Think Bob Dylan and Hank Williams, add a truckload of quirk, lots of independent thinking, and you have Mark Brine, proudly singing and writing his own brand of eccentric rootsy country for thirty years. "My Christmas Song For You" is his first Christmas project, a mix of Brine compositions and guest performances of similar ilk. The overall effect of the album is quirky, yes, but lovely as well. His unique vocal quality immediately brings Leon Redbone to mind, but rendered quietly with his gentle strings it contains a mournful power that is quite moving. Opening track "Mary Had a Choice (Behold Mother)" brims with understated beauty, its sweet fiddle tenderly dancing around the melody line, but his emotive tone comes perilously close to off-putting. The title track features Will Travis, his vocals softly appealing as he recounts past holidays. The down home Christmas continues on "Emmanuel (God With Us)," quietly adoring the Gift with simmering keys and exquisite strings. Geoff Bartley's "Sonwfall" is in the same lovely melodic vein, and David Nevue's simple piano arrangements of "Watching Their Flocks" transports you back to that quietly wintry evening.
But it was Brine's own "Wise Men" that I enjoyed most, his unique vocals borne by Linda Joseph's searing violin and the unexpected noodling of Denis Colby's electric guitar. I don't know about you, but it's the unique Christmas music that I look for, and Mark Brine brings it, in spades. To find out more about this determined and faithful master of the quirk, visit markbrine.com.
