09 June 2009

MARK CURRY


No, I'm not posting on the hip hop guy. No, it's not about the comedian, either.

Californian musician Mark Curry should be far better known than he is. I'm guessing the majority of people who drop by this blog will be completely unfamiliar with him, though he's been releasing albums for closing in on 20 years. Those lucky few that do know him, probably heard of him through his association with NOFX's El Hefe (they were in a band together).

I can't even say that he's critically acclaimed, since I don't believe I've ever seen a review of his work anywhere. That's a shame.


I've been a fan of Mark's since getting a promo of his first album, It's Only Time, when I was still at the record store. That one and it's follow up, Let the Wretched Come Home, have been played more times than I can count over the years. I followed his career as best I could, but as I mentioned, he doesn't seem to get enough press, so I have missed a few releases along the way, and have yet to see him live.

So what does he sound like, you ask? A mix of heavy edged folk, rock and blues . . . with a whole lot of curse words thrown in. Trust me on this one, if you like much of the bands I post here, give him a try. You won't regret it.

Though, once you get a taste, you're going to want to get more. That's when you'll find out how hard it is to get most of his releases.

Even though the first couple of them were on a major label (Virgin), the label seemed to put no push behind them, so they didn't sell well. As a result, they're long out of print. If you find his early albums used, you might be able to get them on the cheap.

I'm putting up a bunch of his album cuts this time (something I usually avoid), because they're officially out of print, and I really want people to have the opportunity to hear him.

(files expired)

Some selections from It's Only Time:
Mark Curry - "All Over Me"
Mark Curry - "Gone Swimming"
Mark Curry - "Blow Me Down"

A few from Let the Wretched Come Home:
Mark Curry - "Cigarette Burns"
Mark Curry - "It's Just That I"
Mark Curry - "High Above the River"

I don't want to put up songs from the ones that are in print, but you can hear some tracks from those at his MySpace page.

Mark Curry discography (get 'em if you can find 'em):

It's Only Time, 1992
Let the Wretched Come Home, 1994
Down In My Alley, 1997 (as The Mark Curry Tenpin Trio)
Find a Friend, 1999 (ep)
Dozen Lies, 2004 (buy) (as Hell's House Band feat. El Hefe)
Front St., 2008 (buy mp3) (ep)

I'm pretty sure there's more that I'm still unaware of. Feel free to send me additions.


7 comments:

-nino said...

I'm online looking for "Down In My Alley" & the only place that I can find it is on Amazon used for $52.95. I feel the same way, those first two albums were my soundtrack for the mid nineties & then he kind of disappeared because of lack of press. He's a great artist who suffered from not suckling on the teat of big radio.

michael said...

I was working in local radio in the south of France, when Its Only Time was released. We palyrd the album until it was worn out! In France virgin were very much behind the album and as a result of this Curry recieved a lot of press as well as touring the country. For some reason the momentum did not continue for the follow up.

DeadBilly said...

Nice to hear he had some success somewhere. It makes me wonder why the label didn't put a push behind the follow up.

forkn3ck said...

this guy rocks. I wish he had more exposure. None of his older stuff is 'in print', is it?

DeadBilly said...

The only ones that are in print (to my knowledge) are the two most recent.

Keep your eyes open in the used CD shops for the others. If you find them, they're usually pretty cheap (except for "Down In My Alley", which for some unexplained reason goes for huge money - and, honestly, I don't think that one is as good as the rest of 'em).

Anonymous said...

The guy rocks. I saw him in Charleston in the early 90's. I own all of his stuff. I'd love to see him show up again in a small vemue.

His huge hits at the time were "Sorry about the weather" and "Blow me down". 11 minutes off of Let the wretched come home is my favorite.

I wish his name was different. Everytime I try to hit on a search engine I get the other Mark Curry.

TimsHead said...

Totally love this guy's music. He seems to wrestle with some personal problems from time to time and disappears, but put it all into his material. I have all of his albums and pretty much every time I listen I'm blown away by his talent. It's a shame more people haven't discovered his genius yet.