STEPHEN MARTIN - ANTHOLOGY "EVEN AUTUMN"

Stephen Martin - Anthology "Even Autumn" Released: 2007 Genre: Roots/Americana Format: CD (Full Length) Label: IRIS MUSIC GROUP UPC: 829410364379 Compilation Produced by Alan Lorber

Stephen Martin, artist/songwriter/poet, writes strange and beautiful songs.

The works in Even Autumn have been created and recorded at various stops along his wanderings, as he continues to search for beauty in unlikely places. His surreal soundscapes are peopled by American archetypes (the mad motorist, the drunk in the alley, the exotic dancer), jungle animals (monkeys, snakes, and elephants), and a few ghosts.

Stephen cut his teeth in the coffeehouses and colleges of Worcester, Boston, and Amherst, Massachusetts. He’s since shared the stage with the likes of B.B. King, Arlo Guthrie, Don McLean, Jackson Brown, Utah Phillips, Jaime Brockett, Spider John Koerner, and Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup.

During the Summer of Love (1967), he conceived and nurtured into reality "Congress Alley", the controversial creative Worcester community that was home to artists like Brockett, Clean Living, the original J Geils Blues Band, and Boston Sound centerpiece Orpheus. Martin's song, aptly titled "Congress Alley," was introduced on Orpheus' first album, and has subsequently been covered a dozen times. The Iris Music Group label (IMG) is this year (2007) releasing a special spoken word/musical commemorative album of the history and recordings of "Congress Alley.”

Orpheus ultimately recorded 13 Martin compositions, on some of which he sang lead. Four songs from the fourth Orpheus album appear in this Anthology: "Monkey Demon,” a chilling ballad portraying drug addiction as demonic possession; Lucianne, a light-hearted ode to anarchy; It Gets Worse Every Time, a denouncement of materialism; and the well known "Big Green Pearl" where Stephen points out: The oak tree don’t need an alibi, He knows the world is upside down, With his great roots all hanging in the sky, As well as in the ground.

In 1973, Stephen moved to San Francisco, where he developed into a versatile harmonica player, performing in such Bay area cult groups as Charles Biscuit Band, Rescue, and Rebecca West.

Back in Massachusetts in 1991, Stephen joined Norman Schell and Bruce MacKay to make an independent country/rock album, "Recipe.” In 1995, he recorded "Ball Peen Platter,” a grunge EP on see-through vinyl, and in 2001, “Oroboros,” produced by Jamie Brockett. Some songs from these releases are included in "Even Autumn.” Others will be included, along with new recordings, in forthcoming Stephen Martin Anthology CDs on the Iris Music Group label.

1. EVEN AUTUMN 2. MONKEY DEMON 3. LUCIANNE 4. IT GETS WORSE EVERY TIME 5. ELEPHANT 6. BREAKDOWN LANE 7. WHISKEY WALTZ 8. BURIED ALIVE WITH SNAKES 9. BIG GREEN PEARL 10. SAILOR'S GHOSTS 11. THE PAST IS GONE