but there is a lot more to his music than just the 'bluesman' label. He is an excellent and expressive vocalist and a tremendous resonator guitar player as well as being a terrific songwriter who tells a variety of stories, with all twelve of the compositions on this album being excellent Harrison originals.

None of the instrumentation is ever overdone, with every song having a sparse open feel and sound, and although it's difficult to define why, the overall sound, to me at least is reminiscent of Paul Simon's 'Graceland' without ever actually being much like it! Maybe it's some of the instrumentation or the spaciness of the production, but despite that comparison Mark Harrison has a refreshing and totally individual style.

The lineup on this recording is Mark Harrison on National and 12 string guitars, as well as lead vocals,Charles Benfield handles double bass, Hammond C3 organ, harmonium, percussion, electric guitar and backing vocals, Ryan Carr is on mandolin, vocals and electric guitar, Will Greener, harmonica and vocals, Ed Hopwood on drums and percussion, Ben Walker on mandolin and electric guitar, Josienne Clarke's extraordinary vocals add some tremendous harmonies and lead vocals on the exquisite Not All Right as well as on Floatin' Around. The album was recorded at Livingston Studios, Wood Green, London and produced, mixed and mastered by Charles Benfield, a man who, on the strength of this recording, seems able to allow plenty of space around every instrument and vocal giving a degree of separation that we are not often treated to.

The songs themselves are beautifully arranged and performed, with some, whilst not overtly 'blues,' getting very close to that classic genre, such as Your Second Line. It has a tremendous resonator guitar sound and some highly skilled playing on an excellent composition that includes some terrific propulsive drumming. This intensely dramatic story has some gorgeous harmonies from Josienne Clark giving the song a slightly eerie, ethereal feel all added to by some terrific harmonica support. Big Mary's House has an excellent repetitive percussive sound allied to Mark's resonator guitar on a song that has a bluesy, folksy, country feel in the mix giving the song a pretty much unique sound with nice double bass and driving harmonica joining in on another excellent lead vocal and harmonies. Not All Right starts with a slow moody resonator guitar before being joined by the gorgeous and hugely atmospheric lead vocals of Josienne Clark on a slightly spooky song that has a strange otherworldly feel, gradually building in intensity, blending folk with blues that in many ways feels like a throwback to the music of many decades ago. Long, Long Way To Go is a lovely slow moody, reflective song with resonator guitar, mandolin and the excellent bass and drums with Josienne Clark's atmospheric harmonies blending beautifully, whilst In The Neighbourhood includes an excellent horn sound giving more variety to the album on a lyrically dark, but musically easy going atmosphere and tempo with Mark's usual excellent resonator guitar sound.

This is a terrific album by a high quality artist who has developed his own style, one that includes a strong bluesiness, a powerful folksy feel and, strangely, a little of the laid back feel you might expect from music made somewhere such as the Caribean. All this combines to ensure a highly atmospheric and original recording that should grace the music collection of anyone who likes something a little different from their roots music.

AMERICAN ROOTS UK
Mike Morrison

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Mark Harrison is a London-based acoustic guitar player/singer/songwriter and this is his third album. It is also a little gem of a release, combining early acoustic blues and folk influences with a very modern lyrical perspective and a contagious energy and good humour to create something new and highly enjoyable.

Harrison wrote all 12 songs himself and, like the music itself, his intelligent lyrics draw inspiration from a wide variety of sources, primarily from the recent American past, but often finding a connection with the modern world. "Big Mary's House" is an ode to a Mississippi Delta juke joint from the 1920s, while "Hard Times Now" reflects on the fact that the great Honeyboy Edwards survived the brutality of a segregated Mississippi as a young man, only to be horrified by the casual street violence of the Chicago he lived in as an old man.

"Your Second Line" refers to the group of people at a full New Orleans funeral who march and play and parade a coffin. In a plea for people to consider their actions and their impact on the lives of others, he asks "When it comes to your time, who's gonna be in your second line?"

In "In The Neighbourhood", Harrison cleverly connects the charlatan medicine shows that travelled the southern States in the early twentieth century with the bankers and frauds who have blighted so many lives in the US and the UK in particular over recent years. He sings: "The whole place is rotten, but nobody lifts a hand. You could buy their souls if they had them, for a lousy couple of grand. And people keep on talking about how much things have changed. Well, the faces might be different but the picture's still the same."

"Where Ignorance Is Bliss" combines both sharp humour and wry observation as he notes: "Everything I know about women could be written on a rat's ass. Everything I thought was gonna happen, it never did come to pass. You can get yourself in a whole lot of trouble just from one little kiss. But everything is all right, where ignorance is bliss." Sometimes it really is folly to be wise.

Harrison plays a variety of acoustic guitars on the album, and he receives excellent support from his regular band featuring Charles Benfield (on bass, harmonium, nylon-string guitar and harmony vocals), Will Greener (harmonica and harmony vocals), Josienne Clarke (lead and harmony vocals, tenor sax, flute and piano), Ben Walker (mandolin and lead electric guitar), Ed Hopwood (drums, percussion and harmony vocals), Guy Bennett (Hammond C3 organ and harmony vocals) and Sonny (bass vocals).

The CD is beautifully produced, from the high quality recording (by Benfield) to the superb packaging with a full lyric booklet.

On his website, Mark Harrison writes: "The music is rooted in the blues, but it's not stuck in the past. I'm tapping into the timeless quality of the early blues to produce music totally relevant to the present day." That's a pretty fair summary.

The World Outside is a very enjoyable album of modern acoustic folk-blues. If you like acoustic masters such as Eric Bibb, you will love Mark Harrison.

BLUES BLAST MAGAZINE, US
Rhys Williams

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Roots music enthusiasts won't need me to remind them about this stylish guitar picker's timeless approach to the charms of the acoustic blues. Mark's third album is arguably his finest offering to date,tackling topics as diverse as New Orleans funerals, the optimism of youth and the arcane workings of the economic system with grace,subtlety and charm,aided and abetted by the excellent backing band who've served him so well in the past. "Panic Attack," "Your Second Line" and the autobiographical "Long Long Way To Go" are particularly fine efforts.

MESSENGER NEWSPAPERS, 90 papers in the UK
Kevin Bryan

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Mark's a singer-songwriter of the bluesy-rootsy persuasion, with a personable performing style that, while (if only to attempt possible reference points) it may variously recall Ry Cooder, Chris Smither or Eric Bibb, remains individual and, once latched onto, distinctively identifiable – which may be a less extravagant claim than it sounds.

The World Outside is Mark's third CD, and to take a glance at the new album's packaging it might seem just a continuation of Crooked Smile, in that it adopts an identical presentation format, attractively designed with colourful artwork and integral booklet containing full lyrics, brief notes on the songs and photos of all participants.

As for Mark's songwriting, not for him the navel-gazing of the archetypal s/s, but he takes his subject-matter cue from the music which has so clearly been his inspiration – the delta blues of the 1930s and 40s and the various roots musics that the southern States have spawned.

Funky disc closer Hard Times Now posits the viewpoint of Honeyboy Edwards on the street violence he sees in the modern world; Long Gone Miles, which tells the story of Lightnin' Hopkins, has an easy-rolling flute, mandolin and snare-drum backing that harks back to the sound of country-blues master Henry Thomas, while In The Neighbourhood draws parallels between the old medicine shows and modern-day practitioners of medicine who are equally natural charlatans (plus ça change!). And the primitive percussion and gospel chant backing for Your Second Line evokes the parade spirit (if not quite the most raucous letter) of a New Orleans funeral. On that track, as indeed throughout the whole album, Mark's brilliantly idiomatic National guitar work impresses – as indeed does his prowess on all other varieties of guitar!

He commands further expert instrumental (and vocal) support from a small but effective team comprising Charles Benfield, Will Greener, Josienne Clarke, Ben Walker, Ed Hopwood and Guy Bennett. Of these persons, Josienne and Ben are already familiar names to folk cognoscenti, and their presence is a further guarantee of special quality (indeed, amongst the disc's highlight tracks can be numbered Not All Right and Floatin' Around, on both of which Josienne takes the lead vocal role, and Long Long Way To Go, where she duets with Mark); but to be fair, each member of Mark's valiant support-crew makes a comparably telling contribution that's completely in tune with Mark's own music-making and the tenor of his songs and artistic vision.

