Released June,1976 Length 34:50 Artist John Hartford Label Flying Fish Records | Recorded 1976 Producer Michael Melford Release date June 1976 Genre Bluegrass | |
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Mark Twang
(1976) Nobody Knows What You Do
(1977) Awards Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording Similar John Hartford albums, Bluegrass albums | ||
Mark Twang is John Hartford's 1976 album of river songs and other eccentric gems, which came from inspiration from years of working on a riverboat. The album was recorded all acoustic in the studio with Hartford by himself on all instruments and vocals. At the Grammy Awards of 1977 Mark Twang won the Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording.
Contents
Background
During the four-year break since the end of his contract with Warner Bros. Records and the release of Morning Bugle, Hartford earned his riverboat pilot's license, played live or sat in on others' records, and signed with the independent label Flying Fish. He accompanied himself alone in the studio with either banjo, guitar and fiddle as well as a sheet of plywood for clogging.
Reception
Writing for Allmusic, critic Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. wrote of the album "The songs, as usual, run from sentimental to strange, from the romantic to the weird... Mark Twang may not be the first stopping place for the new Hartford fan, but for those already familiar with his unique talent, it's a must have." Music critic Robert Christgau wrote "These days he sings mostly about the mighty Mississip (too thick to navigate, too thin to plow) and records eccentric river music for a folk label. He's slightly the better for it, on the whole—but I wouldn't say his living sounds so secure that he should turn down a gig on the Proud Mary. A gig playing, or a gig navigating"
Track listing
All tracks composed by John Hartford; except where indicated
- "Skippin' in the Mississippi Dew" – 3:01
- "Long Hot Summer Days" – 4:48
- "Let Him Go On, Mama" – 3:49
- "Don't Leave Your Records in the Sun" – 2:26
- "Tater Tate and Allen Mundy" – 2:42
- "The Julia Belle Swain" – 4:48
- "Little Cabin Home on the Hill Waugh Waugh" (Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Hartford) – 1:13
- "Austin Minor Sympathy" – 6:42
- "The Lowest Pair" – 0:45
- "Tryin' to Do Something to Get Your Attention" – 4:39
Personnel
Production
Songs
1Skippin in the Mississippi Dew3:01
2Long Hot Summer Days4:49
3Let Him Go On Mama3:50