Review: Cory Marks – Sorry for Nothing Vol. 1

Better Noise Music (December 6^th, 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

While I would describe myself as a tried-and-true Metal fan who bleeds steel, I do have an affinity for modern Country music. It seemed like all the melodic pop/rock ghost writers of the 80s had moved to Nashville and taken up residency, with the scene producing some truly catchy tracks from various artists.

When I first heard the name Cory Marks, I assumed him to be a country/blues artists and checked out his latest (at the time) single, ‘(Make My) Country Rock’…and I was taken back by what I heard. A perfect mix of both rock and country styles with a beat that compels you to bang your head. A track that features both Travis Tritt and Mick Mars? This sounded unreal to me, and I could not wait to check out more.

Having listened to Cory’s third full length album, ‘Sorry for Nothing Vol. 1‘ I can say this collection is one of the most interesting and refreshing albums I have heard in years. The man knows a melody and his ability to mix the best parts of both genres is impressive.

The album opens with the “rock” side of Cory leading the way. The aforementioned track leads to the dark and heavy ‘Guilty’, with its hedonistic lyrics emphasizing the need for no regrets. Admittedly, it is the type of track that Nickelback specializes in, but when it is performed this well, that is nothing to complain about.

The country element creeps in with ‘Whiskey for Sale’. There is so much to love about this track. The way it utilizes country elements in the verses and then kicks in with a rock bombast chorus is just so damn cool. The double time beat that follows in Verse 2 signifies the increasing decline of the narrator’s mental state and Cory is making you feel all the heartache. Great songwriters make you feel these things. The most well-constructed song on the album.

Speaking of great song-writing, the best compare/contrast I can offer can be found later in the album. Lyrically, my favorite song is ‘1949’, a pure country track that has the feel of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’. Cory tells the story of his grandfather and the cherry red pick-up truck he purchased the Summer he married Cory’s grandmother. Cory restores it and lets his grandfather drive it one last time so the grandfather can reminisce about his dearly departed wife. Incredibly sentimental and moving. The very next song opens the throttle and kicks all sorts of ass! ‘Lit Up’ is fashioned after one of my favorite tracks from Nickelback, ‘Bottoms Up’. It’s pure rock n’ roll with nary a hint of country influence. His ability to switch up genres can leave the listener with whiplash, and that is a compliment. He’s a master at both genres

There is not a bad track on the album, but rather than write a dissertation on why I love all of them, I will focus on a few standouts. While the album bounces between rock and country, Cory introduces another genre with ‘Drunk When I’m High’…Caribbean. Percussion instrumentation from that genre is spread throughout, making it the perfect song to listen to while lying out on a sandy beach enjoying a cool beverage. Then there is the high-energy, recently released single, ‘Fast As I Can’. It’s pure melodic rock bliss with the right amount of country gumption. Cory falls for the perfect girl and will travel far and wide to meet more just like her. We’ve all felt like that at some point in our lives and Cory conveys those feelings perfectly. Finally, while I loved the original version, I have taken an affinity to the heavier version of ‘(Make My) Country Rock – Harder’, which has a more aggressive, thicker rock tone, which has been mixed and pushed up to the foreground.

The only minor issues I have are the following: The album starts out with three great and heavy rock tracks, followed by three that are predominantly country and more mellow. I would have reordered those first six tracks to go back and forth between the genres, as the album does after Track 6. Second, while Cory paints an effective picture in creating stories through music, half of his songs reference drinking. I’m all for singing about drinking, but he goes back to that well a few too many times. Hell, four of the fourteen tracks specifically focus on drinking. I get the whole “right what you know” mentality but a man who writes this good should not limit his song-writing scope.

This is the album Bon Jovi should have made when they constructed ‘Lost Highway‘, and that is coming from a fan who liked that album quite a bit. I also like the band Rascal Flatts but wish they would write and perform more fast track songs. With Cory Marks, my wishes have been fulfilled. How much do I dig this album? Three other albums I was excited to check out were released a few days after I started listening to this album. While checking out the other three releases, I kept thinking about how much I wanted to return and listen to the Cory Marks album. This is an album I will revisit time and time again and never grow tired. A contender for the album of the year. Bring on Vol. 2!

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