His companionable life-philosophy, as wryly espoused in songs like Run, Panic Attack and the chirpier Where Ignorance Is Bliss, is entirely right-minded, speaking simply but persuasively of contemporary, proven-universal truths; it may seem obvious, but its reasoning and context is sincere and the musical expression tasty in the extreme.

The World Outside is one of those precious albums which makes its mark on first impression, sure, but then proceeds to slow-burn its delights into your consciousness when and least you might expect it to burn deeper. That may be why it's taken so long for me to get round to extolling its timeless virtues in these pages; take a chance and grab a copy now – you'll thank me for the discovery!

FOLK AND ROOTS UK
FOLK ROUNDABOUT
David Kidman

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BLUES & RHYTHM MAGAZINE

The third album from this Londoner with a growing reputation for making highly individual music flavoured with early blues, folk and some country. Harrison is a very talented song writer and, together with his six piece band, gives tremendous value at his gigs throughout the south east.

All the songs have an interesting storyline 'Long Gone Miles' was the name of the travelling companion of blues great Lightnin' Hopkins and the song has a country sound to it. But this album is mostly an attractive mixture of blues and folk 'Big Mary's House' raps along with harmonica to the fore the story of a rough and ready bar on the Mississippi delta. 'The Numbers Game' asks just how do the western economies work anymore? The pick of the album is 'Where Ignorance Is Bliss' which as everyone knows is saying that you are better not knowing about something then you can't worry about it. The pick of the support is Josienne Clarke on saxophone and lead vocals on a couple of tracks. A very good album.

MAVERICK MAGAZINE
Paul Collins

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The soft delicate guitar fused with a the coming out of a serene waking dream and accompanied by a set of vocals that could lull you into believing all is well with the world is perhaps the only way in which to pay respect to Mark Harrison and his new album The World Outside.

The World Outsideyour window, the safety net in which you can hide behind and peek at and write down observations is not as good as you make think it is. For the view is only as good as the sight you see and where it might be rosy in your garden, beyond your wall of misguided content lies many things that are wrong, disturbingly so and yet the veil that makes shields your eyes from the sun, also shields your eyes from the truth of the situation.

Mark Harrison's world outside is an honest reflection of what he witnesses, tied down with charming and picturesque musicianship and a more than amiable smile in which to comfort you whilst spelling out all the wrong in the world is there for you grasp hold of and feel the anger also. It is not anger that rises up like a strike of a match, over too quickly and none of the substantial beauty that is the roar of a well built bonfire, slowly starting, hard to contain but its message can be seen for miles around.

This Blues/Folk crossover is enhanced by Charles Benfield on double bass, Will Greener on harmonica, the wonderful Josienne Clarke on vocals, Ben Walker on mandolin, Ed Hopwood on drums and Guy Bennett on keys. The combination of intricate flowing music is the tome that people will no doubt first reflect upon as they hear each song; however it soon guides you in with an astounding subtlety, you only realise how angry life has made you when the lyrics hit home and yet a smile of straightforward satisfaction will appear on your face as you realise it cannot last forever given enough people open up the doors and see beyond the view endorsed by certain media and politicians.

Tracks such as Run, Not All Right, the superb Where Ignorance is Bliss, the disturbing dystopian feel of In The Neighbourhood and Hard Times Now make The World Outsidea better place in which to reside, for where there is truth in music, there is a natural beauty to be seen. Serenity may come with a price, Mark Harrison asks if you are willing to step beyond your narrow view and act upon the change needed. A great album in which to relish possible change, should you open the window of your soul more.

Rating 8/10

LIVERPOOL SOUND AND VISION
Ian D. Hall

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Music cycled back to Mark Harrison. The first go-round with songs held a diversity of sound though nothing that connected. The arc was wide, lasting for a while before it circled back around to where Mark was waiting. By the time the sound reached his ears,it had fine-tuned its attack, offering only one line of defense to crush his resolve. The charge worked and the loose Blues took over is on display in The World Outside, the third Mark Harrison release. Not only playing, but soaking up the Blues was part of the process for Mark and he recalls that 'I assembled something of a collection of the greats, from Charley Patton to Muddy Waters via Blind Willie McTell and the first Sonny Boy Williamson. I read a lot of books about their world and their music. It all spoke to me in mysterious ways. I decided to buy a resonator. While trying out new ones in a London shop, I was directed to a recent arrival. 'The way you play, you'll like this one,' I was told. It was still in its case. It was a 1934 National Trojan, a wood-body resonator. 'It's got a sweet sound but it'll bite if you want it to,' the man said'.

The World Outsidehitches a ride with "Long Gone Miles" keeping time to a train click beat as strings flash by like the sun through the flat car walls, as music lazily glides lazily over a glistening watery surface, sun sparkling on the guitar notes in "Floating Around". If the Blues you hear in the music of Mark Harrison is familiar but not immediately recognizable the cause could be the steps forward in the genre that he makes with his take on tradition. Blues history is alive and well in the music. The song structure does not wander too far from the Folk Blues that frames the tracks. Frenetic percussion jumps out at Mark's resonator as it picks its way to "Big Mary's House", a choir of voices warn of dark times coming as a result of "The Numbers Game" and the economy weaves its story through the notes that fly around the arrangement of "Run". Mark Harrison re-airs the Blues that has become a part of his being, sending the way he hears the sound back out to The World Outside.

THE ALTERNATE ROOT, US
Danny McCloskey

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If Crooked Smile was Mark's view of the world from his own personal standpoint, then Outside World sees him step through the door to encounter the rest of the world in all its glory, from the eccentric to the scary, from hectic modern life to the hard times of a bygone era.

Inhabiting the dual worlds of blues and folk, each song has a story to tell. All 12 songs were written by Mark himself and no two sound the same. The range takes in everything from the riff-driven blues of Panic Attack to the gentle, almost lullaby folk of Floatin' Around.

Mark's vocals and guitars - namely, a 1934 National resonator and a 12-string - are augmented by his talented group, which consists of the following personnel: Charles Benfield - double bass; Will Greener - harmonica; Josienne Clarke - vocals; Ben Walker - mandolin, Ed Hopwood - drums; Guy Bennett - keyboards.

Each member is given time and space to play to their strengths. Check out the harmonica on Your Second Line, the bass on Big Mary's House, mandolin on Hard Times Now, Josienne's lead vocals onFloatin' Around...well, just listen to all of it and have fun picking out the key moments for each instrument. Mark's guitars are the glue holding the various musical elements together; the hooks and riffs draw listeners into the world of the song and the intriguing, original lyrics hold them there as each narrative unfolds.

The album presents a world of shady neighbourhood threats, escalating troubles leading to panic attacks and the closing comment, "It was hard times then and it sure is hard times now..." Yet like all the best blues, it gives a sweet side to counter and contrast with the bitter.

I enjoyed Crooked Smile but The World Outside represents a step further for Mark and his individual, original style. It's good know that in a world which sometimes seems to be filling up with manufactured bands and conveyor belt pop, people are still out there making real music and crafting real songs.

MARSH TOWERS
Sean Marsh

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Mark Harrison is making quite a name for himself on the folk and blues circuits around London. Mark plays with various line-ups and has top-class band consisting of some of London's most highly regarded roots musicians and together they make a unique sound. With a very flexible set-up, he performs as solo, duo, trio, quartet, 5-piece and 6-piece with any or all of the above.

He has an attractive singing voice and is an outstanding, relaxed and effective finger picking guitar style. His last CD Crooked Road received many accolades and was played on a wide range of music shows. This music is a long way from traditional blues but is nevertheless deeply rooted in that genre.

The major strength of all this is Mark's songwriting skills. The lyrics are outstanding and each some has a unique feel to it. Mark has absorbed the genre so well that many are on the cusp of reminding you of something else; take for instance Long, Long Way, a song that would hold its own with the very best of Appalachian mountain music. It is beautiful!

If you like traditional American roots music delivered with skill and panache this for you.

BLUES IN THE SOUTH
Ian McKenzie

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Mark Harrison and his very capable band (whose members include the extremely talented duo Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker) play a curiously English take on American roots music. Their stylistic materials mine the cracks between country blues and old time country music, continuing a UK tradition that began with skiffle and was nourished by the likes of Ramblin' Jack Elliotand the pop-jug-band sounds of Canned Heat.

