Search - Mark Insley :: Tucson

David B. from HARRIMAN, TN
Reviewed on 6/28/2007...

My CD matches the UPC, but the song list is different.

01) Tucson
02) The Alchemist's Heart
03) Middle of Nowhere
04) Guilty
05) The Ice Machine
06) Broken Angel
07) She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)
08) Did I Wake You?
09) Bus To Bakersfield
10) Can't Get Over You

Mark Insley's _Tucson_

06/29/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mark Insley's _Tucson_ is a solid, satisfying, and most importantly, enjoyable record. Sometimes characterized as "alt-country," Insley doesn't seem to care much for labels or genres. He simply makes honest, heartfelt music. Or, one should say, heartbroken music. Every song on the album deals with the themes of loss, desperation and loneliness. For example, Middle of Nowhere takes being stranded on a deserted highway and elevates it to a trascendent experience of self-discovery. The Alchemist's Heart is one of the best songs of lost love I have heard in a long while. Its not the trite dribble you hear on mainstream country radio. Insley knows how to turn a witty lyric and capture the twisted, conflicted emotions that come from heartbreak. Can't Get Over You is a classic. Still, my favorite is Guilty. This is heartache at its most oppressive worst. As Insley says, "I made her everything I was living for/Now I watched everything walking out the door/Makes a boy feel just like not hanging out here any more." Yhea, this man's been hurt a time or two. At first I was put off by Insley's voice. It seemed a bit deadpan, not as emotive as I thought it should be. But, as I listened more, I came to appreciate it as worn and earthy yet still warm and sincere. It fits the music and lyrics perfectly. I highly recomend this album to anyone who likes Robert Earl Keen, Steve Earl or the kind of country music that hits you right in the heart as well as the gut."