Page 77 - ION Indie Magazine MayJune 2018 Issue

Mark Harrison is a London-based blues musician who is heavily influenced by roots music from the
1920s–30s, but while that may be evident when listening to his songs, the songs themselves come across
as fresh and new -- largely due to the lyrical content and Mark's sardonic delivery. I suppose it depends
on how you like your blues served up, whether they're of the “My baby left me…” or “I woke up this
morning…” variety, or something with a couple of tablespoons of social commentary and a soupçon of
antipathy. Mark's songs fall into the second of those categories. And even though he does indeed wake
up every morning, he has never once been tempted to write a song about it. Plus, I'm pretty sure that
if his baby done left him, he would scuttle off to his lair and write a song about Charley Patton filling in
his tax returns, the joys of queueing up in Starbucks, or something along a similarly obscure vein.

You can expect the unexpected when it comes down to Mark's
lyrics, but just as important to his stage presence is the droll
manner in which he describes the song he is about to perform.
The stories behind the songs are not only stand-alone anecdotes
but provide a backdrop of familiarity which draws the listener in.
And it's that which sets him apart from most other bluesmen
doing the rounds today. It's not often that you can go to a gig,
hear some damn fine blues, have a good laugh, and go home
feeling a little bit wiser for it. But that's how attending one of this
guy's gigs gets you, and it's apparent that Mark has a keen
interest in the history of blues roots music too. He's very well-
read on the subject and has been inspired to write several songs
about the musicians and their trials and tribulations, some of
those songs being available on this album.

Mark has a catalogue of five albums to
date, and a good introduction to his style
is the 2015 live offering called “On The
Chicken Sandwich Train,” which includes
the song introductions and a bit of banter
with the audience. He has recently been
working on a new album that is to be
released in May 2018 called “The
Panoramic View,” and he has given me a
sneak preview of the track listing and
introductions to the songs.