JOHN MCCORMACK: Peace of Mind

John McCormack

Peace of Mind

© 2005 John McCormack (634479235115)

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When unconventional crash-and-burn sax meets progressive rock, you have a new genre with Peace of Mind by John McCormack. This will rev your engines, or at least help you forget about the traffic. Who knew a sax should do all that?

notes

When unconventional crash-and-burn sax meets progressive rock, you have a new genre. Peace of Mind, John's first solo album, meshes soulful sax, raw piano and gutsy guitar with a powerful progressive rock rhythm section. Who knew a sax should do all that?

For over 28 years, John has played his raucous guitar-style sax throughout the Midwest and New York. John's influences are quite varied for a horn player, including Jimi Hendrix, Rush, Bob Marley, Santana, The Allmans, and of course, Charlie Parker.

While based in St. Louis, John played drums and toured with Lost Idaho and played sax with I Don't Know, Green Eggs and Spam and Just Add Water, which were all mainstays on the St. Louis club circuit. Once back in New York City, John was a founding member of Souled Out, one of New York's top R&B/Soul bands and still rockin' well into its second decade, with other local projects including What It Is, Get On Up and Coolfish.

You can catch John with Souled Out and Coolfish in the New York metro area by visiting www.souledoutny.com and www.coolfishband.com.

You can email John @ jmacksax@hotmail.com.

Please let me know what you think of the album by leaving a review with cdbaby.com.

Album Notes

Peace of Mind features six songs written, performed and recorded by John McCormack from 1984 - 1997, all redone from scratch in 2005. The two songs completely original to this album are Peace of Mind and Out of My Winter.

Go Ahead And Rain represents an exuberance of life without care. Recorded as an instrumental on this album, the song's original lyrical version was copyrighted and was toured with Lost Idaho throughout the Midwest in 1987, featuring John on vocals & drums.

Without A Doubt was written with all of John's love for his wife Stacy. This is a pure rock jam with guitar lead.

Out of My Winter demonstrates what can happen if you forget your troubles and know that it's better to let go of things you can't change.

Booth Street (Forever You) is most ideally heard while driving your Beemer through the Alps, or so I'm told.

I Know What You Know, written in August of 1984, was originally recorded in 1988 by the members of John's high school band, Radical (how 80's!). The sax is raw with emotion and has been described as "vintage John."

Danger Damage Almost Over and It's Good To Be Home For Christmas were written in December 1989 during John's last full semester in college in St. Louis. Despite a sprained ankle, crutches, half a foot of snow and finals and papers due, John found the time to pull some all nighters and do these first two ventures into the realm of synths and doing his own mixdowns.

Peace of Mind, the track, is at the same time a dark and broody work with "peace" found in the joyful Spanish guitar. This was the transition song gapping John's old and new, and inspired the idea to do the album itself, thus deserving the album title.

All compositions were written by John, and John performed all parts using a Roland EXR-5 Arranger/Composer together with his beloved 1957 Conn "Ladybird" tenor sax. John's new Selmer series III tenor debuted on "It's Good To Be Home For Christmas."

The album cover design is John's Happy Cat, which is the only thing John can draw (well not really, despite drawing it since he was a kid). It was the symbol for John's Happy Cat Productions when promoting his bands I Don't Know and others in St. Louis. The inset photos are the two sides of one very happy cat, Benny, sometimes calm and sometimes crazy. Stacy created the album artwork under John's close (too close!) supervision.

Nothing is impossible.

reviews

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  • Phenomenal
    author: Shawn Creedon

    Great sounds. Listen to this on lower volumes and you're relaxed and soothed by the soulfulness. Crank it up a bit and you're doing 80 and air-drumming through the album. Just a terrific way to spend an hour.

