Mark Peckham Flash CD

"Flash" the fourth album by Mark Peckham is an eclectic blend of traditional folk and 1930's Delta blues interwoven with modern songwriting in the vein of Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and the Beatles. These are not songs that smack you in the face. Rather they gently seduce you with subtle imagery that has an almost mysterious, cinematic quality, enticing the listener to explore the veiled meanings more deeply. The sparse open production style adds to the drama of the recording. The overall character of the record is equally balanced between highly proficient, fluid guitar playing, consistent songwriting, and nuance laced vocal performances. The influences of Doc Watson, Robert Johnson, and Eric Clapton are clearly discernable in Peckham's guitar work. The vocal style at times has a slurred or mumbled quality which often makes the lyrics difficult to understand but at the same time adds an air of expressiveness to the interpretations. Although the songwriting feels thoroughly modern the ghosts of the great songsters of the 1920's and 1930's can clearly be felt.Peckham, a native of Dayton, Ohio, currently makes his home in Los Angeles, California. "Flash", along with its sister record "Slow Night Long" (to be released later this year), was written and recorded over a seven year period with Peckham producing as well as doing the majority of the engineering. What originally started off as a single record gradually morphed into two records when the songs themselves dictated separate and distinct stylistic treatments.