Customer Reviews

Second Hand

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is Mark Heard's best album... part of the trilogy of records he made just prior to his untimely death in 1992. I have it on cassette and have been searching for it on CD. Not sure at all why it's so hard to find. The others from the series, as well as tributes and collections are easy to locate.

"Dry Bones Dance" and "Satellite Sky" have some great writing, don't get me wrong. But Second hand is easily the most listenable of the three for the broadest range of listeners... Nearly every song ranks as one of his best. For the average listener out there who has wandered anywhere near Heard's work (through, say, Randy Stonehill, Bruce Cockburn, Pierce Pettis, Colin Linden or any of a wide number of other performers...) if that average listener has heard only one Mark Heard song... it's likely to be on this record.

This is also the most acoustically oriented of his late releases. If you enjoy intelligent lyrics with a rootsy, acoustic "americana" feel... get it.

The late great Mark Heard was one of the most underrated songwriters in music. He touched many people right where they stood. I would say that "Second Hand" (his second to last album before he died), has something for everybody: clever and insightful lyrics that any Dylan fan could appreciate; melodic hooks that any Beatle fan would love; the topics covered in the songs touch about every issue in modern day America. One of the things I really love about this album is the almost Bach-like combinations of instruments. All rootsy and raw. He even turns the Beatles' song "I'm Looking Through You" into a song you could square dance to! Amazing album. Buy it!

I like this album. It has many great songs, including "Love Is Not the Only Thing", "All Too Soon", and "She Don't Have a Clue". Also the cover song from The Beatles "I'm Looking Through You" is very nice.