Album Notes

Mark Vickery was the original vocalist/frontman for Chicago bands Word Bongo and Sumo. After nearly five years performing with Sumo's improvisational funk show every Sunday night at the Elbo Room, he decided to focus on a recording project which included several highly-personal acoustic songs he had written.

Soon after, however, this project ballooned into a multi-genred series of tracks including the work of some of the top musicians in Chicago, like Paul Mertens - woodwinds (Brian Wilson, Archer Prewitt), Eric Remschneider - cello (Red Elephant, Smashing Pumpkins), Dan Leali - drums (Fareed Haque, e-Mics), Renee Ruffin - vocals (D-Settlement, starcandy), Merritt Lear - vocals (Butterfly Child), and Mars Williams - sax (NRG Ensemble, Liquid Soul). Produced by Ellis Clark (Epicycle, Kevin Tihista, Chamber Strings), the finished CD, simply titled "Mark Vickery," was finally completed in June, 2002.

What has resulted is a sampler plate of various forms of sophisticated pop, from the calypso-tinged "Sensitized" to the 80s production of "You Said Yes," complete with Psychedelic Furs sax parts. And while some tracks have maintained a sober moodiness, such as "Incognito" (with its grand choruses and swirling cellos), other songs, such as "Girlerilla," are rockers with an unserious, off-the-cuff treatment. The two factors managing to tie together these various styles are Mark's deep baritone vocals and his wry lyrical wit.