iDEoLA - Tribal Opera

I've been squirrelling down a rabbit hole the last couple of days. When I pulled out the Randy Stonehill record I found myself going back and playing a bunch of stuff tangentially related to Larry Norman through his old Solid Records imprint. To say that Larry was like the Kevin Bacon of my rock world, especially in the "Christian" market, is understating the connection to so much of what sits on my shelves.

Like many of Mark's fans I started with his 1979 release Appalachian Melody. Even then you knew there was something special about this guy. However the depths of his talents as a musician, writer, and producer were never fully plumbed as his was a life cut far too short.

Mark Heard's initial golden run ran from 1981 to 1985, and I have to say I am more than a little partial to Stop the Dominoes and Victims of the Age, his first two albums on Home Sweet Home. By the time he had released Mosaics in '85 I had become a little less enamoured with where he was going musically, and while I still eagerly sought out his albums he wasn't one of the first names out of my mouth when asked about my favourite artists. Although many of those one time favourites now reside much lower on my list than they once did.

Then he stopped making music, or at least that's how it felt as it would be a couple of years before he's show up again, and when he did it was with an artistic vengeance. I was sitting around one afternoon flipping channels trying to find Charles in Charge (don't judge me), and stumbled on a Christian video show that was on our local community access channel. I never knew when it would be on, so I would generally take the time to see what was going on. A lot of what was on was pretty terrible, which sort of matched the source material. Then a video comes on that's a little distracting showing a screen with multiple strips of film and images scrolling across the TV, with a harmonica playing skeleton to boot. The guy singing looked and sounded like Mark Heard. Of course there was no internet so trying to figure it out was a bit of a pain. 

It did take a while to find at my local bookstore, yeah - don't ask. Those who know, know. Those who don't will never understand what a messed up distribution model this was having to go to the far corner away from the rest of the foot traffic and look through a small section labelled "Music" and try and see what had been curated by the old ladies who ran the cash registers. I wanted the CD, I didn't want the record ... I opted for a cassette, and I hated cassettes, unless I made them myself. Over time of course I'd get the record too, but the CD is still "want" list.

There on the back label of the cassette it stated "Produced and Mixed by Mark Heard" and on the insert was a picture of Mark. After years on small labels, here was Mark on WHAT? Records, which was a subsidiary of A&M which meant this was intended for a wider audience. An audience that never materialized, which is a mystery to me. Of course with the passage of time, this album has been buried and lost, and is a mere footnote in Mark's discography. Considering Tonio K. who was also on WHAT? released two albums Romeo Unchained and Notes from the Lost Civilization both of which you can find, it's a shame Mark's release remains unavailable. Is it a label issue? I often wonder as a lot of artists who were on A&M have been buried and lost.

So how is this album anyway? Falling right in the middle of the two stages of Mark's career. There were those first albums that mined his rock and folk tendencies, and even straight ahead rock that on occasions drew odd comparisons to Tom Petty (there were a couple of songs to be fair), and then his final trilogy of albums from 1990 - 1992 that saw Mark at the height of his craft. These albums are revered for good reason. They are exceptional. Smack in the middle was iDEoLA from 1987. It is very much an '80s release, with all the samples, machines and digital trappings of the time. What elevates this far above the other releases of the day were the songs, and Mark's incredible way with words.

Oh right, the question. How is this?

It.

Is.

Amazing.

From the opening track "I am an Emotional Man" to the last track "Hold Back Your Tears" Mark Heard through his alter ego, sounds like, Mark Heard. It's an odd and wonderful thing to hear him having so much fun. The last time he went "solo" and released a one man band album it was Eye of the Storm in '83 that was a one off of Mark just having fun in the studio, and it turned out to be his best selling album when he was with Home Sweet Home. I'm sure that was a double edged sword. 

Musically this is all samples, and drum machines with bass and guitar but for all the toys bells and whistles, there is an undeniably organic foundation upon which the songs are built. The songs are so good, and really catchy. I mean, Mark always had a way with a turn of a phrase, but here he's married the music and words into a one two punch that just works.

One of my favourites here, among many, is "How to Grow Up Big and Strong" a song Olivia Newton-John would cover on her 1988 album The Rumour - an album that was considered a swing and a miss. Too bad. You can look up her version. Musically it's pretty good, but I'm still mixed on her vocal delivery. Rich Mullins would also cover it after Mark's death in 1993. Decent, but there's something special about the original.

In a world full of what ifs, I wonder what would have been next if this album had taken off. Would Mark have returned and delivered a sequel? Somehow I doubt it.

Mark Heard is not a name on the tip of enough tongues when discussing the best of the best. Those who know know.

Mark Heard had a heart attack with performing at the Cornerstone Festival, July 4, 1992. He would finish his set, and no one knew anything had happened. He passed away August 16. I read about the news in a newsletter and I was stunned. How was this possible? He was only forty years old, and was just getting his second wind. 

If you aren't familiar with Mr. Heard you should take a listen.