Marcus Sturrock – Getting it Wronge

Marcus Sturrock – Getting it Wronge by Chris Spencer

They say you shouldn’t judge a CD by its cover, but the two images on the cover of Marcus Sturrock’s CD bear mentioning. On the front cover there is a picture of lemons jumping over a cliff and on the reverse (where a track listing would be useful) there’s a picture, presumably of Sturrock, lying dead on the carpet, edged with lemons, dressed only in a kilt and an arrow stuck into his heart. Make of this what you will, but I was expecting some dark humour or possibly some irreverent humour (as I found on the liner notes). However, that expectation is a long way from a useful description of the album. For the most part, the album consists of acoustic and electric guitar instrumentals with accompaniment from Stephanie Maeers on violin on seven of the tracks. Sturrock plays all the other instruments, ranging from myriad percussion instruments, bass, cello, banjo, ukulele, mandolin, body slaps, keyboards, whistle and recorder. Oh, did I mention he composed, arranged, recorded, mixed and mastered the whole album? Track one “Poking Buddha” is an acoustic guitar instrumental – the title track is a slower instrumental with some of Maeers violin assisting. Track three “Wildflower” is the first vocal track – a sensitive love song. The next vocal track is “Common Secrets”, which has drums and an unusual arrangement. Marcus’ voice has a reedy quality; while not particularly strong it is interesting. “Don’t Take Away her Medicine” deals with mental health issues, while counter balancing that serious song is a nonsense/fun song about Pavlovas. “I’m Feeling Everything” is another love song; “Take it to the Streets” is all over the place, utilising rap, scat and experimental ideas reminiscent of the work of Kevin Coyne. “Mongrel Tunes” is an atmospheric soundscape. “Duck Cracker Suite” is a bagpipe jiggy thing, while the last three tracks are electric guitar instrumentals. Not sure how he would sound live, perhaps Sturrock might need a little black box of tricks to accompany him. This album would be a challenge to most folk music lovers, but for those of who like guitar instrumentals outside the box might find some pleasure in this album. P.S. a little more research on the net, I found that Sturrock, from Perth, has also released about four other albums! This man is busy.