Title - 'Many Colored Kite' (Ryko)
Artist - Mark Olson
Co-founder of legendary Americana band The Jayhawks, and a critically acclaimed artist in his own right (25 years and counting), the multi-talented Mark Olson has seemingly been planning this new album, 'Many Colored Kite' for many, many years.
A follow up to his 2007 release, 'Salvation Blues,' which was a New York Times Critics pick, may I also remind you, Olson has not strayed too far from his usual musical path, but still manages to provide us some crafted, well-honed songs - all using a mixture, one way or another of rock and folk instruments.
'Many Colored Kite' invites us into his world of earthy, neo-Folk that encompasses classic and '60's British Folk, as well as the desert country that he has been so-long associated with in the past. Inclusive of fingperpicking on acoustic guitars, upbeat melodies, and soaring vocals of pure harmony, songs tend to blend skeletal, acoustic (loose) verses, with bold, full-of-themselves choruses.
After the release of 'Salvation Blues,' Olson toured all over the States and Europe with Italian violin player Michele Gazich and Norwegian multi-instrumentalist Ingunn Ringvold (Sailorine), playing djembe/percussion, piano and singing vocals, playing more than 300 shows together. Here, on 'Many Colored Kite' you can see all that paid off - and how.