There's a sense when listening to American performers in such styles, particularly the older ones, that they are singing from beneath a heavy encrustation of experience and cultural difference, but Mark Harrison is much lighter in his vocal delivery, which is characterised by careful diction and clarity of enunciation, bringing a British folk-revival aesthetic to a rather more gnarled set of stylistic traditions. To some it may seem a little straight or tame, but to me it sounds like an effective fusion, essentially abstracting its communitarian stylistic materials to the purpose of supporting Harrison'spractice as an individual author of original songs. Really deep feels, beautiful playing, and a lovely sound.

OLIVER ARDITI

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Like Pokey LaFarge or CW Stoneking, Mark Harrison belongs to the kind of songwriters who are able to convey contemporary stories of life using classic musical elements and thereby bridging the gap between music from the early 20^th and early 21^st century.

Harrison's album "The World Outside" is musical blend of blues, folk, and ragtime. To give you a flavour of the atmosphere the album creates: If someone asked me to give an image what is going on out there in the world these days, it would be a pretty busy and rather hectic scene.
Personally, I think modern days' continuous stream of information, broadcasting significant, but also pseudo-relevant news to us, caught one up in a whirlwind of activity. It prevents oneself from developing an own point of view - simply because it pulls the rug out from under one's feet.

Mark Harrison's description of the world, in contrast, is incredibly laid-back: Either when he talks about the business in these days or the hard times that lie behind us – Mark Harrison maintains his apparently objective observer's position on things. In his album "The World Outside", he talks about diverse topics, from ambigious neighbours to wild sorrows, that eventually lead to panic attacks.

"It was hard times then and it sure is hard times now" is the conclusion of the album. Regarding the rich musical side, Mark Harrison convinces with his sliding techniques when playing a national resonator guitar as well as his finger picking on the 12 string. But this album is also rich of talented companions, namely the member of the versatile Mark Harrison Band:
Ben Walker on the mandolin, Will Greener on the blues harp, and Josienne Clarke on vocals just to name some exceptional member of the ensemble.

His first album "Crooked Smile", published in 2012, was already impressive – but Mark Harrisons new piece "The World Outside" clearly is a step forward: It brings finest acoustic music and lyrics from a great observer and storyteller together.

WASSER-PRAWDA, GERMANY
Nathan Norgel
Translated by David Mehler

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This is an unpretentious, easy accessible, engaging easy listen album. Better I can really Mark Harrison's latest album "The World Outside" not described. The twelve songs, from the man himself, are a pleasant mixture of folk, blues and country. The man also has an excellent band around have gathered to applaud the whole musical level to lead to an even more attractive.

The texts are of a particularly high quality level and with in or more limited phrasing he knows engaging images to mind. A good example of this is for example "Lone Gone Miles" where the intro on flute reminds us spontaneously to Canned Heat. But here also then stops any similarity to this band. Harrison tells here the story of the old blue master Lightnin ' Hopkins and his companion and lush Lone Gone Miles. He took out the inspiration at the sight of a picture of both and brings the sublime banjo game by Ben Walker hurry this story to life.

We were all treated to the equally beautiful opener "Panic Attack" with delicious fingerpicking work. That the man also proves he is an excellent guitarist on "Your Second Line" with engaging slide work. Even if Clarke fine vocal support goes, I then again think of the virtually unknown here but also admired by us Sidestreet Reny.

The album continues to fascinate, along the more bluesy song "Run" on the already fine vocal supported and with appropriate harmonica work spiced "Big Mary's House".

It remains easy to call all but the melodies and vocals are always charming. There is not one track that stands out, it's the kind of laid-back album you will be bored anywhere but you jump out of your seat will not do. A real favorite track, we also cannot see all we do have more than concentrated are listening to "In The Neighbourhood", an uptempo blues song with fine harmonica solo and strings already captivating game of "Will Greener".

Josienne Clarke takes the lead vocals in time for her account and does so with gusto. On "The Number Game" you will like this the most stand out, and oh yeah ... the Lady also ensures the sax and the flute here appropriate stripes. Who will with this very Edition of folkblues holds no bad buy.

ROOTSTIME, BELGIUM
Luc Meert

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"This sumptuously packaged album is the second in Mark Harrison's campaign to spread his brand of roots music beyond the confines of the M25. All twelve songs are written by Mark, who features on guitar and vocals. He is ably supported by half a dozen talented musicians. Charles Benfield, who produced the CD, also pitches in with double bass and occasional keyboard flourishes. Other notable elements to the mix are mandolins (Ben Walker and Ryan Carr) and harmonica (Will Greener), so no surprise that the sound is closer to that of the Delta in the '30s than of Chicago in the '50s.

Gentle loping riffs provide the foundation for Mark's singular lyrics – his aim being to tap into the timeless quality of the early blues to produce music totally relevant to the present day'. The sound is akin to the Mississippi Sheiks with the lyrics speaking of 'trains, tracks and levees, nickels and dimes in Honeyboy and wind blowing through cornfields in Blessed. The latter song features atmospheric slide guitar from Mark and a pleasing vocal contribution from Josienne Clarke.

This is an original take on song-writing, though. Not many sing today of the impact of Attlee's government on post-WW11 Britain, as Mark does in Bombs Coming Down."

Blues in Britain

"For his second album, acoustic blues troubadour Mark Harrison has delivered a batch of original songs inspired by artists spanning Blind Willie McTell and Charley Patton to present-day equivalents Eric Bibb and Guy Davis. His PR may claim originality in his sound, but his forte is the manner in which he has successfully adapted an authentic 30s vibe.

Harrison's songs may be new but most could sit comfortably alongside any set list performed by the early country blues icons. With his gifted finger-picking and slide techniques, Harrison has developed a distinctive style, supported here by various sub-sets of versatile musicians that includes Charles Benfield (double bass, organ), Will Greener (harmonica, Ryan Carr and Ben walker (mandolin and electric guitar), Josienne Clarke (vocals) and Ed Hopwood (drums).

Most songs are mid-tempo, granting free rein to Harrison's storytelling vocal style. Despite the twelve songs being mainly acoustic, some of the best include Benfield's electric guitar, like 'The Original Dawg' with its wonderful interplay between Harrison's 12-string and Ryan Carr's mandolin, although to be fair, 'Honeyboy', the tale of a touring musician, with Harrison and Greener trading links on National Steel and harmonica respectively, is a gem that evokes the classic era of delta Blues. "

R2 magazine

"Recorded at the Livingston Studios in Wood Green, London, Mark Harrison's sophomore album is a follow-up in similar vein to his debut Watching The Parade. It's a comforting act of low-key folky and rootsy blues numbers that give Harrison plenty of opportunity to roll over his National guitar with suitable vigour, whilst delivering his poetic self-penned songs in iconic scratchiness.

The songs segue sweetly into each other with no distinct difference in flavour (that's a good thing), except to be interrupted by the mid-album number Lay Your Burden Down, where Josienne Clarke shines with figurative focus. A fine cast of guests and colleagues add width with harmonica, mandolin and double bass at the right time.

Harrison is well-schooled in the discipline and knows exactly how to tag the song, whether that be for the ritual Honeyboy or the reflective Blessed. The low-key rumble is particularly ironic for the album's closer, Reckless, and sums up his whispering profundity."

Blues Matters magazine

"London-based Harrison may be plying his trade half a world away from the source of his inspiration, but his curiously timeless songs remain steeped in the spirit of the Mississippi blues, and 'Crooked Smile' should be required listening for anyone who's ever professed an interest in this fascinating genre..

The understated Mr Harrison and his like-minded musical cohorts have assembled a relaxed and deeply satisfying set for your delectation, with Mark wielding his trusty 1934 National resonator guitar to excellent effect with Mark wielding his trusty 1934 National resonator guitar to excellent effect during mellow gems such as Honeyboy and Georgia Greene."

Messenger Newspapers

"When I saw Mark play a short while back he featured a number of these songs in his live set so I had an idea of what to expect but when you hear these songs in the full band format they become more coherent and even more 'classic'.

Mark writes songs that sound as though they are Blues staples from the late twenties and thirties but his themes are as much 'now' as 'then' and with a sympathetic group of musicians he makes a noise that really is timeless.