  • This Album is a Pleasure to listen to. My Favorite: Renaissance
    author: George from the WHITE HOT AND BLUE Band

    We love good music and what makes the music more pleasurable is the way it is recorded. This album has nothing wrong. The Music, the ambience, the quality and the musicianship are all there to enjoy in it's finest. We at White Hot and Blue are going to link this site for all our fans to enjoy. We know they are going to enjoy this. If they like us, they most certainly will enjoy John McCormack. Thanks for sharing with us.

  • great sax tone awsome tunes.
    author: Larry Fitzgerald

    This is a great record .Well crafted songs .Great sax tone.YOU HAVE TO SEE JOHN LIVE.

  • Absolute 10 +++++
    author: Larry Fitz

    Absolutely soul lifting music . Incredibly well written songs, carefully and articulately crafted. Thats what you get when you cross Hendrix and Charlie Parker. Seeing him Live is even more incredible . Like Jimi Hendrix playing the most soulful saxophone . I have never heard a better saxophone tone. My man has great tone. His phrasing and note selection is perfect. Go see him live with any band and he will knock your socks off . Great job John awsome Record.

  • I like the combination of sax, piano and synthesizers.
    author: Tim Nolan

    I really enjoyed the album very much. I am a piano player and like the combination of sax, piano and synthesizers.

  • Excellent CD, from start to finish
    author: Stu

    This is a fantastic CD from beginning to end, with a distinct, fresh sound. The blending of instruments is masterful, as is the playing itself. I particularly liked the variety of moods that the music evokes, from the raw energy of "Without a Doubt", to the soulfulness of "Out of My Winter". I highly recommend it.

  • A great addition to any music lovers collection!
    author: Jim Zenner

    Loved it. As a fan of Rush, I liked the energy this CD has. I have a large selection of music, and this CD has been added!

  • GREAT/ AWESOME
    author: Alison Kontaxis

    This CD is great. The orchestration is amazing. Peace of mind is a great name for the album as it creates a state of relaxation when sitting listening to the album.

  • great sound--imaginative and moving
    author: Creedons four

    loved the sound--great mix of energy and true talent; fantastic!

  • The perfect music for sensual massage.
    author: d. Sheldon

    This is a perfect album to accompany a night of intimate relaxation. Deep and rich, it blends well with candlelight and essential oils. Loved it.

  • Great CD!
    author: Tony

    This CD had a great variety of songs on it, and the music was easy to listen to. His songs flowed nicely, and I would definitely reccomend it to my friends!

  • Progressive
    author: J Mielke

    Very contemporary sounding. Great lounge-type music for entertaining guests, dinner parties, etc.

  • Great music!
    author: Johnny Chung

    This cd look great it has a twist to the cover, i think it will do very well!

  • Smooth and delightful!
    author: Valerie Lewis

    I really enjoyed the unique sound of John McCormack. His music is the perfect antidote to stressful day and the ideal complement to a romantic evening.

  • Smooth and delightful!
    author: Valerie Lewis

    I really enjoyed the unique sound of John McCormack. His music is the perfect antidote to stressful day and the ideal complement to a romantic evening.

  • Like Great Sax
    author: Kevin C

    His CD is awesome! He figured out how you cross Parker with Hendrixx! Keep it comin'

  • Great Stuff!
    author: J. Bernbach

    This album is fabulous. It's hard to pin it down to a genre, but it's relaxing and intense at the same time. The sax playing is outstanding. I love to listen to it on my iPod when I'm riding to and from work. Please post any information of other stuff by John or similar artists. Highly recommended!

  • author: Terry Pfaff

    Very Good I like the sound. Where I live our radio station is WCOW Cow Country. But I am not into country western but like oldies from 50's, 60's, 70's. This music is new to me and sounds very refreshing....

  • Liked it...great instrumentals.
    author: Rick B.

    Have always been a Rush and Police fan so the music brought back fond memories. I really enjoyed Go Ahead and Rain as well as It's Good to Be Home For Christmas. I liked the way he mixed the Sax with the Piano, the Guitar work was also very good.I highly recommend Peace Of Mind.

