There's not a whole lot to say about It Happened One Evening. That's because I don't know a whole lot about it, other than it's the latest (and maybe even first) CD from Mark Mansfield, a singer/songwriter from somewhere in New York State who sort of sounds like Al Stewart and dare I say, at least on "The Flying Dutchman," a bit like Roy Orbison. Nor could I find a whole lot of info on the Internet. Even Mansfield's own website, masquerading as what appears to be a vanity label, is bare-bones beyond the audio samples.
On CD Baby, Mansfield describes his music as "progressive/chamber pop and classic adult contemporary," and these songs apparently were recorded over several years in multiple locations with various players. The music echoes eras gone by and is pleasant enough, as Mansfield plays (sometimes cheesy-sounding) keys and sings, backed by memorable film-score-like sax solos on the title track and "Song of Songs." But several of these 10 songs, squeezed into 32-and-a-half minutes, sound incomplete. What's more, in today's fragmented musical universe, an artist needs a stronger online presence (and some marketing sensibilities) to make it past the vanity stage.
Track Listing:
1) It Happened One Evening
2) The Flying Dutchman
3) Hold On, Be Strong
4) You're Too Much For Me
5) The Underworld
6) Marie
7) Sad to Blue
8) Time Isn't Ever Enough
9) If It's So Easy
10) Song of Songs
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