He is helped out here by various combinations of Charles Benfield (Double Bass, Hammond C3, Harmonium, Electric Guitar, percussion), Ryan Carr (Mandolin, Electric Guitar), Will Greener (Harmonicas), Ed Hopwood (Drums), Ben Walker (Mandolin, Electric Guitar) and vocals from Josienne Clarke but the songs are the real stars along with Harrison's gently picked guitar – mainly his trusty National Resonator – and his lead vocals.

There is nothing here that tears it up, rather the songs are dictated by Harrison's vocal style which is almost conversational in tone, but his lyrics sing of his life and observations and while all the songs feel as though they could be rooted in the past they are contemporary and spark of truth.What there is here though is a collection of songs that will pull you in to the stories and allow the different musicians to play in an unstrained and very relaxed environment."

Music News

"Since 2010, Mark's been making a name for himself on the London music scene with his own personal brand of bluesy-folk-styled songwriting, and his debut album Watching The Parade was by all accounts very well received. If it's anything like as tasty as the follow-up, Crooked Smile, then it'll be worth my backtracking on - but for the moment let's stick with Crooked Smile.

It's a collection of pretty individual, though timeless-sounding, self-penned songs that largely comprise sanguine, often significantly wry philosophical observations on contemporary life. In that his songs deal with contemporary issues while stylistically rooted in the classic blues of the 30s, Mark's writing reminds me quite a bit of Ry Cooder, albeit without the same extent of political edge - and his unpretentious, relaxed, intelligently rootsy small-band-acoustic musical settings do the biz very nicely indeed, centred round Mark's own adept National resonator and 12-string guitar work, with intuitive support from Ryan Carr's ringing mandolin, Will Greener's harmonica and the busy rhythm section of Charles Benfield and Ed Hopwood, and all credibly balanced with due presence and immediacy.

The raw, old-school-roots feel of the whole set is very appealing, and it's easy to see why Mark's music has been so popular with audiences of different persuasions, not just blues fans. His singing has an appealingly conversational tone (which suits the gently thought-provoking or smile-inducing nature of his lyrics), and is easy to get along with.

Mark's songs invariably have a twist in the form of a canny message, and they're invariably reflective too; occasionally slightly preachy perhaps, but in those cases redeemably tongue-in-cheek. Best examples are where reminiscence crosses with resolution, as on Crematorium Blues, Pearly Gates and Bombs Coming Down, while Mark's "character songs" (Georgia Greene, Smiler John, The Original Dawg and the rollicking Honeyboy) are also authentically charged and believable - and memorable too.

Nice one, Mark!"

FATEA

"Here's something a little different . . . . a smashing rootsy collection from London-based Mark Harrison, who has penned all 12 songs on "Crooked Smile" and also sings and plays some fine National resonator and 12-string guitar.

He has surrounded himself with some of the capital's kindred musical spirits in the shape of Charles Benfield (double bass, Hammond C3 organ, harmonium, percussion, electric guitar, vocals), Ryan Carr (mandolin, vocals, electric guitar), Will Greener (harmonica, vocals), Ed Hopwood (drums, percussion, vocals), Ben Walker (mandolin, electric guitar) and the featured vocals of Josienne Clarke.

To be honest a lot of the tunes are similarly paced, but are none the worse for that . . . the sound a kind of country blues, meets jug band and folk . . . Harrison being an observational type of writer focusing on the lives of ordinary people, thus giving the music a certain charm and depth.

Titles such as "Pearly Gates" and "Crematorium Blues" are not nearly as bleak and dark as the titles may suggest . . . with other odes to "The Demon Drink" and the world weariness of "Lay Your Burden Down" . . . well worth checking out, especially for anyone tired of blazing Stratocasters . . . . they may well be taken by the fare on offer here."

Blues in the North West

"Mark Harrison's Crooked Smile presents 12 self-penned, up-tempo blues songs with a modern twist.

His website provides a neat summary of what to expect: 'Mark's songs cover a wide range of non-standard themes, from observations of the way we live today to imaginings of the era of the early blues greats. They all have something to say or a story to tell. They'll make you move, make you think, make you smile.'

Mark's catchy guitar riffs - augmented by Will Greener's exemplary, bluesy harmonica - drive the songs along very nicely. Toes will be tapping after the first couple of plays of Crooked Smile.

Each song unveils a self-contained story, with subjects including: the contrast of a son's easy life as compared to that of his father (Bombs Coming Down); the perils of alcohol (The Demon Drink) and the changing of attitudes towards life (Reckless). The storytelling aspect ensures a strong folk streak runs along inside the blues exterior, an approach accentuated by the laid back vocal delivery."

Marsh Towers

"Sometimes the blues doesn't need dressing up and this is where Mark Harrison comes in. …. with a 1934 National Resonator guitar, an accomplished fingerpicking style, and tight backing, he plays the blues with an unswerving passion. Full of his own compositions 'Crooked Smile' is the culmination of years of honing his craft."

Spiral Earth

"Londoner Mark Harrison's second album, Crooked Smile, is a set of 12 self-penned songs that are as unique as they are original. There are hints of blues, Country and folk to take you by surprise and the results should sit easily with the recent revival in roots music.

The opener, Georgia Greene is a gentle, old time, homely acoustic blues and he follows it up with Pearly Gates, a jug band blues. Crematorium Blues is maudlin yet uplifting. Good mandolin playing from Ryan Carr and harmonies from Josienne Clarke. Clarke also adds her harmonic vocals to Mexican Gardener. This is in the same vein as the opener with good quality guitar and a simple drum beat to play behind the slightly political theme.

Bombs Coming Down is down to earth and back to basics. Well played, with rapid mandolin from the aforementioned Carr. The gentle feel to the album continues with Lay Your Burden Down. This time Josienne takes the lead vocal and the result is simple music, maximum pleasure. The Demon Drink is another homespun song with an authentic roots feel. Vamped harmonica from Will Greener and mandolin adds to the now familiar guitar signature.

Harrison's vocal style is almost childlike and quite idiosyncratic. The Original Dawg has an original Country Blues feel and this one will creep up on you with its one line chorus. Effective electric guitar over the acoustic makes for a surprising highlight. Honeyboy has a quirky delivery and he sometimes struggles to get all of the words in. Top slide guitar from Harrison and snappy drums from Ed Hopwood.

Blessed has prominent slide guitar throughout and highlights Harrison as a top slide and pick player. However, the manic mandolin is what gives this a true air of authenticity and the overall ensemble provides a highlight. Smiler John has more gentle sounds and is a lovely song whereas the closing track, Reckless, is a shuffling Blues based Country effort with a great lead from drummer Hopwood which gave me a warm feeling all over and provides a good finish to the album.

The more you listen to this album, there more you are going to like it – believe me!"

bluesblues

"Mark plays a 1934 National resonator and 12-string guitar and is renowned finger picker and slide player. He is backed by double bass, harmonica, mandolin, drums and, in some places organ.

Some of the songs are about characters like 'Georgia Greene' who was 'tearing up trees from the age of seventeen and 'Smiler John' who tries to solve everyone else's problems only to find this is a one way street. There are also some upbeat, catchy numbers like 'Mexican Gardener', much serious subject matter like 'Bombs Coming Down' and a cautionary song about 'people drinking their blues away'. The album has some very affecting moments as on spiritual blues like 'Lay Your Burden Down' and 'Blessed'."

Blues in the South

"If I had to explain what folk music is, I would say it is the popular music that comes directly from the ancestors and has been orally given from generation to generation. It is also a kind of music that does not have commercial purposes, because its main purpose is to make people participate and give benefits to all members of a community.

Mark Harrison is a pure folk singer and guitar player who writes his own songs. Since he appeared in London music scene, his music immediately called the attention of the audience, thanks to the originality of his compositions, all featuring a great rhythmic sound and a lot of twist.

The folk with blues details Mark Harrison plays covers a wide varied range of subjects, because he carefully hawk eyes daily-life situations. He also has a distinctive style and sound and he naturally controls finger picking technique, both when he plays twelve string guitar or his 1934 National resonator. Mark Harrison is backed by Charles Benfield on double bass, Ryan Carr on mandolin, Will Greener on harmonica, Ed Hopwood on drums and Josienne Clarke on vocals.

If you want to enjoy some folk music that will give you tenderness, beauty and poetry, then this cd is especially devoted to you. VERY GOOD."

