The Best of Mark-Almond [Import]

Mark-Almond, Jon Mark | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 1993)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Black Sun Records
• ASIN: B000003P0Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,146 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Special Place in Time and Memory, June 15, 2001

By 

L. S. Slaughter "silvanus" (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best of Mark-Almond (Audio CD)

No one had ever heard anything like Mark Almond when MA No. 1 appeared sometime in 1971. "The Ghetto" was this amazing vocal bombast steeped in deep gospel with a searing saxophone solo stuck in the cracks, and "The City" began as some samba-ish lament that evolved into a ecstatic piano and saxophone duet, then faded off into an electric and acoustic guitar jam.. for 13 minutes! Mark-Almond 2 was probably as responsible as anything for the influx of people into San Francisco and the Bay Area in the mid to late 70s: certainly most of us had heard "The Sausalito Bay Suite" under the influence of one thing or another and decided then and there to go "down by the bay/the seagulls play/in circles...". Now that those decades are behind me, as well as my days as a San Franciscan, I still find the best memento is Mark Almond 2. It captures a Californian and world-weary sensibility tinged with existential melancholy that one only gets living by the Golden Gate in the pre dot.com era.

As for the rest here, well, Mark-Almond took a creative nosedive after albums One and Two, and it is evident here. Why the dumbest dingbat at Rhino decided to include "Get Yourself Together" on this set eludes me; it's wholly embarrassing.

Nevertheless, the price is justified by the inclusion of "The City" and "The Ghetto". Incredible stuff that dates very well.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless and not to be pigeon-holed..., April 21, 2000

By 

D. Hartley (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of Mark-Almond (Audio CD)

The Mark-Almond Band produced a sound that was not exactly progressive rock, sophisticated jazz-pop, or folk, but a masterful and seamless blend of these styles. I daresay even a die-hard "alternative" fan who might dismiss this as boring old "hippie" music could listen to a song like "Tramp And The Young Girl", and hear seminal echoes of Tinderbox or the Eels in its dark, haunting and morose beauty. "The Ghetto" and "The City" are worth the price of this CD alone, with thier compelling acoustic jazz grooves and hypnotic vocals. If you follow electic artists like John Martyn, or of more recent vintage, Beth Orton, then you'll love this stuff. [edit]

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tracks:, December 11, 2006

By 

Patricia Hennessy "CD Cellar 4" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best of Mark Almond (Vinyl)

TRACKS: The City / Tramp and the Young Girl / One Way Sunday / The Ghetto / Song for You / Friends / Solitude.