MARK COOK: The Promise Highway

Mark Cook

The Promise Highway

© 2002 Mark Cook (783707550527)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

WINNER of the 2002 JPF "BEST BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR" award. Killer songs with soulful vocals, aggressive guitar and great dynamics. This is blues with a flair..

tracks

1 The Promise Highway
2 Another Year Goes Passin' By
3 Down With The Blues
4 Mood Swing
5 You Can Take Away My Woman (but please don't take away my wine)
6 This Is My Life
7 Bummin's My Profession
8 Funk The Blues
9 Don't You Ever Leave
10 When The Blues Takes Hold of Me
11 The Bitter Truth
12 Blues For A Rainy Day

notes

"Blues is steeped in tradition, but there are new talents coming to the blues all the time, such a new talent is Mark Cook" Phoenix Blues Society.

"Cook's versatility and maturity will surely garner him some big-time attention soon, as the blues world is always looking for someone of his depth and potential" Indie-Music.

Mark is the recipient of the 'Just Plain Folks' BLUES ALBUM OF THE YEAR - and has also been awarded sixth place in the BLUES SONG OF THE YEAR - for "All Your Lovin."

Much of Mark's earlier years as a child were spent on the road, touring around the country side of the United States and Canada in a musical up-bringing. Known as the "Dale and Vicki Duo", a popular jazz and blues act, Mark's mom alongside his stepfather performed nightly. This sort of musical gypsy lifestyle must have set the foundation for what would be a life long love for the blues style music.

At the age of 15, Mark settled in Indiana and began crafting his skills as a serious musician. While his main emphasis was on guitar, he also taught himself to play bass and piano. He also began dabbling in 4-track demos, recording many of his earlier compositions. His love for writing and recording eventually led to building a professional recording studio in his house where he wrote, engineered, produced, and recorded his debut CD "An Evening With The Blues."

An accomplished and dynamic performer on guitar, Mark has performed and recorded in many bands over the years. Playing different genres of music such as: rock, jazz, and blues. In 1992, he was lead guitarist and songwriter in the rock band Silhouette. They recorded at the Bennett House in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Kenny Mimms (who also produced Jimi Jamison from the rock group Survivor). Mark has also done some television work and was featured in a TV commercial for the radio station WZZQ 107.5 in Indiana.

Mark's band, the Cook-N-Blues Experience, has played clubs in the midwest for the past year, entertaining standing room only crowds with the music of blues greats such as: Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, but also many of Mark's original music. As the band's slogan states "Blues With A Flair - Experience It - You Won't Believe Your Ears."

For his debut CD "An Evening With The Blues" Mark wanted to capture the old style of blues from many different perspectives. As stated by Indie-Music, "The twelve song CD is rich in balance and heritage which makes this debut CD a sheer delight cut after cut." "An Evening With The Blues" has received great reviews by such publications as Blues Access, Blues Revue, and Vintage Guitar Magazine as well as many on-line blues publications.

Mark's second CD "The Promise Highway" (June 2002) has taken his writing to the next level. This new release is packed with killer songs,soulful vocals and aggressive guitar with great dynamics. THIS IS BLUES WITH A FLAIR. This CD will surely please all blues enthusiasts.

reviews

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  • this is one rockin' blues cd!!
    author: randy moore

    very exciting cd - musically it covers a lot of ground - i would highly recommend this to anyone who loves the rockin'guitar type blues genre - (if you're more of a purist as far as the blues genre goes, than you might want to check cook's other cd on this website - it is entitled "an evening with the blues")- great guitar and very exciting arrangements - the funk tunes are definietly worth checking out - really like "this is my life" look forward to more of mark's cd in the future! randy moore - blues fan!!

  • Great words,Great music,Great talent.
    author: Curley

    Having known Mark for some time I can say his music is his life and he shines the Blues.Great words with great music = a real good time. The Promise Highway has it all.Experience it. You will be pleased!

  • Wow
    author: Steve "Two Guys Music" RI

    Mark Cook is a guitar monster. He plays with incredible taste & tone. The CD is amazing. He covers almost every style of blues from blues rock to jazzy instrumentals even an acoustic blues track with ease. The guitar work on the CD alone is worth the price of the disc,but throw in a great cast of backing musicians and a couple of exellent singers and a major label production and this is an essential purchase for any rockin' blues guitar addict...Buy or Die!!!

  • Versatile!
    author: Kelly Kress

    This CD shows great versatility in blues styles from rippin' riffs to low down, bartender-give-me-another-one tunes. The versatility in the tremendous talents on this CD from the singers and instrumentalists to the multi-talented artist himself oozes with every note. If you are a lover of The Blues, then this is one CD you MUST HAVE!

  • unfreakingbelievable!!!!
    author: Milk Dud

    There is only one thing of that I know of that is better than this CD - seeing the Cook-n-Blues band live. This CD just grows and grows and grows on you. Killer guitar jams, stylish vocals and a production that is second to none have resulted in this CD being in my player for over a week straight. You gotta check this out, you won't be sorry.

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