Artist: Linda Marks
Album: The Silence Of The Stars
Released: 2025
Website: https://www.lindamarksmusic.com/
While writing a review last year of Linda's last album A Recipe For Hope I learned of her impressive education and accomplishments. She has degrees from both Yale and MIT and has written two books, Living With Vision (1988) and Healing The War Between The Genders (2004). The most recent album The Silence Of The Stars is her 15th since 1983. After a 25 year hiatus from music to raise a family and care for her mother she has proven to be quite prolific, recording 14 albums since 2015. She has run an intimate concert series, The Music Salon for over ten years in Waltham, MA. It is dedicated to building community through music and art, with a commitment to bring live music to new and unconventional venues.
The most recent release The Silence Of The Stars is a 12 song set that clocks in at 53 minutes. The songs are lyrically compelling and well executed. Linda's formal music training shines through in her understanding of arrangements, the layering of the instruments and she is clearly well versed in the building blocks and the rules of music functioning beautifully within them. There is nothing odd or jarring at any point, but nicely flowing compositions from start to finish.
The title track, The Silence Of The Stars tells a story of an overbearing father that was frightening to the child character of the song. The uneasiness of the child escaping a tense environment has led to an adult finding peace through music. The silence of the stars in the song kept the character's heartbeat company while she hid as a child, and the piano seems to have the same effect on the adult many years later. It is a vivid lyric that is bittersweet for this writer. More often than not art is discovered out of frustration, which makes for interesting talking points, but perhaps not great memories. In the words of the great Miles Davis "if you're not living it it's not coming out of your horn." It is my hope that the story of this song is not autobiographical.
Wisdom Of Lived Years harkens back to the time when folk found its footing in the 60's. A wonderful vocal take over timeless chord changes makes for a pleasant listen from start to finish. Linda Marks is a storyteller at the core, painting vivid pictures with poems set to music. This song is a shining example of her ability to write an interesting lyric that leaves the listener needing to know if the child she is speaking to in the song has found their own wisdom yet.
The Garden Buffet is a bouncy fun piece. It should really be pitched to the folks that market vegetables to the masses. I can see it as the background music to a commercial as someone strolls down the produce aisle happily picking out vegetables. I have heard a lot of music in my time, but I do think this is the first time I have heard a lyric that says "Next year I'll be sure I plant carrots." It is lighthearted and fun. Not all music needs to be heavy and have some deep meaning. The only message here is don't forget to plant carrots if you want to make soup? I love songs like this one. Fun goes a long way in music and life.
The album is a wonderful piece of art across the board. It has all the ingredients of a classic folk album , but bigger production. Like her last record, the instrumentation is far deeper than a couple of folks strumming the cowboy chords on an acoustic guitar. Although the production is a bit more complex than a typical folk release Linda Marks uses the colors she chose masterfully to paint a pleasant picture that never gets too busy. I hope the record finds the listeners it deserves. If you are a fan of the classic folk sound this will be a great fit in your collection.
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