MARK ERELLI: The Memorial Hall Recordings

Mark Erelli

The Memorial Hall Recordings

© 2002 Signature Sounds Recording Company (701237127125)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

A gravelly-voiced heartthrob, who has a way with a smirk. --NY Times

tracks

1 Call You Home
2 Every Goodbye
3 What's Changed
4 Fine Time of Year
5 The Drinking Gourd
6 Blue-Eyed Boston Boy
7 Guitar Interlude
8 Dear Magnolia
9 Summer Night
10 Devil's Train
11 Ichabod
12 Little Torch
13 Theresa
14 Goodbye

notes

Typically,a 27-year-old musician with a only a few years under his belt would still qualify as the "new kid on the block" with high praise from no less than recent Grammy winner Dave Alvin and a rapidly increasing audience nationwide.

Mark Erelli is looking less like a newcomer and more like an honest and powerful new voice in American music.

When an artist has arrived, where does he go next? The answer can be found on THE MEMORIAL HALL RECORDINGS, Erelli's stunningly ambitious tribute to the musical and geogrpahical landscapes of New England.

Erelli and his band took up residency in a Civil War-era memorial hall in a small central Massachusetts town, where THE MEMORIAL HALLR RECORDINGS was made in only three and a half days.

From the rustic poetry of "Call You Home" to the swampy groove of "The Drinking Gourd," it is evident that Erelli's recording apporach led to deeply inspired performances.

The album features Erelli originals as well as tunes by some of New England's most revered purveyors of roots music (Bill Morrissey, Dennis Brennan, The Lonesome Brothers).

The release also include an enhanced portion for home computer, with a preview of video footage from the sessions to be used in an upcoming DVD.

The evidence is on record: THE MEMORIAL HALL RECORDINGS is a confident and inspired work that you might not expect from the new kid on the block.

Then again, Mark Erelli is anything but predictable.

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • author: David Kleiner

    Start with the voice. Grace notes and slides complement an effortless legato delivered with a touch of sandpaper. The resulting sound makes every song Erelli's own, and oh so easy on the ears. Next, consider the concept behind the Memorial Hall Recordings. It's engaging--even if the hype about it on the enhanced CD is less appealing. Recorded live (without an audience) in an old New England hall with incredible acoustics. Some originals from Erelli with the flavor of home along with songs from his favorite New England writers. A crackerjack band masterfully handling a range of styles in deceptively laid-back arrangements. The project opens with its signature tune, Erelli's "Call You Home," a loping greeting to the listener and the New England valley Erelli thinks of as a long lost friend delivered with a bittersweet nod to the inevitable goodbye to come. The lyrics are pure poetry ("The sky is open like a chalice/All along the river road/Where the patchwork field tobacco barns/Shiver in the cold") and so is Jim Henry's mandolin playing. And there's so much more. A freight train of a guitar interlude loaded with effects. A country waltz ("A Fine Time of Year"). A trio of Civil War tunes including "Blue-Eyed Boston Boy," a traditional tune hauntingly arranged with a reed organ drone; "Dear Magnolia" a homage to the Band; and one of the album's few missteps, a Byrds-like rendition of "Follow the Drinking Gourd." But, don't worry. There's also Bill Morrisey's "Summer Night" with lovely dobro work and tasteful accordion. "Devil's Train," up tempo country with some very hot guitar licks from Kevin Barry. "Ichabod," an atmospheric setting for lyrics by New England's John Greenleaf Whittier. And finally the inevitable "Goodbye," leavened with a touch of vaudeville. Eminently listenable and lots of fun.

email

Please log in to email this artist.