Marq DeSouza

Originally recorded/released a decade ago, this 2.0 version features a re-mix/re-master, & newly recorded lead vocals, often with alternate lyrics born from 10 years of performance evolution. After living with the songs onstage for so long, I think I finally have a handle on how to sing them the way they were meant to be, hence the history revision. Special thanks to Rob Fillo for the opportunity.

After a whirlwind of shows & promotion of THE POWER OF NEGATIVE PRAYER, my then-band Solarbaby finally slowed down enough to begin work on their second CD. After an album’s worth of tracks were shortlisted for the sophomore effort, I painfully realized that there were many worthy songs that I'd written that for some reason failed to make the cut. Rather than let this material die an obscure death, I decided to record a quickie solo effort, that turned into a mammoth personal quest.

Ambitiously sprawling, the record is a virtual history of American rock & roll, and a decided left turn from Solarbaby. A song-oriented cycle of old-time folkers, slide guitar slashers, flat out classic rockers, with one knock 'em dead piano ballad at its emotional center. With most all the instrumentation and production (drums all on one track!) handled by me, this is probably the most pure, honest record I've ever done. Most often compared with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, early Wilco, "White Album," era Beatles, "Between the Buttons," era Stones.

Made during the last gasp of the analogue age, the recordings herein began germination on my cassette 4-Track machine, where drums, then electric guitars were laid down live off the floor, no edits or punch-ins. From then, it was onto Utopia Parkway Studios, where those tracks were dumped to ADAT, & the rest of recording was completed.

For the re-issue, we took the ADAT masters & transferred them to hard drive at RF Music Studio, where all new vocals & various edits were made before the final re-mix/re-mastering.

Engineering/Producing by Marq DeSouza, with John Shepp (1999) & Rob Fillo (2009) www.robfillo.com. Mastering by Suite Sound Labs.

-This record before, now, & always, is dedicated to Michele Gilmore, because she listens.-

AMERICANA UK
This instantly like able record mixes acoustic and electric styles, a bit of folk here, a bit of boogie there, and a very distinctive vocal performance throughout. Another talented songwriter from Vancouver, but not one known much outside the city, Marq DeSouza is the main man in Solarbaby, and here in solo mode has attracted a great deal of regional acclaim. He drawls rather than sings, but although this could annoy, it entertains and draws you in the heart of the record, especially on the piano based "Here's a Song for You", sounding like a mad cross between Jagger and Richards and a bit under the influence. Fans of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth will recognize a lot of what is going on here, especially in the acoustic moments, and as with the Jacobites, you just get the impression that there’s too many tunes in this man to be held in.

EXCLAIM!
Solarbaby's writer/front man has assembled a mixed bag of tunes that didn't make the cut onto the upcoming official band release. With most of the instrumentation performed by DeSouza himself, the meaty leftovers include an incisive gem, "Don't Go Shooting Horses," that hits you between the eyes with its refreshing take on loves redemption. As always, the lyrics grab the focus ("Felt her kiss to the roots of my teeth," from "Bleeding on the Inside"), but DeSouza does play a mean slide guitar that rivals Elmore James on the irresistibly rollicking "Raze the Living Dead!"