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Stacey Earle And Mark Stuart

Venue: Cafe D'Art
Town: Formby
Date: April 26th
Website: http://www.staceyandmark.com/

On a wet and windy night in April, Nashville came to Formby, near Liverpool when Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart made stop number 21 on their mammoth 50 shows in 60 days tour of Britain and Europe. The fortunate venue was the compact Cafe D'Art into which a select crowd squeezed, including some of the leading lights of the Liverpool music scene. The venue was bijou, to say the least, and one member of the audience recalled its former use as the front room of someone's house! No matter, music is what we came for and we were certainly not disappointed.

Stacey and Mark are bravely undertaking their tour by public transport, mainly train. Thus, they were travelling light, one acoustic guitar each and no piano [which would be a little inconvenient on a train].

Stacey is, of course, the sister of Steve Earle but she is a hugely talented songwriter in her own right. Mark is a native of Nashville [quite rare amongst musicians in Music City] and is a fine songwriter as well. Mark is also a great guitarist and together Stacey and Mark make a marvellous combination. They have had plenty of practice as they have been playing together for 20 years [18 of which have been as a married couple].

Mark, who cites the Beatles [and Paul McCartney in particular] as his greatest influence, was delighted to be playing in Liverpool and was even more delighted to discover that where he was staying [ courtesy of The Good Intentions] was very close to Paul's family home at 20, Forthlin Road. The Beatles influence is noticeable on Stacey and Mark's new album "Dedication", more of which later.

The evening kicked off in fine style with local [from Crosby -just up the road] singer-songwriter Rob Vincent. Rob played a short set of his own songs to an appreciative audience. He is clearly a talented songwriter and is possessed of a distinctive, soulful voice. He played songs from his EP The Bomb and from his forthcoming album. I particularly liked a song called "Demons".

Stacey and Mark took the stage and immediately won over the audience with their engaging personalities and wonderful music. They played two sets and both were great from start to finish. It is invidious to pick out certain songs but for brevity's sake, I will detail my personal highlights.

Stacey's delightful " Spread Your Wings" was performed in the style of Les Paul and Mary Ford and featured a jazzy guitar solo from Mark.

Mark's "Workin' On It" featured some lovely bottleneck guitar and some Band-like vocals. Another of Mark's songs "Little Rock", is a catchy, radio-friendly road song which lists the places he plays[Little Rock,Boulder Colorado, Buffalo, Kalamazoo etc.] but that list is "never complete". The song also features some lovely George Harrison-influenced slide guitar. The show's encore was another of Mark's songs about the life on the road, the album's title track "Dedication", which features the great lines " Sometimes it's hard for a singer to be proud, with the same old failures and the drunken crowds, I suppose I could just turn around, that would be the same as shooting me down". Fortunately, the crowd tonight were not drunk and there were no failures!

"Ragged Suitcase" is a song Mark wrote for Stacey concerning the time when she left home with just her grandmother's old suitcase containing" nothing but a few things from when she was a teen". The suitcase still sits in the couple's hall at home.

Mark's Beatles influence was most evident on "Broken Heart For You", which sounds like a track from one of Paul's early solo albums and which features more George Harrison-like slide guitar. Mark told me that he started writing the song 20 years ago but only recently found the right setting for it. I am sure the former resident of 20 Forthlin Road would approve!

Another highlight for me was a great version of Leadbelly's "Midnight Special" [also covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival]. Mark explained the meaning of the song, which is that if the headlights of the Midnight Special train shine into a prison cell, the occupant will be released. Tonight's version featured a superb guitar intro by Mark and by the end of the song the audience were singing along with the chorus.

Of Stacey's songs, one of the highlights for me was "If You Change Your Mind" [from the new album]. This is a song in the great tradition of Cheating Songs in Country Music ["When you pretend to look in her eyes who do you really see? ]. It's a wonderful song and it went down a storm with audience. It really should be a monster country hit as it knocks the socks off most of the sugar- coated country -pop that inhabits the charts.

Another excellent song of Stacey's is "Wedding Night " which included a bluesy guitar solo from Mark. Stacey also disclosed that she has been ordained, so she can perform wedding ceremonies. However, no one took up her offer to marry them.

The absolute highlight of the night [and of the album ]was Stacey's song "The Flag". This is the story [and she is a great storyteller] of a mother and her son and takes us from his birth right through his childhood and, ultimately, to his death as soldier.It is an incredibly moving song and that was accentuated by the fact that Stacey sang it solo and unplugged right in front of the audience. It was a brilliant performance and, genuinely, it sent a shiver down my spine. I defy anybody not to be moved by this song, which became even more powerful when performed in such an intimate atmosphere as it was this evening.

This was a great performance by Stacey and Mark and I know they made lots of new friends among the audience. Their music has a truth and honesty about it and they are two of the nicest people that you could wish to meet. If you can get to see them on tour, do so, you won't regret it. If you can't get to see them live, listen to their album "Dedication", you won't be disappointed.

Peter Cowley