  • This is much more than good music, this is art
    author: paperboy

    This is much more than good music... this is art at its finest. There are no labels that apply as this is just great music from a great music maker. The guy takes off from a solid background on modern jazz improvisation and keeps telling the story with an amazing freshness and ability. There no words that can explain music at its best. I'll just keep listening to the CD, and just let this music take me through the most beautiful places of the imagination. Good job, John. Keep doing it. I'm sure we will hear even greater things from you.

  • outstanding
    author: Mark

    I was very impressed by his music and looking foward to buying and hearing more of his music.

  • relaxing
    author: paul

    peace of mind a awesome listen to put you into that relaxed state of mind after a long day at office and to reenergize yourself for a night out

  • Very intriguing, hard to stop listening!
    author: Christina LaBelle

    I'm not sure how I would classify this genre, perhaps rock, progressive jazz, easy listening, or a combination of different genres. One thing is for sure, the sound is relaxing and soothing. I have been waiting for something like this!

  • Great fabulous
    author: brian starr

    needs more SAX

  • Very nice! I liked it!
    author: Dave Washington

    Great sound! The few songs I heard kicked ASS!!! Good Luck! By-the-way...we have a band here in OKC also called "Souled Out".

  • i liked it. it was nice to listen to.
    author: jackie

    i real liked it. my fav was the go ahead and rain. the rest of the songs were good also.

  • Enjoyable!
    author: Stusdaman

    Peace of Mind is a great mix of traditional music and the sax sounds flow through extremely well. This is a great cd to just throw on in the background at a party.

  • John is talented saxaphone player and gifted musician
    author: Lisa Hechler

    John is a true musician. His music gradually unfolds with its jazzy textures and melodic undertones as it keeps the listener captivated until the end. Not only does his album showcase his ability as a talented saxaphone player but as a gifted musician as well. His album is truly a great piece of work.

  • one word--outstanding
    author: ed myers

    soft----great string movement,interesting use of high/low cords

  • this album was very refreshing
    author: michael cross

    this album was very refreshing and new i really enjoyed it very much. I would recommend to anyone

  • Good distinct sound...
    author: Ian (ttuoilman)

    While listening to the samples on his website I found myself yearning a martini and a cigar. It is a different style of music than I usually listen to, but it has a very catchy sound and is something I could see myself listening to...next time though it will be with a cigar and a martini.

  • author: Kevin

    The best jazz music I've heard in quite some time....

  • Melodic and masterly crafted, simply smile-worthy!
    author: Kevin Mattei

    Wow. This album is amazing. This music has more sheer, raw power behind it than just about anything I have heard in a while. Many of the tracks on this album are absolutely brilliant and infectious. After giving this a listen, I now know what the cat on the album cover is so happy!

  • Soothing and mellow
    author: Robin Black

    This cd was very soothing and relaxing. I really enjoyed it and the name of the cd is perfect.

  • This sounds like it should be from an adventure movie sound track
    author: Angela Nache

    This CD sounds like it should be from an adventure movie sound track. It grabs you from the begining and keeps you listening till the end to see how the adventure ends up! It's well worth the price of admission.

  • relaxing, refreshing and enlightening
    author: Aimana El-Bahtity

    Peace of Mind was a very fitting title for the cd. It's the kind of sound that can be taken anywhere but not the style you can find everywhere. Every piece was refreshingly different from the next. It was like a fine written book...every read reveals something different. Thanks!!

  • It's about time!
    author: Dori Evans

    I've been waiting for music like this to come around again - great playing, interesting arrangements and concepts ........and something not guaranteed to put the listener to sleep! This is exciting stuff!

  • Awesome! Easy to listen to; not that annoying Kenny G stuff.
    author: Phil Carollo

    John's a great musician. His tunes are "feel-good" and easy to listen to. You gotta hear him live! He'll blow you away!

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