Mark Stein & HIS MUSIC
Few musicians can claim as prodigious a career as Mark Stein. Even aside from his tenure at the helm of of the ’60s proto/prog hard rock Vanilla Fudge, he can list a lengthy string of credits and accomplishments working alongside such superstars as Dave Mason, Ted Nugent, Tommy Bolin and Alice Cooper, among the many, while also leaving a formidable impression and lingering influence on others, including Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Styx, Yes and Deep Purple.
The Fudge made their mark early with a daringly dramatic version of The Supremes hit “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” as well as covers of such Beatles classics as “Eleanor Rigby” and “Ticket to Ride.” Although the band broke up for the first time in 1970, the members have reunited several times since, including the occasion for their induction into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006. They’ve been touring ever since.
Stein himself continues to stay busy, with and without Vanilla Fudge. He released his first solo album, White Magik, in 2003, followed by his 2011 autobiography, You Keep Me Hangin’ On. After a sizable delay, he’s now finally offered up a much-delayed sophomore effort, There’s a Light, a set of songs that holds to the Fudge tradition of offering up distinctive covers (“Ball of Confusion,” “People Got to Be Free,” “America the Beautiful”) and seven originals that deal with a common theme, that is, the trouble and turmoil that’s gripped this nation in recent years.
Being the multitasker that he is, he’s.
