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LP
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DC 685LP
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2017 release. "Mark Fosson's been playing music for nearly 50 years now. Solo Guitar is the 5th album released under his name in all that time, which gives an insight into the nature of his music; when it is time for Mark to commit to something underneath his fingers, regardless of whether that is after two years, ten or twenty, that's what's right. Sure, it makes for a funny career arc, but as far as the music that falls out of a guitar over the span of a lifetime is concerned, any old curve will serve. Mark's picking career was destined to be weird anyway, based on how it started: in 1976, a demo sent to 'American Primitive' label Takoma Records received a personal response from founder (and its primary artist) John Fahey himself, who invited Mark out to the west coast to rerecord the material for forthcoming release. Mark showed up, they recorded, it sounded great . . . then Takoma went bankrupt, John Fahey sold the whole company and the release of Mark's record was abruptly cancelled. No new destination for the recordings immediately presented itself, so Mark moved on, eventually making music with a band called The Bum Steers and writing songs for motion pictures as well. Once the tapes from '77 came to the attention of his niece, Tiffany Anders (she noticed them sitting out in his garage), things started happening fast. We put The Lost Takoma Sessions out in 2006, after which Mark made a full-band album of rockin' Americana called Jesus On a Greyhound. In 2012, Tompkins Square released the original demos for the Lost Takoma record as Digging In the Dust. Then in 2015, Mark released a new album of solo picking called kY, drawing on memories from his childhood in Kentucky to create sweet impressionistic vignettes played on six- and twelve-string guitars, as well as banjo and mountain dulcimer. Two years later, and there's another collection to hear! Solo Guitar shares something with kY, as Mark continues to use his chops and enthusiasm to wander musically, drawing up pieces of sparkling, nimble fingerstyle with an eclectic vision. As the title implies, this time Mark is focused on the austerity of the guitar, plain and simple, to bring out the music. Whether on six- or twelve-string, his sure touch is transported by crystal-clear recordings that belie their down-home origins, as they catch the contours of every string as it is pressed, bent and struck -- a full-bodied sound projecting soulful dips down into bass strings and shimmering upper register runs with equal power. The air around these performances is colored with curving waves of steel-stringed beauty, and the pungency of free-wheeling wit and recollection..."
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LP
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TSQ 2714LP
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LP version. "Kentucky native Mark Fosson recorded one album for John Fahey's Takoma Records in 1976 which went unreleased until 2006. Mark recently found the home demo for that session. Here's what he has to say about them: 'These 11 tracks are the songs I began writing after acquiring my first 12-string guitar. I recorded them in my living room on a Pioneer RT 1050 2-track reel-to-reel with a rented microphone (I believe it was an AK6414 but I won't swear to it). All are originals except for 'Back In The Saddle Again' which resulted from my other obsession at the time of watching old black & white Gene Autry movies any chance I could... Most of these songs would appear later in slightly altered form on The Lost Takoma Sessions, but these original versions are my personal favorites. I can't believe the tapes have survived so long and still sound as clean as the day I recorded them.'"
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CD
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DC 322CD
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"Ladies and gentlemen, presenting 1977's newest discovery -- the best guitar player John Fahey has heard since Leo Kottke -- Mark Fosson! You didn't hear it then, but that's no reason it shouldn't be said after all these years. The CD being hawked here is the work of the last artist ever signed to Takoma Records by John Fahey. Mark's sound will not be unfamiliar to anyone who's heard an album of solo acoustic guitar or two in their life. On The Lost Takoma Sessions, Mark plays his style with the same individual personality that former Fahey discoveries such as Kottke, Robbie Basho and Bola Sete had -- not to mention lesser known Takomen like Peter Lang, Richard Ruskin, and Tom Akstens. The Fosson sound is light and smooth, perhaps best represented by the bright and melodious 'Sky Piece' -- though the entire album is a sweet listen."
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