This is a singer/songwriter from back in the hills and hollers of Kentucky, as he said, and he is known only by his first initial (by the way it stand for Mark) because as he puts it; “There are two other musicians out there being Mark Lucas. Look them up. They’re good. One’s a virtuoso guitarist in Pittsburgh. The other, like me, is an Americana guy. Though he’s from Australia. More power to both of them, I say; they’re doing the name proud.”  Thus because of confusion on Amazon and iTunes and things he figured going by the single initial was the easiest solution to the problem.  You can also tell just from the way he puts things that he has a great outlook and a wry sense of the humor in life, both of which come across in his songs.  He is one of those rare talents that though you didn’t know his name or what to expect, as soon as the disc starts you straighten up and listen a lot closer to the music coming out of the speakers, because it is good, real good and goes directly to your heart.
 
This singer with a slightly sandpapery voice from the hills of Kentucky wrote 8 of the songs, co-wrote 1 and the “Lost John” is a traditional tune that he arranged.  The disc opens with some great fiddle and piano work on the very appropriately named “Down In the Swamp,” and continues with the great fiddle work (all of the guest musicians are outstanding) with nice vocal harmonies going into a countrified version of “Lost John.”  The disc moves along each song its one entity yet the primitive polish of the disc remains intact no matter what direction the song takes or what the lead instruments.  Though he plays acoustic and electric guitars, bass, keys, and percussion, he also uses other musicians for highlights and he gives them credits for it.  Sometimes it is the bass that plays a prominent lead and at other times acoustic, electric or steel guitar, and again it might be the harmonica that takes prominence.  This is a disc that makes me truly want to hear more from this very promising singer/song-writer who very pleasantly surprised me.