La Hora Del Blues, Spain, translated from Catalan

"Mark Harrison spins a tale a lot of us can relate to. The London=based singer-songwriter took many years out from his first love of music to pursue a 'real job'. But his muse came back to him, he started playing again a few years ago and this is his second self-penned album of bluesy-rootsy numbers.

Harrison's got a fine style on that Resonator guitar. That hiatus put him mon fine form when I comes to playing slide and it's clear he studies the masters of the craft. There's the more upbeat style of Blind Willie Johnson and Blind Willie McTell to his style than the guitar-splitting Death Letter Blues of Son House, but he's certainly got the licks to count. And he surrounds himself with some excellent musicians in their own rights. It's also very nicely recorded.

This is going to sound contrary, but it's all a bit too up-beat. Tracks like Crematorium Blues' should be real wrist-slitters. Everything about the album otherwise is truly excellent.

Recording 8/10
Music 7/10"

HiFi Plus magazine

RnR MAGAZINE INTERVIEW

RnR MAGAZINE (COVERMOUNT CD + AD)

MUSIC MUSINGS AND SUCH

MARK HARRISON
HOUSE FULL OF CHILDREN
9.4/10

THIS time around... 

I get to step away from Pop and Electronic music and investigate an artist who has been gathering a lot of acclaim. Mark Harrison is gaining huge applause - and has been for a long time - and makes me consider whether more songwriters need to take from his lead. I want to discuss Blues and Folk combinations and why more people need to give it focus; storytelling and those who can take the ordinary and transform it into something amazing; albums that are packed with great tales and huge adventure; festival appearances and getting a lot of respect from big stations; how older, more experienced artists need more respect and investigation – I will end by speaking about Mark Harrison and where he might head. I spend a lot of time looking at Pop and Electronic artists and you get into a sort of rut. I have been listening to very familiar music for a long time now and it can be a bit samey. It has been great studying them and seeing what is on offer but it is nice to step away from that and look at an artist whose sound is completely different. Harrison is one of the most-respected artists in the U.K. and his music has drawn huge plaudits. Whether he is with a band or playing solo; he is seen as one of the best songwriters around. I want to talk about his music and why it shines but I am drawn to the genres of Folk and Blues. I guess Harrison is a Blues artist strictly but there is that Folk element. There are great Blues artists who are electric and can summon some passion but Mark Harrison is mostly acoustic-based. His sounds have a gentleness to them but there is plenty of passion and intrigue. I feel most of us assume Blues and Folk will be quite calm and not really register in the mind. We all get into that mindset and do not really venture too far.

I feel Blues gets that tag more than Folk. Listen back to the classic Blues artists of the 1930s and 1940s and we sort of feel that is what is around today. That is not the case. From Cedric Burnside, who I recently interviewed, who is on the more electric side of the spectrum to artists like Mark Harrison; the genre is flourishing and bright. You have that variation and, at its heart, are fascinating stories and stunning rhythms. I love Blues but feel it does not get the exposure it warrants. There is that dominance of Pop and I wonder whether Blues will ever get the focus it warrants. What is amazing about Harrison is the way he can unite the history and roots of Blues and provide an updated Folk/Blues blend. He reminds one of the classics from decades past but there is a modernity and freshness that brings things right up to date. Maybe it will take a while before Blues music gets into the mainstream but I think we all need to be a bit more open and expressive. If we are too reliant on certain genres and do not expand our horizons then we will miss out on so much. One of the reasons why I think Blues should be given more love is because of the variety available in the genre and the way artists tell stories. I feel Pop is too inward-looking and personal and with Folk/Blues artists like Harrison; you get something amazing and candid. He is a songwriter who can paint pictures and combine vivid imaginations with some incredible sounds. I guess, in a way, we assume Blues might be quite downbeat and too narrow and go elsewhere. Maybe that was the case at one point but the modern breed is unifying all types of emotions and ideas into their music. I shall move on to another theme but would recommend people get involved with the Blues and artists like Mark Harrison.

Harrison is a fresh and respected songwriter who can tell great tales and amazing stories. One of the reasons his music has managed to spread and gather critical lust is the way he can open up the mind and take us somewhere special. I feel one reason why I am becoming a little cold regarding Pop and Indie artists is because of their subject matter. So many are not getting past their own lives and walls and expanding their songwriting. You want the personal touch and something meaningful but that is not all one looks for. The lyrics have to be broader and, if you stick too closely with your own life; that is going to exclude quite a few. I wonder whether a lot of music has become too depressive and anxious. Rather than present something inward and depressed; Mark Harrison is a bright and resolute talent who can give immense detail and tell tales like nobody else. Even if he is addressing something relatively mundane and domestic; he can add a new spin and do something amazing. I feel one of the reasons why music endures and is passed through time is the words and how they impact us. I worry most of what is being put out now will make a connection in years down the line – so much of it is disposable and can be readily forgotten. Blues artists like Harrison need more of a platform because the music being put out is so much more vivid, inspiring and deep. You can listen to one of his songs and all these visions come to life. That is testament to him as a writer but the vocals are incredible too. One gets the complete package and can hear a songwriter at the top of his game. One can class his music as Blues or Folk but you can call it Roots as well.

However you see it and whichever genre it fits in; nobody can deny its power and appeal. I have this concern there are genres that will always struggle because of the stubbornness and unyielding rigidity of the mainstream. Consider what is riding high in the charts and on the biggest radio stations and you can see a pattern emerge. The sounds might be quite big and easy to digest but the whole experience can be a little cold and hollow. Are we manufacturing music to appeal to those who want something quick and uncomplicated?! I am seeing artists like Harrison covering genres and making amazing music and they are restricted to relatively narrow artists. He has a big fanbase, for sure, but it one feels that could be even larger were there more tolerance and knowledge of genres like Blues and Roots. It is quite maddening when you contemplate the realities and how the industry is structured. In any instance; listening to a Mark Harrison song is an experience one will not forget. I love how he can weave lines together and the vocabulary employed. There are annunciations and slight accents; words combined one would not think of and a real grasp for story and characterisation. The Panoramic View, his new album, is stuffed full of brilliant tales and seems like a collection of short stories more than anything. The fifteen songs on the record make you smile, think and wonder. There are some great musicians who appear on the album – including Charles Benfield on double bass and Paddy Milner on piano – and one gets this engrossing and arresting creation. The title, I guess, suggests something filmic and story-like but there is that aspect of a wider view – someone not confined and only considering what pains emanate from the heart. One does get some more emotional moments (on the album) but there is a real air of positivity and hopefulness. These commodities are becoming rarer in music and it is nice they are being preserved through the lens of Mark Harrison.

It would be unfair to say Harrison is a master of transforming the ordinary into the spectacular. The stories he tells are, in fact, quite interesting and there are some wonderful characters to be found. I guess there is a sense of the rooted and traditional in the music. You get these studies and people who one might find in their local village, for instance. He is someone who can tackle the smaller world and expand it into the horizons. Rather than plainly and flatly talk about domestic strife and routine interactions with little thought; like songwriters such as Paul Heaton (The Housemartins, The Beautiful South); he adds wit, heart and intelligence into everything. I look around for those songwriters who can inject humour and fascination into music and, by and large, they are of a certain age. This might sound like I am describing a beloved family dog that is getting a bit odorous and needs a final trip to the vets – I do not mean to sound disrespectful or blunt. What I mean is that the established and mature songwriters are the ones who have grown up around more music, different music, and are at that stage in life where they are not talking about cheap love and the anxieties of youth. Okay; maybe that does sound a bit cavalier and cheap but I have the utmost respect for songwriters who wander off the safe and structured grid of convention and treat their songwriting to something a lot more vivacious and fulsome. One gets history, grandeur; intimacy, charm and routine with Harrison. There are myriad emotions, scenes and voices that play out over the course of fifteen tracks. Having that amount of tracks might be a gamble for an artist but, as he proves, Harrison can keep you invested from the first notes of One Small Suitcase (the opening track) until the close of Hooker’s Song (the closing song – I will let you listen so you can hear whether it is a rugby player, ‘lady of the night’ or something else!).

