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The list of drummers who've made the jump to becoming first-rate frontmen isn't especially long, but Mark Pickerel is doing his bit to fill it out a little more with his second solo album, 2008's Cody's Dream. Pickerel previously kept time for the Screaming Trees and Truly, and has played on the road and in the studio with the likes of Robyn Hitchcock, Neko Case, Brandi Carlile, and some guy named Kurt Cobain, but as it happens he's also a fine singer, with a rich, expressive baritone that can slide up into an impressive upper register, and he's no slouch as a songwriter, either. Cody's Dream often walks the dark, lonely path that former colleague Mark Lanegan followed on his solo efforts, with blues and country accents visible in the mix, but Pickerel can also kick up the tempo and sound jaunty when he's of a mind (cue up "Leaving with the Swamptones" or "Cherokee Grove"), and he and his band don't mind rockin' out when the right song comes along (such as "She Calls" and the title cut). Pickerel clearly isn't afraid of letting a melodic hook make its way into his songs, and he manages to do so without robbing the music of its potent atmospherics. And Pickerel's accompanists serve him well on these sessions, including Ian Moore on guitar and keys, brothers Johnny (guitar) and Jimmy Sangster (bass), and Steve Fisk, who produced the album and plays Mellotron on two cuts. Pickerel's stories of losers and badmen out on the road are often dark, but they're never dreary, and there's plenty of fine and engaging stuff in Cody's Dream that's well worth investigating. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
All Music Guide Review
Track Listing
Credits
- Mark Pickerel
- Guitar (Acoustic), Percussion, Drums, Group Member, Design, Vocals
- Jim Sangster
- Guitar (Bass), Group Member, Vocals (Background)
- Johnny Sangster
- Guitar, Group Member, Vocals (Background)
- Heather Duby
- Vocals, Guest Appearance
- Micah Hulscher
- Keyboards, Group Member
- Steve Fisk
- Producer, Guest Appearance, Engineer, Mellotron, Mixing
- Ian Moore
- Guitar, Vocals (Background), Omnichord, Soloist, Guest Appearance
- Carrie Akre
- Vocals, Guest Appearance
Notes
from Bloodshot: Inspired by a solitary trip through the South without a working car radio and only his own thoughts to keep him company, Mark Pickerel’s second album for Bloodshot, Cody’s Dream, is a Steinbeckian odyssey through modern America; a tale of throughways and the characters that occupy them. The result: 13 dusty gems flirting with the static-y ghosts of Motown, Tin Pan Alley, classic pop, and soul; dancing across the radio spectrum like a trail of mileposts in the rearview.
Cody’s Dream sees Mark once again back to work with legendary producer Steve Fisk (Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Wedding Present), and a crack team of Northwest music all-star players, including guitarist Johnny Sangster (whose production credits include Mudhoney, The Fucking Eagles, The Briefs), Jim Sangster on bass (Young Fresh Fellows), and drummer Michael Musburger (Supersuckers, Fastbacks, Posies). Other VIPs include Texan guitar slinger Ian Moore and cellist Barb Hunter (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers).
With Mark, it’s about THE VOICE – a sly baritone equally inviting and troubling but as-cool-as-the-other-side-of-the-pillow: a verbal reincarnation of Lee Marvin. Warm whiskey breath on a cold winter’s night. Quite a feat for a guy who made his name as a drummer for such seminal bands as Nirvana, Screaming Trees, and more recent not-too-shabby peers Neko Case, Brandi Carlile, and Mark Lanegan. A lover of touring, Pickerel covered the United States in the past few years, most notably with stellar performances at CMJ, SXSW and a tour with Robyn Hitchcock.
Cody’s Dream is a bold addition to Mark’s impressive canon of work: elegies and testimonials of the places for restless souls and the roads that take them there. So turn the key and head out into the wilderness. You’re not alone.
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