Mark Erelli Compass & Companion CD

Mark Erelli has developed a reputation as powerful singer/songwriter, and Compass & Companion shows that his reputation is well-deserved. There is a great deal of musical variety on this album that keeps the listener paying attention. "Why Should I Cry" is a nice piece of Western swing with some great guitar playing, while "Before I Knew Your Name" is straight folk. Erelli is in good voice for this recording, and has written a number of insightful songs. "Before I Knew Your Name" is an evocative piece, capturing how love transforms our familiar surroundings. There is also an angry streak in Erelli, as on "Free Ride," where he castigates a young person who believes the world waits for him. "Did you think they'd part the seas for you like Moses?," he asks cuttingly. Despite a little anger here and there, he holds onto his sense of humor in the catchy "Little Sister," bragging that "My little sister makes more than you/What is this crazy world coming to?." There are a number of songs about problematic relationships. These songs don't always work, especially on "Miracle Man" where Erelli rebukes a lover with "I can't change/The water to wine/I can't pull you up/If you don't want to climb." Such triads can come off as self-serving. Still, it should be pointed out that "Miracle Man," like most of the songs on Compass & Companion, has a good melody. The running time of this album is 41 minutes, which may not seem like a long album, but there's no padding. Compass & Companion is a worthy follow-up to his self-titled debut, and will be warmly appreciated by lovers of good folk music. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

"If I had a voice like Mark Erelli, I could go places." -Dave AlvinIt's hard to imagine better testimony to what more and more music lovers are discovering every day: Mark Erelli has rapidly become a potent and powerful new voice in American music.With songs that sounded "fresh yet oddly familiar, like something rediscovered on the old 78s found in your grandparents' cellar" (Billboard), Mark was hailed as "one of the most versatile, tuneful new singer-songwriters" (Boston Herald). Others put his debut on their top-10 of the year lists, where it rubbed shoulders with albums by Tom Waits, Macy Gray, and Richard Thompson.Erelli's success and devotion to his craft in his down-time pays off in spades on his sophomore release, Compass & Companion. From the majestic opeing strains of "Ghost" to the wistful comclusion of "Almost Home," Compass and Companion is that rare bird of an album that sucks you in a keeps you rapt from start to finish. Produced by Lorne Entress, the album embraces the spectrum of musical idioms, distilling them into a unique and focused musical vision.

Recorded at Signature Sounds, Palmer, Massachusetts; Busterland, Glastonbury, Connecticut; World Axis, Austin, Texas; The Garret Studios, Arlington, Massachusetts.

Composer: Mark Erelli.

Personnel: Mark Erelli (acoustic guitar); Duke Levine (electric guitar); Bruce Katz (Hammond b-3 organ); Jim Lamond (bass instrument); Lorne Entress (drums).

Personnel includes: Mark Erelli (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica); Kelly Willis (vocals); Duke Levine (6-& 12-string guitars, lap steel guitar, mandola); Kevin Barry (electric guitar, slide guitar); Dave Dick (banjo); Lorne Entress (harmonica, keyboards, drums, percussion, background vocals); Bruce Katz (Hammond B-3 organ); Jim Lamond (upright bass).

Engineers: Mark Thayer, Lorne Entress, Max Crace.

Additional personnel: Kelly Willis (vocals).

No Depression (3-4/01, p.114) - "...Tasteful, intelligent and sensitive, Erelli's songwriting is as unpredictable as a bead of mercury..."