Songs like What Son House Said and Don’t Die Till You’re Dead beckon you in because of the intrigue behind the title. Join the Chinaman is interesting and what, exactly, is that about? It is not a surprise Harrison is respected and has gained respected reviews and play from the likes of BBC Radio 2. He is someone who knows how to get into the heart and make his music strike. I will talk about age, respectfully, in a bit but listen to an album like The Panoramic View and you have these diverse tales that all hang together. The broadness of the scope and geography – he is taking us all around the world and to different lands – is amazing but there is something safe and comforting in every movement. You never feel exposed to the elements of left to face the harsh winds – Harrison takes you everywhere and keeps you warm; he makes sure you are directed but are allowed time to play and explore. That is the mark of a songwriter who prides emotion and resonance over catchiness and commercialism. These qualities should be promoted and augmented so that other songwriters can learn. I am not saying the mainstream needs a complete overhaul but it can benefit from a little refreshment and renovation. Right now, I am seeing too many of the same themes and artists gain gaudy popularity; people flocking to them for no real reason or nothing that suggest real originality and durability. I said how I have struggled to categorise the music of Mark Harrison. Some commentators have called it Folk and others Blues; some say it is Roots music. I feel it is a blend of the three and it would be remiss of me to label it so easily. If you have not investigated all the great songs that are on The Panoramic View than get involved and see what Mark Harrison is all about!

Things are definitely getting better and bigger and, with every release, Harrison is gaining more ground. I said how I’d allude to the subject of age and why that is important. It seems, when you get to a certain age, only particular radio stations will play your stuff. I have raised this a few times before but you can definitely sense a certain cut-off-point where musicians are only destined for BBC Radio 1 if they are in their teens or twenties; BBC Radio 2 if they are over forty, let’s say, and maybe there will be some leeway here and there. Because of that, there is this division and compartmentalisation that is threatening music. I feel Harrison should be played on as many stations as possible and his music heard by younger audiences. I know he has younger fans but there is nothing in his music that is age-specific and restrictive. Legendary artists such as Kylie Minogue and Madonna have come out and attacked those who are ageist and feel like they should not be played if they are getting older. The sheer experience, wisdom and intelligence one gets from an artist like Mark Harrison means people NEED to hear what he is saying. He has that life experience and, with the touring he has done, the skills and chops to be able to make his music as sharp and tight as possible. Image and ‘coolness’ seem to be more important yardsticks than quality and songwriting ability and nuance. Look at Harrison and you know the man has travelled a lot and gone through some fascinating times. He has met countless people and can translate all of this into music that is startling and bold. Maybe we judge before listening or assume artists are only relevant if they are under-forty (or younger). I gravitate towards those with a few more years on the clock because they have been in the industry a long time and know what people want. 

They can write in a more interesting way and their motives are different. New artists coming through are looking at streaming figures and reaching certain targets. They might be pitching to radio stations and they have numbers/markets on their mind. Harrison, one feels, is a traditional songwriter who want has a solid fanbase and knows he has a great body of work. He still has to think about streaming sites but wants people to take away his album and listen to it in full. Rather than look at the Spotify figures and worry about that; he is concerned with the quality of his material and how it makes people feel. Because of this, the reviews that have come his way – not just for The Panoramic View but his previous work – are amazing. He is seen as one of the biggest and best songwriters in the country and has a great reputation. The festivals he has appeared at – including Bearded Theory and Lakefest – means he has had the opportunity to hone his material and get that direct feedback. Harrison is all about people and tales and is not someone you will hear writing in a formulaic or commercial way. This means his audience will be narrower and less than a big Popstar but the respect he warrants means more. It is all well looking to these big artists who court millions of views on YouTube but how much of the popularity and appeal is down to the quality of the music?! That, when all is said and done, is the thing that matters and is the foundation of the artist. Celebrity, cool and image are nothing to do with that is being put out there and what music is about. I mentioned Madonna earlier and could dismiss her legacy if all people cared about was what she looked like. She courted scandal and tabloids all her career (and still does) but she could back up this obsession with her wardrobe and sex life with fantastic and legendary tracks. Now, you feel there is that compensation. Maybe we all see a genre and assume it will not be for us but we never really go further than that. Listen to these esteemed and established artists like Mark Harrison and you will be surprised and convinced without much cajoling.

When the opening notes come springing from the speakers like a gleeful train departing the station; you are instantly involved and hooked in the song. That rush and sense of curiosity matches the song’s title and you can physically detect and imagine the children running around. Maybe one should not take it literally but there is that sense something energetic and chaotic is about to come in. Brassy, swaggering and elephantic horns mix with riparian, delicate strings to create this sense of rambunctiousness and rush. The hero comes to the microphone and, unexplained at this point, has a house full of children. They are running around everywhere and, whilst the music seems to score the sounds and visions around him; the central performance is fairly ordered and he is making sense of it all. There are, as it is said, some grown-up children who think the hero is a fool; smaller ones who do not share that opinion – it seems like there are all ages in this house, mingling and conspiring. Great songs should bring you in and involve you with the story but not necessarily dictate what you imagine. The Blues man cannot sing the Blues because of this house full of children (if we are going with genre-based puns then his ‘Roots’ have been laid because of these sweet ‘Folk’ – or I’ll stop there…) and the joy being provided. That sense of pride and content might seem corny to some but it is a brash antidote to the miasma and unhappiness one can hear in many songs. The composition blends those spirited and rushing acoustic strings with punctuation marks of horns. His second wife is better than his first one – the first one has a long face and is out of the way – and you get that smile as the songwriter brushes aside a rather moody and dour former wife. Things might have been a bit tense and unhappy once before but now they are more settled and positive.

The simplicity of the song hides the nuances of the composition and the visions one detects. You hear about a man in a house surrounded by children, of various ages, and how his life has taken a turn. I wonder whether there is that desire to go somewhere a little quieter. He is happy the children are around but it seems like the hero wants to get away with his wife and go somewhere a little more reflective. He is telling us about his life at the moment and what he has achieved. It has been an eventful and contrasting life but one he would not trade for anything. The players back Harrison with this composition that seems to summon all the emotions and sounds one would associate with the house. The passion and sway of the guitars mix with the energy and vibrations of the horns; there are little notes and details that summon pattering feet, moody sulks and gleeful abandon. This sort of rich cuisine could only come from a songwriter who has that experience, intuitive ear and confidence. As the song winds down, you can still feel that brightness and contemplation. The songwriter would not change a anything but one feels, as time goes on, he would like to have a bit of a quieter house! I love the little dashes of humour – bigger kids not giving him respect and the miserable ex-wife – and how that balances against pure content and thanks. It is hard to compare Mark Harrison to any other songwriter. There are few who have the same skillset and can write a song that makes the same impression. Whilst it seems rather simple a song; House Full of Children has so much energy, (many) layers and a playfulness that some might overlook. The lyrics are hugely effecting and tell the story brilliantly; the composition adds new layers and visions whilst the vocal takes you in all sort of direction. By the end, I was keen to have another spin and see what new ideas came to mind. The Panoramic View is a busy and eclectic album and you need to listen to all of the songs. I chose House Full of Children because it is a perfect taste and introduction of a songwriter who is able to involve the listener in a song and make them feel better about themselves. That is not a quality to be balked at and, as such, we should all spend some time around Mark Harrison and the fantastic music he is putting out. I hope many will reassess their views regarding genres like Blues, Folk and Roots and become broader consumers.

