Search - Mark Heard :: High Noon

Essential Mark Heard

D. P. Wolfe | Littleton, CO United States | 07/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you only want to own one Mark Heard CD - shame on you!! Just kidding. But seriously, this CD belongs in every CD collection. Mark was a stellar musician and a gifted songwriter. This is a collection of songs from his later CD's and has a few unreleased gems on it as well. Mark is an artist who deserved a wider listening audience, but died before he could achieve that honor in his lifetime. All of the songs on this CD are wonderful examples of Marks passion for life and music. His music reflects life as it really is and the joys and heartaches that we all share as human beings. Undergirding all of the songs are Mark's Christian beliefs, probably best illustrated by the song 'Stong Hand of Love'. "We can laugh, we can cry, and never see the stong hand of love hiding in the shadows"."

By far one of my favorite artists, and a great compilation..

S. Cox | VA, USA | 12/31/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mark Heard's music has never lost its freshness or relevance. I have been listening to it since the early eighties, when I first heard "Castaway" on the radio. I find his lyrics coming unbidden to mind in many of the situations life has brought...they are that honest. He was true to his faith in Christ, and true to life, and the world is a lonelier place without him. I believe there are four preeminent Christian artists in the rather short history of "Christian" music...Mark Heard, Phil Keaggy, Rich Mullins, and Fernando Ortega. Mark heads my list, for his lyrical ability (I am a "words" kind of person) as well as his musicianship.I particularly love the songs, "Nod Over Coffee" (reminiscent of J. Alfred Prufrock!) and "Just Wanna Get Warm." They are so expressive of everyday human experience, Christian or no. "House of Broken Dreams" with its simple chords breaks my heart every time I hear it. I also loved his "Dry Bones Dance" album, with its Louisiana flavor. His lyrics on that album are alternately playful and deftly incisive. However, "High Noon" is a very good introduction to his music. I can't speak highly enough of this artist and the profound effect he's had on my life."

The Best Music You've Never Heard

D. P. Wolfe | 10/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike many singer/songwriters, Mark Heard's later music is at least as good as his earlier work, and probably better on the whole. (His musical growth reminds me of the Beatles'.) This CD picks four or five of the best tracks from each of his last three CDs, adds in four unreleased tracks (each of them very good), and BINGO!-- you have a generous 18-track album that's hard to equal: musically very listenable and memorable, lyrically poetic and full of insight, spiritually poignant and uplifting. Wow. It's like a great meal that's delicious and leaves you comfortably satisfied. Not only that, but it's probably the best place to start if you're not familiar with Mark's work-- or if you haven't heard his later work-- because you get to sample each of his last three albums. The "Satellite Sky" CD in particular was stylistically quite different from most of his other work, so it's nice to be able to sample some of its best tracks to see how much you like them before deciding whether to buy the CD they were originally on."