Mark Eric: A Midsummer’s Day Dream (Expanded Edition) (Now Sounds, 2009)
Last year I got totally addicted to Bergen White. While searching for similar albums also Mark Eric’s name came up, but I didn’t bought his album until now. Good thing in a sense that there’s now a new expanded reissue out on Now Sounds with a lot of bonus tracks, bad thing in a sense that I lived a year without being able to listen to this beautiful album. A Midsummer’s Day Dream is a real soft pop masterpiece. A really stunning piece of work from a boy who was only 19-years old when it came out. Unfortunately the album didn’t become a success. Was it because the non-existant promotion by the label or did the people in California just classify him as another Brian Wilson copycat? I don’t know.. but I do know that it’s almost criminal that it didn’t hit the charts. It’s wonderfully arranged and beautifully orchestrated album full of highest quality soft pop music. Heck, The Beach Boys themselves didn’t make many (if any) better albums as a whole. Sure they did hit a lot higher peaks, but most of their albums have some songs that I don’t love while I absolute enjoy every second of A Midsummer’s Day Dream.
This expanded edition also contains 16 bonus tracks and there are some fantastic songs among them that never saw the light of the day back then. Especially Build Your Own Dreams, No Days, No Nights and Place For Summer stand out and could demand a place on any best of soft pop or sunshine pop compilation.