I have talked about Mark Harrison and his various aspects and I haven’t had time to review the whole album. There is a general theme to The Panoramic View – in so much as it is a view of the world as a whole – but there are so many different stories and figures that are represented through fifteen tracks! Songs like High John and Mess Everywhere make you smile and think but, to be fair, all of the songs make an impact and do something! I chose House Full of Children because it got into my head quickest and is one of those songs where you keep playing out visions and notes long after it has finished. Keep abreast of Harrison’s social media channels for tour dates and news and do not miss out. He is a musician who keeps his fans informed and is always keen to bring his music to new faces. I hope, in time, we start to break walls down in music and give overlooked genres like Blues, Folk and Roots a proper airing. Same goes for Jazz, too, and I worry we exclude certain styles of music because we have these wrong and ignorant impressions. It is fair enough if you do not like a genre after giving it a good going-over but how many of us do that?! I can write off Thrash-Metal because I have heard a lot of it and have done so for years. I do not listen to one song from one band and turn my nose up like a posh dowager who has been offered a biscuit from Tesco – insolently throwing it across the room with an imperious scowl because it is cheap and nasty! If you appreciate true songwriting, deep thoughts and fun then you need to get behind Mark Harrison. There is that wit and humour that reminds me of songwriters like Paul Heaton and Paddy McAloon (Prefab Sprout). Ensure you listen to the whole of The Panoramic View and go through it song-by-song. It is an album that rewards patience and that complete experience. You will find yourself closing your eyes and drifting into the world Harrison has crafted and painted. The warmth and gravitas of his voice couples with lyrics that are as evocative as they are charming; music that is rich and sumptuous and songs that, once you hear them, will stay in the head for ages. The author has taken a wide and open-minded view of the world. If only the music world in which he reliant on…

CAN take the same approach!

view interview online here »

GRAPEVINE MAGAZINE

BLUES IN BRITAIN FRONT COVER + FEATURE AUGUST 2018:

BLUES IN BRITAIN INTERVIEW:

BLUES @ GREECE
Interview with British folk/blues artist Mark Harrison -- one of the UK's foremost acoustic blues performers

Cover CD of Acoustic Magazine

Calibre Magazine

Andy Snipper, 10 exceptional artists that people should pick out

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SPIRAL EARTH
Mark Harrison interview

Dingwalls Camden, 12 June 2019

Another fine night as part of the Future Juke festival. This time a three band show featuring Ian Siegal playing solo acoustic on an exclusively pre-war Blues session.

Dingwalls was converted into a small club with all the audience seated around picnic tables and it made for a convivial atmosphere that suited the (generally) unamplified music coming from the stage. 

First up were The JuJubes, a three piece playing Blues that singer Nikki learned at the feet on her father. Half an hour of excellent acoustic Blues that warmed the crowd up nicely and made them a fair few new friends.

After a few minutes, the three were down to two as Mark Harrison took to the stage along with percussion by Ben Welburn. Now, I have seen Mark a few times now and he seems to get more comfortable in his own skin every time. He entertained the crowd with a combination of his finely crafted Blues, very much in the style of the greats but dealing with contemporary themes, with anecdotes for each song. I’m never quite sure if the songs punctuate his anecdotes or the other way around but they are utterly complementary, and the crowd was enjoying it all. He closed with his ‘Your Second Line’ as a tribute to the late great Dr John at it sounded completely right in the circumstances.

Then, that brings us to Ian Siegal. He has a huge presence onstage, dominating in his sharp suit and dark glasses (prescription and for the lights – in his own words “not going Joe Bonamassa”) and then throwing that gravelly and hard edged voice into a terrific selection of songs from his pre-war heroes. We had songs from Leadbelly, Big Bill Broonzy, Mississippi John Hurt, Reverend Gary Davis as well as John Lee Hooker and his personal favourite, Charlie Patton. Siegal clearly felt encouraged by the audience reaction and as he warmed up was happy to talk about the music, not always treating the artists as untouchable demi-gods. This was not an over-practised, note perfect performance; it seemed to come from the heart and he imbued the classics with modern soul. For me, his version of ‘Goodnight Irene’ showed the darkest side of Leadbelly’s original, stripping away the saccharine of the later country versions and all the better for it. I for one would be very happy if this encouraged Siegal to record an album of pre-war Blues - he certainly has the love and the chops.

A hugely enjoyable night of Blues at its’ most pure. Every show I’ve seen under the Future Juke banner is different and shows just how broad a church the Blues really is.

Link »

Andy Snipper

The Green Note, 20 January 2019

Dragging myself out on a freezing Sunday night, to totter down the steepest stairs in Camden Town is something I do not do lightly: I would only do to see someone special and, as usual, Mark Harrison proved to be just that.

For those who do not know his music, he is a singer and acoustic guitarist playing very much in the style of the 1930’s Blues singers but entirely with his own writings. 
In the past I have seen him with bass accompaniment or even a full band of musicians but this was the raw, solo, Mark Harrison – just him, his hat and his 1934 resonator guitar.

Sitting on a low stool and surrounded by a vocal and guitar mic he entertained us for well over an hour with songs from a goodly number of his albums as well as some new material which proved to be well up to the standards of his published songs.

Opening the set with ‘Panic Attack’ from his 2014 album ‘The World Outside’, he regaled us with some delightful raconteurship in between songs, explaining – sometimes – the story behind the song or characters he sings about. Like the best Blues of that early period this is music that tells stories, that brings you into a world view and it is all delivered without excess volume or effect.

I have always ‘enjoyed’ his song about Coventry in the blitz ‘Bombs Come Down’ and his explanation of the horrors of the bombing of Coventry – his home city – is harrowing and moving but he balances that with ‘Your Second Line’ asking who will be at your funeral that doesn’t HAVE to be there.

The new songs stood up very well; ‘Skip Song’ looking at the world through the curmudgeonly eyes of the legendary Skip James & ‘Don’t Let The Crazy Out The Bag Too Soon’ were very good.

Mark Harrison is a delightful performer and you really owe it to yourself to get out and discover him.

Link »

Andy Snipper

BLUES IN BRITAIN 2018

Celtic Connections concert at Glasgow Art Club
January 2015 review in Blues Matters magazine by Iain Patience

Celtic Connections gig promo in festival brochure

A double bill of leading British blues artists, each with a highly distinctive style and a growing international reputation. Mark Harrison’s rootsy folk/blues sound combines superb picking and slide work, on 12-string and National resonator guitar, with richly burnished vocals and inventive original material, earning comparisons with Eric Bibb and Chris Smither.

Graham Munn

Ealing Blues Festival

Plunger

The English language has a new simile: as dry as… a Mark Harrison song introduction.

Not content with being an accomplished roots musician, Mark has taken the normally banal art of inter-song banter to a new level of wit: “This is a song about World War Two. There aren’t many of those: Sonny Boy Williamson did a couple but he was a bit sketchy about the geography and exactly who was involved…”

This particular gem, delivered in a deadpan that makes Paul Merton look like Lee Evans, introduced the deceptively upbeat ‘Bombs Coming Down’ handling the grim subject of Coventry’s blitz with a gallows’ humour light touch.

Mark, with Paul Tkachenko on bass and Ed Hopwood drums and occasional harmonica, interspersed his bon mots with what are really very fine original (in both senses of the word) songs: from the earthy resonator slide-led back porch stomp of ‘Bombs Coming Down’ to the finger-picked, harp-backed Okie two-step of ‘Georgia Greene’, and a traditional backwoods jug band vibe to ‘Dirty Business’. 

Despite the down home rootsiness of the tunes the playing is first rate and shows considerable sophistication: the jangly Appalachian number ‘Hell Of A Story’ featured crisp stop/start rhythms and the band managed the considerable feat of a live fade-out on the hillbilly noir rag of ‘Next Of Kin’.

Introducing ‘The Demon Drink’, “a moral tale of booze in four carefully wrought verses” Mark confessed to having taken the pledge himself: “Not that I’m recommending it. Who was it (possibly me) who said, if you give up drinking you can more clearly realise just how pissed off you really are…” Well if that’s true it at least also leads to top notch entertainment for the rest of us.

Moray Stuart

Link »

Review of Ealing Blues Festival, Gourmet Gigs

The Mark Harrison band were captivating, a trio who commandeered the South Stage, playing a set of their own compositions. Mark Harrison offered listeners a more cerebral experience, entertaining the crowds not only with music but with his informative introductions too, where we learned about the inspiration for his songs, all done with his pleasingly dry wit. He switched between a 12-string guitar and a beautiful National Resonator, memorable songs included his ‘greatest hit’ Crematorium Blues.

Link »

Preview of Ealing Blues Festival, This Year in Music

Mark Harrison makes the kind of music that is impossible not to listen to. Full of clever hooks and witty arrangements he is slowly making a name for himself in rootys blues scene. Musically he is similar to Alabama 3, but stripped back and not as lairy. Harrison’s set at 18:45 on the South Stage will be perfect for when the Sun starts to dip behind the tree line.

Link »

Ealing Blues Festival 2015
review in Gourmet Gigs

A standout act at Ealing Blues Festival 2015 was Mark Harrison – wry observations, beautiful guitar work (on a variety of guitars) and lovely compositions.

Green Note
review in Music News

The basement at the Green Note is a compact and very personal space to listen to artists and Mark Harrison put on a delightful show last night.

