a m e r i c a n r o o t s m u s i c • t r a d i t i o n a l c o u n t r y • b l u e s • f o l k • a m e r i c a n a m u s i c • a m e r i c a n r o o t s
m u s i c • t r a d i t i o n a l c o u n t r y • b l u e s • f o l k • a m e r i c a n a m u s i c • a m e r i c a n r o o t s m u s i c • t r a d i t i o n
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Fortunes • the Best of Mark Brine Shut Eye Records & Agency Includes: Fortunes by Ola Belle Reed, (You Are) My Sweet Dream, The Parlor Song, So Lonely Without You, I’ve Always Been A Sucker for Your Smile (Miss Rebecca), You Sure Got A Way, for Karrie, 8th Grade Romance ( … And They Danced), Riverboat, The Tale of the Troll ‘n Me, The ‘God Will Be Up’ Lullaby, Ay'ee Lou'siana, Ukelele Yodelin’ Blues, New Blue Yodel, Plea for Forgiveness, Rebel, And … I’ll Wait for You |
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| About.com Kathy Coleman It always bothers me when I run across someone I've never heard of but has been around for a couple of decades, been nominated for Grammys, and played the Grand Ole Opry. So why haven't I heard of him? Let's see... because radio won't play him? Ding! That has to be the reason, because it's certainly not because he doesn't appeal to me. This is great music. I'd never heard any of Mark Brine before this introduction, and dang it, I should have. Everyone should have. If you love country music roots, this is it. Brine approaches his songs from those roots, those back porch songs which eventually led to the branching out into folk, country & western, country, honky-tonk, bluegrass, and eventually rockabilly and rock-n-roll. Brine doesn't sound "old-timey." His music is fresh and current, with a rich sound that is as honest as it is beautiful. With crisp, intelligent lyrics and harp, powerful melodies, Brine makes music that matters, plain and simple. The songs on 'Fortunes' come from Brine's impressive backlog of material as well as several new tracks. A portion of the sales from this disc will go to help needy children and families in Appalachia, where this music was born. It states eloquently on Brine's website that Americana is a new word for very old music, and that's true. Since the word "country" has been usurped by Nashville pop and their rhythm machines, we had to come up with a new way to describe it. But whatever you call it, it's good. |
AltCountryTab.com Carl Anders There are probably more familiar names to most of you out there, but you've probably overlooked or ignored Mark Brine for far too long. Now's your chance to make amends. Taking its title from the Ola Belle Reed track that opens the album, 'Fortunes' is a mix of a couple of rare and unreleased tracks along with some picked from Mark's more recent releases. Even though some of the tracks are as recent as 2001, probably the biggest compliment you can pay these songs is that they actually sound like lost classics from the 60's folk revival scene or of scratchy recordings from the 20's. Its hard to think listening to these songs that most are from within a decade or so, you'd be forgiven for thinking that these were taken from albums from the era when Dylan, Townes and Clarke were first plying their trade. However, this isn't just a tribute to those times, Brine has set his career on continuing those traditions and on consistently writing country/folk/blues songs exactly how they were meant to sound. Songs like Ukelele Yodelin' Blues prove the point. Simple, effective country blues of a traditional style that very few seem focused on keeping alive. But this has been Brine's trademark throughout his career. Leaving behind a career in Nashville as he grew increasingly frustrated with its commercialization and refusal to accept its own roots. For some reason we lament that the likes of Townes and Clarke have never achieved a level of success befitting of their talents. But it's probably fair to say that as we roll our eyes at the uneducated masses who have never heard of either of them, we're as guilty for letting Brine pass us by. Its quite right that Brine has a wealth of critical acclaim behind his recording career to date. Rather than being a standard best of, 'Fortunes' is more of a wake up call for us with the wallets and credit cards to finally take notice and timely reminder that Mark Brine is talent that we can no longer afford to ignore. Finally in addition to gaining 17 songs that may take a long time to leave your stereo, a portion of the sale of every CD goes direct to benefit the children and their families of the Appalachia. Even more reason to buy 'Fortunes.' |
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| Rambles Nicky Rossiter Subtitled "The Best of Mark Brine," Fortunes is an excellent introduction to his work and an opportunity to get 17 beautiful tracks culled from a number of albums on just one disc. With 16 of the tracks from his own pen, it is a fascinating collection showing a talent in full flight. 'The Parlour Song" brings us back to a bygone time and the motif remains through a number of tracks. Seldom is this "time machine" bettered than on "8th Grade Romance," which will bring the listener back to those innocent and often scary days. A favourite track for me is "Riverboat," with the simple lyrics and crystal backing music. One of the most haunting songs here is the beautiful "The God Will Be Up Lullaby," which is delivered with true feeling. "Rebel" is another excellent song with strong lyrics that bear close listening. This is followed by the best track on the album, "And I'll Wait for You," making full use of spare backing with guitar and fiddle. Looking at the track listing is a revelation in titling with such gems as "The Tale of the Troll and Me" and "I've Always Been a Sucker for Your Smile." If you like Americana, good lyrics and great delivery, this should be on your list. |
Muse's Muse Stacey Board The photo on the back cover is priceless and sums up the CD. It's confident, wise, a little silver around the edges, and totally real. Mark Brine is simply a talented hard working man who’s very good at what he does. What he does is write and perform timeless songs in the country genre. They are heartfelt in their writing and flawless in their delivery. These could be a lesser-known tracks from Hank Williams of Johnny Cash but they still sound great today. They aren’t even close to their freshness date. "Fortunes" is actually a compilation of previous CD’s. It’s a great sampler of Brine’s work over his career and is extremely likely to make country fans go compile each of the CD’s individually for their collections.
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"Since migrating from Cambridge,
Mass to Nashville some three decades ago, Mark Brine has carved out a strong
reputation as an uncompromising traditionalist on the country music scene which
has made him one of the elder statesmen of Americana."
-- Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris Magazine
"I could listen to him sing all night long – he does a good job that boy does." -- Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree "A fine young man who I think has a great future." -- Hank Snow, Grand Ole Opry "Brine could easily have been added to the cast of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' without raising an eyebrow. He belongs to that group of artists whose individuality and quirkiness consign them to the periphery of what's commercially viable. But God bless him for not just being another cog in the musical wheel." -- James McSweeney, Flyin Shoes |
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"Brine writes wonderful story songs about ordinary people
and ordinary places. To tell these stories, Mark has a voice that is
as comfortable as a favourite coat."
-- Pete Smith, Country Music Round Up "I think what makes Mark Brine such a gifted songwriter/storyteller is the fact that he seems to be such an obvious fan of many genres of music. He's someone who is like a sponge when it comes to reintegrating influences into his own work." -- Gail Worley, Ink 19 "His career has pursued the path of a truly independent artist - someone who follows his soul and does things his own way – his ability to write and produce has made his name synonymous with quality." -- Doug Floyd, AltCountryTab.com ©2004 Mark Brine Music. All rights reserved. |