Album Notes

The latest entry from Mark Roebuck, former lead songwriter of the 80’s power pop band the Deal. Although Mark has a strong acoustic singer/songwriter presence on this CD, he is driven along by the chiming, grinding sound of Noonday Ruin- a gathering of his old Big Circle band mates Charlie Pastorfield, Tim Anderson, Rusty Speidel, Tony Fischer, and Jim Ralston. Also joining up on keyboards and vocals is Bruce Hornsby’s Bobby Read who also recorded and co-produced the album with Mark.

In 2003 NotLame Records, an internationally known power pop indie label, released an anthology of the Deal’s material, featuring many of Mark’s original compositions. It has currently sold out, but may hopefully be available again soon at CD Baby, as well as at www.notlame.com.

In 2005 Mark Released Tribe of Heaven, “Imagine We Were,” a dark acoustic project begun shortly after the breakup of the Deal that included Dave Matthews. It is one of CD Baby’s top selling CDs of all time.

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"Big Event!! Mark Roebuck was the leader of the long-lost 80s power pop band, The Deal, whose one official release ended up on Not Lame's legacy label. Roebuck released a really good side project called Big Circle a few years back, but on " Some Half-Remembered Thing " he soars and shines as only he can. He has one of the more unique and truly beautiful voices you'll hear in pop. Listen to "Chrysanthemum" below. If you don't hear Chris Bell (Big Star) all over this track, time for you spend more time at Pitchfork as you are in the wrong place. Seriously, the sounds here blend early Big Star, early Wire Train, The Posies circa 1989-1991 and The Hollies. So, yes, there's plenty of the soaring flair of the Posies and The Hollies(even a bit of C,S,N & Y and for those in the know of great, long lost acoustic rock bands from the 70s, Pousette-Dart Band) There's a bounty of carefully layered vocal arrangements, and you can tell these songs were written on acoustic guitar and taken to the band...

One of my favorite(amongst an album with 14 of them) here is the hardest rocking song on the CD, "Sweet Night" where Roebuck amps it up to "11" and still manages to make it sound like an unforgettable perfect pop song. Mostly, though, my faves end up making me feel sad about the loss of Chris Bell in 1977 as Roebuck has a special way with any many-stringed acoustic guitar he picks up as the gentle melody he's working up manages to seduce and embrace familiar happy/sad memories of yesteryear(good example is "Luna"). First Class Music all the way!"

-Bruce Brodeen, Not Lame Records