I have seen him play a number of times and he always puts in a performance filled with original songs and anecdotes that bring the audience right in to his music but last night he was missing two crucial parts of his group of artistes – Will Greener (harmonica) who has left the country and Charles (drums and mandolin) who is sadly sick. In their stead he was accompanied by Ed Hopwood who played drums and filled in on harmonica, doing a fine job and more than just filling in. 

Most of the songs were from the new (yet to be released) album and I would describe them as utterly contemporary but in a very classic Blues style. With Harrison finger-picking his resonator guitars and Ed’s gently brushed snare and cymbal as well as harmonica, the new material is intense but it also carries a sense of sardonic humour.

These aren’t songs of how badly the world is treating him, nor are they love won or lost – his songs represent his view of the world, whether it be economics or the plight of Midlands engineering and his lyrics are both clever and meaningful. The stories that accompany his songs are sometimes excruciating (in a good way) or engender debate with the audience. The two played nearly an hour and a half and I for one would have been happy to sit through another 1.5 hours.

With some impressive support from Lane Hines who played Blues classics in the manner of the original Delta Bluesmen – a great version of Robert Johnson’s ‘Terraplane Blues’ – this was a gentle evening of musical delights and highly engaging stories. 

Andy Snipper

Lakefest, August 2015
review in Slapmag

'Mark Harrison offered a captivating set of stripped back, acoustic blues, complimented by jazzy double bass. Mark's dry humour and winning delivery shone through with the likes of 'Dirty Business' and 'Your Second Line' both intoxicating.' 

Link »

Famous Monday Blues, Oxford
review in Blues in Britain

The Cellars, Southsea
review in Blues in Britain

Folk On The Water Festival 2016

Mark Harrison played at our festival on Sunday and he was nothing short of brilliant. His set was very well received - his earthy, sometimes cutting view of the world finding resonance with the audience. Accompanied by some slinky bottle-neck blues guitar - what more could you want on a warm summer evening by the water! We bought this CD and his live "On the Chicken Sandwich Train" - both well worth the purchase and already on our Spotify playlist.

Blues In The Barn, The Fleece Inn, 2014

The Fleece is an ancient Inn belonging to the National Trust, it has an equally aged barn in the courtyard, which is used to host a variety of music and arts. Sunday evening was designated Blues In The Barn with Mark Harrison performing with a '34 National resonator guitar, a 12 string guitar, and to help him, percussionist Ed Hopwood, alongside Charles Benfield on double bass. Mark started off the evening in a relaxed, country blues style, a 'Panic Attack', was linked to a film, with Mark as source material, and shown in Cannes Film festival. 'Mississippi' is inspired by old '20's blues, performed on dusty porches in the cotton fields of the deep South.

Mark's songs are written about life experiences, both his own and those from the past that have moved him to express his feelings in word and through his guitars. The old National itself had a bit of heritage, having belonged to Eric Bibb, who Mark tells us, promises to drop bye one day to reacquaint himself to the old 'woodie'. There are plenty of other asides and anecdotes, most of them creaking with a dry humour, it adds to the evening and links the music nicely.

A nod to the likes of Muddy Waters, people with no paper trail, no definitive origins, like many of Afro American descendants born in an indifferent America, 'Next Of Kin', played with finger-picking, style tells the story. Time to lose your inhibitions with 'Reckless', before waking up to a superb 'Crematorium Blues'. Ed, empathetic to Mark's lead, stroked his stripped down drumset, mainly with brushes, but sticks, mallets and even a cowbell, were never far from reach. More tales and songs relating to temperance, the demise of workers and loss of livelihood to mechanisation, an oddly named Chicken Sandwich Train from that era with 'Changes Coming Here'. We are hearing a brief history of the roots of blues before Chicago and electric had its influence.

Mark has written 3 albums over a 4 year period, the songs he performs are taken from across the 3. 'Pearly Gates', is from Crooked Smile, and seemed apt a title to lead into 'your Second Line' which relates to the musicians following the funeral cortège in New Orleans.

We are nearing the end of what has been an entertaining evening, some background stories, well written songs and fine musicianship, in the lovely old timbered barn of The Fleece Inn. Time to give a bit of freedom to Ed and Charles, as they grasp their moment to 'Shake The House'.

Graham Munn

St Pancras Old Church, 2014

St Pancras Old Church has a history that, apparently, goes back to the 4th Century AD although the current church was built in the 1800s and it has been hosting occasional concerts for many years.

Mark Harrison was playing his 1934 Resonator in the main plus a 12 string for 'Crematorium Blues'. Live, Harrison is an education in the Blues but not in any preachy way. His short set included little stories about the music and even an explanation of why his guitar sounds the way it does and the crowd responded warmly.

He played songs from his latest album and also from the 'Crooked Smile' album and included a delightful 'Your Second Line' and 'Crematorium Blues' as well as 'Panic Attack' and 'Marching On'. His 'Greenwood' was chilling. The audience appreciated the music and he showed that a solo voice with a guitar can actually capture and enthral a crowd of around 100.

Music.News.com, Andy Snipper

Next is Mark Harrison. His best song is a short and pointed number about a man named Greenwood LeFlore. He was a mixed race Choctaw in the mid-19th century, and having risen to a position of authority within his tribe, worked hard to negotiate a settlement of land for his people. Displaying considerable talent in realpolitik he recognised that fighting against European settlement was like trying to push back the tide. So, with this half European heritage and Western education he negotiated a decent, if pragmatic, agreement. With this under his belt he went on to become a US Senator - a sort of race relations success story right? Well after that he went on to become a slave owner in Mississippi.

The moral? History is mixed up and complicated and life rarely conforms to a narrative. Harrison spins this tale well, and I appreciate a bit of a history lesson in my music.

London City Nights

PURBECK FOLK FESTIVAL, 24 August 2013

"... That was followed by a lesson in the blues from Mark Harrison, who includes Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker in his band, amongst others. Mark took us all on a fantastic musical journey, following the blues from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago as it followed the work. It was definitely one of the sets of the festival with Mark coaxing the reserve out of the crowd and getting a load of people dancing and that rare festival honour, a genuine encore.

I rounded the evening off on the Fire Stage with a local singer-songwriter, who had the tough task of following Mark Harrison. Whilst I found myself enjoying the music, I'm a sucker for songs, her material seemed more suited to a more intimate setting and struggled a bit against the fireworks of its predecessor ..."

FATEA

"... On the main Fire Stage, Mark Harrison was the discovery of the night. Listening to his sensitive, atmospheric bluegrass guitar, we could almost believe we had wandered into the world of 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?' With stories to go with his songs such as the Chicken Sandwich Train and the Second Line, he achieved a well-deserved encore. I'm definitely adding his CD to my most wanted list..."

DoMoreMag

"... Mark Harrison twisted blues and folk into his own style ..."

Bournemouth Echo

The Harrison, King's Cross, London, October 31st, 2012

"I discovered the delight that is The Harrison for the first time on Wednesday but it will not be the last time I find myself in the tiny downstairs club for an evening of unplugged folkism.

I was there to see a gentleman called Mark Harrison - a Blues singer and guitarist who plays with a bewildering number of possible sidemen (and women) under the title of 'Mark Harrison'. On this occasion he was joined by Will Greener on harmonicas, one of the capital's finest, alone.

He was debuting tracks from his new album – reviewed on this site – and the crowd was treated to nine or ten moments of understated joy. Harrison's guitar playing has a soft and really tuneful tone and I can't help but think of the Blues and Folk pickers of the 30's whenever I hear him.

Harrison opened with 'Georgia Greene' from the new album with his 1934 National Resonator sounding jaunty and perfectly pitched against Greener's harmonica and Harrison's soft sung vocals. 'Bombs Coming Down' was prefaced with a little tale of the bombing of Coventry and the fact that all the engineering had been moved out well before the city was bombed into rubble. He has a gentle humour in the way he speaks to the crowd and they warmed to his playing as well as his songs.

The whole set was a capsule of quality playing from both musicians and the crowd was leaning in closer and closer as the intimacy of the performance drew them in; when they finished the set on 'Easy Does It' there was a genuine feeling of loss – the encore of 'Highgate Hill' was that rare thing – a genuine additional number (it isn't on the set list!)

It isn't often that I go to a gig where the music leaves me without a buzz in my ear and on this occasion the volume was perfectly pitched even without any mikes or amplifiers – it really can be done."

Andy Snipper, Music news