MARK NOMAD

ALL ONE

Blue Star Records

The album arrived with a description of Delta Blues & beyond. I could not have described it better myself. Mark Nomad sings, plays acoustic guitar, and harmonica on what is a truly solo effort in every sense of the term. Out of the eleven tracks on the album , Mark Nomad has written seven of them. The opening track, My Mind Gets To Wanderin’ Nomad shows that he understands Delta and Country blues as much as the next guy. Simple finger-picking guitar, wonderful harmonica, and bluesy lyrics have already got me hooked. Delta blues and country blues are close bedfellows, go back to the 1920s and you’ll see the closeness and rawness in every artist from Charley Patton to Blind Lemon Jefferson, and everyone in-between. As well as his own compositions there are notable tunes from a couple of Delta stalwarts. Mellow Down Easy by Willie Dixon is one such number. Many people have covered tunes by Willie Dixon, but not so many get an acoustic outing. Nomad has released ten albums before this one, so he knows exactly what he’s doing. Recording an album such as this, and covering tunes by artists such as Dixon makes me realize that this sorts the wheat from the chaff. One man and his guitar have long been the stereotypical notion of the Delta blues, what Mark Nomad does is bring it bang up to date while still having the same feel as artists did a hundred years ago. Go To Carry on is a fine example of this. Wailing blues harmonica coupled with deep gravelly vocals and fine acoustic guitar only further endorse Nomad as a true Delta blues artist. Throw in a couple of tunes by Mississippi Fred McDowell for good measure, and what you have is a stunning country blues offering. Nothing fancy, no long solos, no overdubs, just great country blues. The title track ends the album, an album that has made this writer a very happy bunny indeed. See for yourself, grab a copy.

STEPHEN HARRISON