Mark Olson
The Salvation Blues
Hacktone Records; June 2007
When it comes to wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve, there is perhaps no more poignant example than the music that is spread across Mark Olson’s latest recorded venture, The Salvation Blues. After his tenures in both the Jayhawks (with Gary Louris) and the Creekdippers (with wife Victoria Williams), Olson has emerged with his first true solo project, and he has dived heart-first into it. Brutal in its honesty, The Salvation Blues embraces the fickle experience of loss and redemption. From the harrowing “My Carol” to the hopeful desperation of “Look into the Night,” the album drips with unrestrained emotion. Olson has always delved deep within himself in the servitude to his art, and this time around his art digs even deeper to return the favor.
