Mark Fry – “Dreaming With Alice” (1972) review
Mark Fry “Dreaming With Alice” (Merlins Nose Records reissue, 1972/2017)
This album has been quite an obscurity already by the time of its release. Recorded by 19 year old Mark Fry for an Italian sub label of RCA it presented a beautifully naive kind of psychedelic folk similar to what The Incredible String Band laid down at the same time just a bit more straight forwarded.
We saw originals in good condition go for about 1600 Euros already, therefore such a reissue is always welcome among fans of totally psyched out music, done by mostly acoustic instrumentation and vocals. Young Mark enchants his listeners with dreamy vocal melodies of utter beauty which create an utmost peaceful atmosphere. The picturesque tunes take you onto a trip out to the English countryside on a gentle and warm spring morning and into a fairyland. You might get lost within this colourful dream and not be willing to return to grey reality anymore but this music indeed burns on as the flame of love within your heart. The direction despite all psychedelic elements is definitely determined by British folk music of the 1960s and 1970s. One charmingly odd aspect of the album is that the title track has been split up over the whole album as short sections flanking the longer tunes. I cannot recall anybody else ever doing that, so this is making this nifty little record a unique effort. If you are a fan of Perry Leopold or the above mentioned The Incredible String Band, this record will fulfil your wildest dreams and will also please those into Steeleye Span, Woods Band or Pentangle. Mark Fry plays his acid folk from the bottom of his soul without thinking about satisfying the demands of the mainstream audience. This is a must have for all fans of acid folk from the late 1960s to the early 70s era. This music is intriguing, keen and absolutely one of a kind with a mood changing from rainy days to sunny mornings out in the meadows.
– ‘Sir Lord Doom’
© Copyright http://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2017
Array
