Mark Rogers – 30 Minutes From Water Street
This particular showcase gets off to a genuinely appealing start. Rogers has an easy-going talent with the type of talent you’d find in someone like Paul Simon & any of these tunes could’ve easily been prime Simon & Garfunkel or even England’s late troubadour David McWilliams (“Marlena”) in Rogers’ “Natalie.”
Rogers (guitar/vocals) has a suave versatile manner with a voice that is plaintive & dominant when married up to the gritty, yet melodic guitars he adds to “California 10.”
A mellifluous beauty of a tune which is one of 8 original songs featured on the excursion that’s 30 Minutes From Water Street (Drops Sept 13/Independent/31:50). Produced by Mark Kenneth Williams (guitars/percussion) at Water Street Sound in Washington, DC.
Hard to grasp how such music comes from such a place. To my ears, there’s a pinch of Laurel Canyon, but then there are bits & pieces of Boston & Greenwich Village sonorities. The varied sounds are appealing & “It’s Plain To See (I’ve Been Blind),” is a well-performed piece.
More Spanish in structure is the colorful narrative “Prison Block 9,” which isn’t sung with tension but with a sprightly picked acoustic guitar & textured horns somewhat from that “Come A Little Bit Closer” Jay & the Americans era. But Mark Rogers handles the details quite expertly. He sings it like Hemingway would have written it.
Mark Rogers isn’t without his rockier side & displays that with the energetic “To Open Your Eyes,” which has a drum snap & a weaving lead guitar. Rogers can compose songs that are far above the ordinary which keeps the interest piqued. His voice is youthful & he can be as folky as Eric Andersen or the late David Blue. But Mark is more of a rock n’ roller than Eric or David since the guitar density here is more aligned with Jackson Browne or Joe Walsh than Eric.
There’s nothing heavy-handed in this showcase. That will be the appeal to some who like their treasures in small doses. I would compare Mark to James Taylor’s music & style, but Mark has a little more whiskey in his milk than Taylor.
A pleasant enough middle-of-the-road take is “Edelweiss,” – a flower, (not “The Sound of Music” song by Rodgers & Hammerstein). But Mark creates a pleasantly performed upbeat ballad with all the elements that made a Joni Mitchell song so intriguing. There’s nothing here that’s mediocre. The troubadour tradition is a tapestry in Mark’s hands not mere drapery.
Highlights – “California 10,” “It’s Plain To See (I’ve Been Blind),” “Prison Block 9,” “To Open Your Eyes,” “Natalie,” “Edelweiss” & “Rubber.”
Musicians – Jonathan Sloane (electric & acoustic guitars), Dave Phenicle (bass), Ricky Wise (drums), Daniel Clarke (keys/clarinets/accordion), David Henry (strings/arrangements) & Edward O’Connell (strings on “Edelweiss”).
The 6-panel CD includes lyrics. Color image courtesy of Crystal Huffman. CD @ https://markrogerssongs.com/