Mark Cullen

"In The Moment" is by far the best CD I have purchased in a very long time. If you are searching for music that is written and sung from the heart, music where you can actually understand the words, then this is the CD for you. His vocal abilities along with his guitar playing talent allows the listener a wonderful listening experience. I also very much enjoyed the song, "Starving for Affection". Between the vocals and guitar playing, I found this to be a great duo song. Thank you for sharing your talents! - Jan Ranallo-Pfeifer

There is not one factor of musicianship, talent, songwriting, vocals, etc. missing from the "In the Moment" CD. Everything is there and believe me when I say it’s done with the utmost professionalism. From the first micro second I heard the vocals, I was held hostage. The vocals are extremely strong, clear, vibrant, sensual and what really got to me was that there was emotion behind each note he sang. In my opinion, what makes a truly good singer is one that not only sings with feelings and emotion but has the capability of making the listener feel what he/she is feeling. This is spectacular and outstanding musicianship. There are nine (9) songs on this superb CD, and every song has a meaning and message for all of us. And those tracks that grabbed my heart and soul hard are: Track #1 – ‘All of a Sudden' – this one has some strong vocals, intense musicianship, Excellent!!!……Track #2 – ‘You've Never Looked More Beautiful’ – will make all females feel good-it makes the heart feel sooo good….. Track #3 – ‘High School Days’ – this brought tears to my eyes, a magnificent song.…… Track #9 – ‘In the Moment’ – this is an extremely emotional song to listen to-an excellent and superb title track. Fantastic job Mark!….. I need to mention one special track and that is track #5, ‘Starving for Affection’ This song is sung by Melissa Cullen, who possesses soft, innocent, and excellent vocal tones. Personally I would love to hear more from this artist. The musicianship behind Melissa is crisp, clear and all in the right spot.
The musicianship on this cd is done in such a way that it will become beautiful to the ear and even more beautiful to your heart and soul. It did mine, ever so much. Its been 24 hours since I heard this fantastic cd and I can still hear the lyrics and the tones of the vocals. They just hang in your brain, heart and soul. This cd is so fully packed with emotion, there is no way that you, the listener, will not be touched. In my opinion every one needs to have this cd in their player so do yourself a favor and support this cd by purchasing it at CD baby.com today.
- Muzik Reviewz

This collection of sincere, heartfelt and nostalgic songs has "D-I-Y Home Recording" stamped all over it. And that's a compliment as Cullen fashioned this work virtually by his lone self. There's a strong mid-70s vibe that permeates throughout - so don't be surprised to pick up references to Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Kansas and Pink Floyd in Cullen's solid repertoire.
- Kevin Mathews-Fufkin.com

It is wonderful that one person can make a CD nowadays from his apartment. It sounds like Cullen is a singer/songwriter who has a way with PC recording. He has gotten excellent production that goes beyond the usual guitar and voice combination.
His website says the CD ranges from soft rock to humorous tongue-in-cheek bluegrass to pop/modern folk music. I missed the bluegrass, but the soft rock folk music comes pretty close. It sounds like Christian music, with its many songs about family, but there are no mentions of Jesus, which disqualifies it from that genre.
Cullen writes and performs everything here, except for autoharp and vocals by Melissa Cullen (his daughter) and Mark Defeis on harmony vocals on one song. He gets a full sound based around elementary guitar (mostly acoustic), keyboards, and drums. All the instrumentals were recorded directly to his hard drive. The vocals are solidly done, with Cullen displaying a smooth, strong voice.
The lyrics are all sincere, but with different results. Some are rather pedestrian, as on “You’ve Never Looked More Beautiful” (‘those soft and smiling eyes/shining on my days”). Others are unusual. One highlight is on “High School Days,” where a standard graduation speech is backed by an autoharp. Another song is about James Taylor (!), called “He’s Old Like Me” (“I remember when Baby James used to have hair”).
The pleasing melodies and folk influences done in a smooth fashion should make this CD appeal to fans of James Taylor and other adult contemporary music.
Web site at http://www.IoMusicLtd.com

Dave Howell/SouthBound Beat Magazine
- SouthBound Beat Magazine