Mark Sylvester, American Gypsy (self-produced, 2003)
Incipient geezer that I am, a recording like American Gypsy by Mark Sylvester inevitably gets me musing on the way in which technology has changed "The Music Business." Coming of age during the Sixties with numerous, highly talented musicians as friends, I remember how difficult and expensive it was to self produce an LP. Oh, it could be done, but recording and mastering time in a real studio was not cheap. Then, once you had a master, there were the printing and pressing costs. The technical side of both meant you had to pay for a minimum order (typically 5,000) to justify the set up time. Most musicians I knew opted for a cassette only release, which significantly lowered production costs as well as the quantity you had to order, cassette minimums being closer to 500. But now that you had "product," there was the thorny issue of distribution. At best, you could sell them at gigs or convince a few local record stores to stock a few. Mostly, they got sent around as demo tapes in the hope of getting a gig or finding the ear of a sympathetic A&R guy. These self produced recordings telegraphed their homemade nature long before they got anywhere near a stereo system.
Today, anyone willing to incur modest credit card debt can book some studio time and get a master off to one of the many companies dedicated to short runs of CDs. Most minimum orders are closer to 500 than 5,000, and the final products look just like the latest release from any major label. And, for $9.99 a month, the artist can put up his or her own Web site and/or sell CDs online through services like CDBaby.com or WoodstockCD.com.
"What," you ask, "does ANY of this have to do with Mark Sylvester and American Gypsy?" Well, I'll tell ya. Nothing about the packaging immediately whispered, "D.I.Y." Until I read the exceedingly minimal liner notes I had no idea this was a self produced affair. The sonic quality is excellent and Mark Sylvester certainly plays guitar well. The material, all original compositions, is pleasant enough. Only one immediately makes me want to do an A/B comparison to see whether it's an example of influence (yeah) or plagiarism (not really) -- "Urban Nocturne" is on first hearing very "Angie"-esque. But (and you knew that was coming), at the end of the day American Gypsy left me no more than 'whelmed.' Sylvester's American Gypsy never quite seems to move past a pervasive sense of sameness. He is, without a doubt, a talented guy, but there's still a certain something missing.
Sylvester would benefit from a sympathetic producer/arranger who could bring out the best in his material with judicious use of backing musicians. Or maybe he just needs to struggle for a few more years, honing his skills as both a composer and a guitarist. A few decades ago, this would have been a cassette, and some sympathetic A&R guy might well have encouraged Sylvester to "stick with it, pay his dues, build up his chops on the coffeehouse circuit, and try again." I hope that's what he'll do, and look forward to hearing his next release.
Mark Sylvester has a Web site here.
