The Mark Gamblin Band

‘Morning Rain’ was the first album recorded by Mark Gamblin in 2006. ‘Morning Rain’ consists 12 original songs of Blues and Blues/Rock. Recorded ‘live’ in the studio with minimal use of overdubs and electronic fixings. The album is largely trio- based featuring Rick Reilly-Davidson on Drums and Lloyd Arrow on Bass. With Rick Arrow on backing Guitar for a small number of songs.

The album was heavily influenced by the artists Gamblin was listening to at the time such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Gary Moore. As a result the album became very Guitar heavy with a strong Blues/Rock sound.

Hit songs from ‘Morning Rain’ were: ‘Bad Luck,’ ‘Stranger,’ ‘Lonely Man Blues,’ ‘My Old Troubles,’ and ‘Tears That Fall.’

Produced by: Mark Gamblin. Rick Reilly-Davidson. Lloyd Arrow.
Engineered by: Geoff Webb.
Recorded at the Dugout Studios. Hampshire. England.
All songs written by: Mark Gamblin.

The leading Blues Magazine: Blues Matters! Review of 'Morning Rain' Album is posted below.

'The album opens with a kind of fuzzy, distorted guitar sound that alerts you immediately to the influences of the performer.

Hendrix, Clapton and the 60s Blues-Rock crowd are the order of the day here, at least where the guitar is concerned. Vocally, Mark Gamblin has clearly worked hard at perfecting a raw and husky vocal style that wants to sound like John Lee Hooker.

Tracks like the instrumental 'Bad Luck' display a high degree of skill on the guitar, though a penchant for slightly showy soloing and perhaps a little too much repetition on the number in question highlight the British Blues- Rock formula.

Gamblin says the aim of the album was to capture the sound of his live performances and their energy. As such, the album was recorded almost completely live, with minimal overdubs and no obvious studio trickery. If this is a true example, and if Mark Gamblin is as much of a showman as his playing leads us to believe, then he is probably hugely entertaining in performance.

As with other artists (Carlos Santana springs to mind) Gamblin is a performer who likes to take his music down unexpected avenues.'

Matt Merritt.

History of The Mark Gamblin Band

Mark Gamblin started playing in Portsmouth under his own name in 2002 as single soloist. After creating a name in the Portsmouth music venues, a bass player was added to the gigs, soon after, two more musicians joined. In 2004, the band had changed into The Mark Gamblin Band, playing their first gig in Guildhall Walk Portsmouth 2004.

By 2005 the band had headlined the ‘University of Portsmouth Music Festival’ and had started recording their debut Blues and Blues/Rock album ‘Morning Rain.’ In 2009, the band headlined the ‘Portsmouth Blues Night’ at the ENSKA Club then in early 2010, the band recorded a new album named ‘Down to the Station.’