Mark-Almond is one of those bands that can send me down a rabbit hole pretty quickly. You start looking at the people involved, and suddenly John Mayall, Marianne Faithfull, Zoot Money and the Alan Price Set all start showing up. But none of that matters if the music isn’t good. The City is good.
Mark-Almond was formed in 1970 by Jon Mark and Johnny Almond. The name can be a little confusing if you don’t know the band. It wasn’t one guy named Mark Almond. Jon Mark was the guitarist and singer, and Johnny Almond played saxophone, flute, and other woodwinds.
The two had met while playing with John Mayall. They appeared together on Mayall’s The Turning Point in 1969 and Empty Rooms in 1970. That period of Mayall’s music was moving away from straight electric blues into something quieter and more open. You can hear some of that approach in what Mark and Almond did next.
They left Mayall and formed Mark-Almond with keyboard player Tommy Eyre and bassist Roger Sutton. Their music wasn’t easy to put into one category. There was jazz, blues, folk and rock, sometimes all within the same song. The City appeared on their self-titled debut album in 1971.
The song develops naturally. Jon Mark’s guitar gives it a loose rhythmic foundation while Johnny Almond’s saxophone helps give the band its identity. That’s probably what I like most about Mark-Almond. They leave room in the music. Nobody sounds like they are trying to win.
The band developed a following, particularly through its live performances, but never became as commercially successful as some of the musicians they had worked with. They broke up in 1973, reunited a couple of years later, and continued recording in different forms into the early 1980s.
They left behind some music that doesn’t sound much like anything else from the period. This one is a good place to start.
What Am I Living For came from Mark-Almond’s 1972 album Rising. Written by Jon Mark, it’s a completely different kind of song from The City. The focus is on Mark’s vocal and a man looking at his life and wondering what all of it is for. A live version appeared on Mark-Almond 73 and became one of the band’s best-known songs on American FM radio. It’s quieter and darker than The City, but it shows the other side of this band. They could stretch out and play, but they could also get out of the way and let a song tell the story.
This is a live performance by them.
The City
Well last night I slept in the open
Down by the redwood trees
Yes last night I slept in the open
Just to let, just to let, just to let my soul free
I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna know
I don’t wanna go back to the city
I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna know
I don’t wanna go back to the city
It’s just a long, long, long, long
Lonely taxi ride
Going nowhere
To no one
No day
No way
Well I woke in the morning early
I could feel the good green earth beneath my tread
Yes I woke in the morning early
That’s when I knew, yes I knew
I knew that the city was dead
I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna know
I don’t wanna go back to the city
I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna know
I don’t wanna go back to the city
It’s just a long, long, long, long
Lonely taxi ride
Going uptown
And downtown
And round and round and round and round
Round and round and round and round
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
It gets so hot in the city
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Good stuff, Max. I dig the vibe on “The City.” Spontaneously, it reminded me a bit of Jose Feliciano’s rendition of Doors song “Light My Fire.” To my ears, it’s got a similar jazzy acoustic guitar-driven feel. “What Am I Living For” sounds sweet as well. Now, I feel like listening to more of Marc-Almond. Their name seems to ring a distant bell, though I couldn’t have named any of their songs!
Not the kind of music you would connect with John Mayall but they played with him…and it worked. I like this…The City….seems familiar to me…I must have heard that one before.
I remember when first hearing Mark Almond and thinking, that doesn’t sound like Marc Almond at all! I know better now 🙂
Yes! I thought it was a person and then I remember Marc Almond from Soft Cell…totally different!
I mentioned Mark Almond yesterday in my reaction to your Mayall post. Their music was different from what else was going on at the tme.
Almond also had a couple of lps out on his own.
I really like what I’ve heard so far…I’m glad you brought them up…led right into today.
Like Glyn said- I thought , gee that doesn’t seem like a ‘Max’ type artist but, that’s cool…but he spells it ‘Marc’ not ‘Mark’! Had never heard of these guys
Yea Marc…I thought this was a person before a band until I saw the –
I didn’t know much about the Mark-Almond band, and it was nice to learn about them.
Thanks for reading Jim!
I was in the city yesterday and “I didnt wanna go” What a bunch of cool music Max. Thanks for putting this out there. Hard band to market to the masses. Definitely under the radar. On the live cut, I think that’s Danny Richmond, an old Migus player so the jazz leanings come honestly.
I know I’ve heard The City before… and it’s such smooth music. Arthur (puple) mentioned them yesterday with the Mayall post. This is some great music! It also showed Mayall wasn’t afraid of change or trying something new. I like their solo stuff…at first I thought it was a guy…not a band lol.
Yes there was that dico cut with someone with the same name. I’ll stick with this stuff. You got to know that Almond put the cherry on top with his playing.
The musicanship is top notch man…I knew it would be but it was more smooth than I ever thought it would be. I mean that in a great way.
Mark has a good voice and a confident vibe. The love of playing comes through loud and clear.
New to me. Awesome sound. Perfect voice for those smooth jazz vocals with a million things going on behind it.
It is very confusing when there’s a solo artist named Marc Almond as well. This is really pretty.
Very! When I heard them…I thought it was a guy…then I remembered the guy from Soft Cell…so yea…it took a minute before I realized…they are a band.
Interesting sound, but I’m a sucker for an electric piano.
I do like ‘What Am I Living For’ and love the lyrics of ‘The City’ but… just a tad too jazzy for me personally. But there is a lot of distance between the two songs for one band.
Yea…that is why I picked something different by them to give a little variety.
While I knew of John Mayall during the Clapton and Green years, I was too young to hear them live. I first heard Mayall when Jon Mark and Johnny Almond shaped the band. I still have those two Mayall albums, but Mark-Almond seems to have disappeared. I’d swear I had that album.
I can imagine the reverse of Dylan being booed off the stage at Newport for going electric and audiences booing Mayall for going acoustic.
I wish I would have listened to music by Mayall earlier…but I thank the blogs for exposing him to me.
This band was reccomended to me, so I when I listened…I thought…worked with John Mayall? But I like this a lot…very smooth.
I agree… this is nothing like the electric blues years…that was his trademark so to speak. So yea I can imagine some of his audience displeased.
Love Mark-Almond and saw them live twice back when I was a young man in the 70s. I loved the Mark Almond II LP, which I just pulled out to play after I finished Alice Cooper’s Greatest Hits!
My fave cut is “One Way Sunday,” which got a lot of NYC FM airplay!
Awesome Mike! I love when I hit upon an artist you know and not many others do.
I’ll check that one out Mike! Thank you!