For those of us of a certain, ahem, vintage, we remember all too well our sweaty palms and awkward hopes as we passed somebody a mixtape of songs to say all we couldn’t say. The cases were decorated with careful and deliberate handwriting. There were themes and titles, as if naming albums, and there was an art to timing out the songs on each side so that every second of tape was used.
Well, Mark Erelli made you a mixtape! These are songs that have informed his career as a songwriter, musician, and singer. They are from a wide variety of artists, genres, and time periods and it is a damn fine album.
We’re please to premiere one of the tracks, The Band’s classic juke joint stomper, “Ophelia.” When we spoke with Mark about this song, he said, “When I think about how music is ultimately supposed to sound, it should be soulful and melodic, and have some degree of restrained virtuosity–the sense that even more could happen here, but isn’t, because we’re making mature choices. The Band personified that more than anyone else.”
Backed up by Zach Hickman, Sam Kassirer, Ray Rizzo, and Jake Armeding, Erelli is able to capture the loose and vibrant groove of the song without merely replicating what The Band did. His vocals are raspy and full of soul. “The horn part in original,” Erelli said, “has a kind of Basin Street Blues, New Orleans kind of feel. I really wanted that bounce and Sam Kassirer’s piano part and Ray Rizzo’s drum groove went a long way toward providing that sound.” Damn right–if Kassirer’s piano doesn’t make you want to dance around the living room, there’s something wrong with you.
You can also check out a video of the group performing “Ophelia,” with some behind the scenes footage of their recording sessions at The Great North Sound Society studio in Maine. I think they had fun making this album.
Upon hearing me discuss my Kickstarter with my wife, our youngest said “this is why I’m not going to be a musician–it’s too complicated.”
— Mark Erelli (@MarkErelli) September 28, 2017
Well, let’s make it a little less complicated and fund this project, shall we? Here’s the awesome and very funny video for the project. Check out and chip in!