Mark Collie Book Of My Blues (CD)

(BFD) 15 tracks - digipack
The themes in Book of My Blues - love, lust, betrayal, addiction, recovery, damnation, redemption - are derived from the graphic novel Rockabilly Hitman, a long-planned collaboration between Collie and acclaimed film director Jonathan Hensleigh (The Punisher, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Armageddon and the forthcoming film Ice Road starring Liam Neeson). The novel depicts the exploits of rockabilly singer Jesse Wayne Hardin, an avenger of evil by night as he travels the tough backroads from Muscle Shoals to Memphis, from the Mississippi Delta to Music City.

"There are many ways to describe the music, maybe roadhouse rock, southern gothic, Americana, country, but at its core it's a reflection of me and many others who came before me," Collie explains.

The album features twelve original songs written or co-written by Collie, as well as three rockabilly classics - "Hey Boba Lou" by Ronnie Hawkins, Jacqueline Magill and Robbie Robertson of The Band, "Night Train to Memphis" written by Country Music Hall of Fame member Owen Bradley with Marvin Hughes and Beasley Smith, and "Matchbox" by Carl Perkins. The album was co-produced by Kenny Greenberg (Allison Moore, Josh Turner, Toby Keith and the Mavericks) and Chad Cromwell (Joe Walsh, Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Boz Scaggs).

Collie's list of contributors reads like a who's who of songwriting elite, including Collie's longtime friend, actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton, as well as Tom Douglas, Gary Nicholson, John Scott Sherill, Jonathan Hensleigh and co-producers Kenny Greenberg and Chad Cromwell.