Mark-Almond Mark Almond/PA,USA 1978

Like Steely Dan, the British duo Marc Almond has captivated music connoisseurs since the early 1970s with their precocious musicality that transcends genre boundaries, including rock, folk, jazz, and classical music. This highly anticipated item is now available for the first time as a high-quality soundboard recording of a live performance led by legendary guitarist Carlos Rios and other skilled musicians at the time of the release of their masterpiece “Other People’s Room” by Marc Almond! This work is a superb item that has been completely recorded over 75 minutes on a superb high-quality soundboard at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia on October 21, 1978 by Mark-Almond, who was in high demand for various sessions, including guitarist Carlos Rios, who was attracting worldwide attention for Gino Vannelli’s masterpiece “Brother to Brother” at the time, who became a regular member from the tour accompanying the release of “Other People’s Room” until the 1980s, keyboardist Mark Roth, bassist David Marotta, and drummer Roberto Pattasia, along with acoustic guitar/vocalist John Mark and saxophone/flute Jonny Almond! Mark-Almond’s live performances are actually highly acclaimed, and their signature song “The City,” which can be heard here, is played for a length that is significantly longer than the studio version (sometimes nearly 30 minutes), with plenty of improvisation along the way. The elegant guitar solos of Carlos Rios, who was called the post-Larry Carlton, and the sax of Johnny Almond, who was originally a skilled session man, are also amazing. Although you can only see a glimpse of it in the studio album, in the live performance, he blows freely in all directions, putting Michael Brecker to shame! It’s no wonder that Danny Richmond was the regular drummer in the early 70s. Of course, the set list is full of stylish masterpieces and great performances that link with the recent light mellow movement, such as “Lonely Girl” and “Girl on the Table for” from “Other People’s Room”, and Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” (2 versions included), so please enjoy Mark Almond, who was on a roll at the time! ! “What a sweet sight this world is, reflected in the sea at dusk. Depending on the day, the world either lies or tells the truth. This evening, the world is telling the truth. And with what powerful, sad beauty.” In the commentary for the Japanese version of an early Mark-Almond album, Naoki Tachikawa, who was in charge, cited a passage from Camus’ notebook as a way of describing Mark-Almond. This is truly apt!