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Vaudeville Caberet and Brechtian Angst Stew Up on Stowaways
Saloon-Sonic Piano Sits Center Stage on PM's Latest CD Release
Stowaways cuts a new creative path, with Paul Mark performing on piano on every one of the ten new cabaret-ready tracks. It’s Mark’s 10th studio release, recorded in Manhattan and released in late 2015.
Time-worn vocals and transcendent songwriting sit front and center in a soundscape that fuses dystopian rants with romantic lullabys. A full string section is used on several tracks, lending a nostalgic counterpoint to Mark’s world-weary crank vocals.
“Maybe some folks’ll be happy to hear that on this record I’ve set aside the guitar for a spell? I think my neighbors were pleased, anyway,” says Mark. “Actually the upright piano and strings open up all sorts of contrasts and tonal possibilities that are real different from the straight-ahead guitar approach. It’s a texture that sits okay with the sort of music I’ve been writing lately.”
The new collection is true to the lyrical density and backhanded irony familiar to listeners of Mark’s previous work. He also plays acoustic bass, guitars and keyboards, along with a junkbox full of pawn shop instruments. The set includes a cover of Mack the Knife that harkens back not to Bobby Darin’s familiar ’59 swing hit but rather to the world-gone-mad Brecht/Weill original from 1928.
The new CD was co-mixed by Mark and his long-time collaborator, Memphis music maven Jeff Powell, and assisted in the control room by Lucas Peterson, who’s contributed engineering expertise to numerous Paul Mark projects. “I’m grateful both those guys are still willing to work with me, I’d be lost without them,” says Mark. “Actually I suspect the only reason they hang is because I usually pick up the booze tab during the sessions.”
