Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

There should never be any doubt of the appeal of Mark Poutney for as long as he is able to perform, stand on a stage with head held high and the ever flowing grace that goes with such a smile of enjoyment, for in that performance comes across a musician who is spirited, giving and full of humble character; if the world ever finds itself without compassion in performance then Mark Pountney would surely endeavour to keep it breathing and ticking along until a new heart could be found for the tired old planet.

It is in that overwhelming sense of compassion that is injected into the set, that is placed with careful consideration into each song, that makes Mr. Pountney a performer to whom making sure that quiet abounds in complete respect a certainty, even the dust that falls into the lights, normally unnervingly with the precision of a science fiction moment of surprise, is to be made to wear silencers and the muffled expression.

For in that quiet Mark Pountney resides with glorious intent, the slight smile that appears as he self deprecates one that is endearing and disarming and the truth of the man’s convictions enough to see each song played with ever growing satisfaction.

With the tantalising prospect of a new recording out later this year, Mark played songs from his previous albums Mark 1 and Mark 2 and a couple of previously unreleased songs for the Unity Theatre audience as part of the Liverpool Acoustic Festival and the spirit in which they were delivered was to know just how desperate you could become to hear a new album come along.

With songs such as the set opener Diamond Of My Mind, Won’t Let You Down, God On My Side, Make a Start and Teardrop Trail all fostering the feeling of tangible beauty within its soul, the evening was one of acoustic excitement and necessary capture of songwriter’s truth, that to be one on with the song you have to believe in whole with what your singing, anything less and you are defrauding the audience; Mark Pountney as he stands aloft in the spotlight could never be accused of that.

A set of cradled and nurtured beauty, a hope that should resonate across all forms of art but which was keenly felt by Mark Pountney!

Ian D. Hall