Mark Newman’s long and auspicious musical journey has seen him playing alongside some of the biggest names in rock, pop, and blues. The singer/songwriter and guitarist has played with The Yardbirds’ Jim McCarty, Bobby Whitlock of Derek and the Dominos fame, John Oates, Sam the Sham, and Sam Moore, among many others. His solo performances have garnered him additional levels of respect, as well, opening for the likes of The Doobie Brothers, David Bromberg, former Eagles guitarist and songwriter Don Felder, and Delbert McClinton, to name a few. His new solo single “Fill the Tank Up” finds Newman tackling material from an outside writer, Chris Armata, but Newman interprets the track as if he penned it himself. The results are memorable.
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The spare musical backing he opts for is ideal for the desperate tone of the song. “Fill Up My Tank” is a track about perseverance when it seems you are on the brink of exhaustion, and the necessity of moving on come hell or high water, and Newman is an ideal vessel for such sentiments. Upright bass from Mike Hall, acoustic guitar, dobro, and finger snaps for percussion from Armata, and Newman’s weathered voice provide the necessary ingredients and you’ll be challenged to say it needs anything more.
The bluesy feel never succumbs to cliché. Armata’s dobro playing doesn’t attempt, even during the instrumental break, to dazzle us with skill but, instead, resolutely serves the song throughout. He’s every bit as steeped in the blues as Newman and it’s a pairing they should revisit on future recordings as they exhibit obvious chemistry. Hall’s unobtrusive pulse and the percussive snap of Armata’s thumb and index finger are all the rhythm section that this track requires. They give “Fill the Tank Up” just the right amount of structure over which the acoustic guitar and dobro can work their magic.
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The lyrics embrace familiar blues imagery, particularly of travel, but there’s a personal quality in Armata’s words that Newman latches onto. Perhaps it’s the timbre of his voice, the whiff of innumerable late nights and roads less traveled, but Newman’s performance embodies the hard-won victory at the heart of this song. It isn’t a downer despite the subject matter. Instead, there’s an exhilarating rush that comes with this song, as it testifies to the endurance of the human spirit. It’s grizzled and real.
Accomplishing this in a little more than three minutes is even more impressive. The compact and laser-focused tenor of the track is a big reason for its success. Armata’s writing and Newman’s performance see no reason to belabor the song’s sentiments and even the instrumental break doesn’t prattle on even one note too long. The naturalness and hard-bitten feel of the cut will win you over if nothing else does. Mark Newman’s “Fill the Tank Up” will do just that, it will give you fuel to travel your own extra mile and leave you wowed by its rugged and ruthlessly authentic expression of the human spirit. Seek it out as soon as possible and you won’t be disappointed.
Garth Thomas