Gary Marks is opening another chapter of his extensive archive with the release of “Sky High” and “The Real World”, two songs drawn from previously unreleased albums recorded decades apart and now emerging alongside his 2026 compilation album Crossroads.
by Paul Cashmere
American singer-songwriter Gary Marks has released “Sky High”, a song recorded for his unreleased 2007 album A Whisper Can Change The World, while also unveiling “The Real World”, the title track from another previously unheard album dating back to 1988. Both songs arrive in the wake of his recent album Crossroads, released via Lantern Heights Records and selected as an official Record Store Day 2026 release.
The releases provide further insight into a body of work that has remained largely unheard outside Marks’ close circle for decades. While Crossroads gathers recordings spanning from the mid-1970s through to the 2020s, the appearance of songs from previously shelved albums sheds light on an unusually prolific songwriter who continued writing and recording despite stepping away from the traditional music industry model.
“Sky High” features Marks on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, with Mike Moroney on bass and Greg Donscov on drums. The track was mixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Jim Scott, whose credits include work with Tom Petty, Wilco and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
According to Marks, the sessions for A Whisper Can Change The World began with the title song, inspired by a television news report about a river in Ohio catching fire.
“I was in disbelief. How could water catch fire?” Marks said.
The album’s creation then stalled while Marks focused on raising his three young children. He said the songs eventually arrived in rapid succession.
“Every day after that I wrote a song. That happened seven nights in a row. Suddenly, I had an album.”
Marks recorded the project at a friend’s small studio before unexpectedly securing time with Scott in Los Angeles. The mixer had only three days available after sessions with Matchbox Twenty were delayed.
“I flew to L.A., walked into his amazing studio, and had one of the most extraordinary musical experiences of my life,” Marks said.
The newly released “The Real World” comes from an album recorded in markedly different circumstances. The track features guitarist Stef Burns, who has worked with Alice Cooper and Narada Michael Walden, and backing vocals from Bonnie Hayes, Teresa Trull and Vicki Randall. Marks wrote and performed the song’s music and lyrics and also contributed lead vocals, guitar and piano.
He said the album came about through an unexpected friendship. After teaching a university music student named MaryAnn free piano lessons for more than a year, he later received a phone call informing him she had become an engineer at San Francisco’s Alpha Omega Studios.
“Are you willing to record at odd hours if I can get you a good rate?” she asked him.
When Marks inquired about the cost, she replied, “Zero dollars an hour. Just show up, I dare you.”
“That’s how I recorded The Real World for free,” Marks said.
The emergence of these recordings offers additional context to Marks’ unconventional career. He first surfaced during the 1970s with albums including Gathering, Upon Oanda’s Wing and Thoughts Of Why, recordings that featured musicians who later became influential figures in jazz and contemporary music, including John Scofield, Paul McCandless, Art Lande, David Samuels and Mark Isham.
Those albums were subsequently reissued multiple times in Europe and Japan and developed a following among collectors. Yet after 1978, Marks largely disappeared from public view despite continuing to write and record. According to his catalogue history, he completed eight additional full albums that remained unreleased and undistributed for decades.
Across his work, Marks has consistently explored themes of democracy, environmental responsibility, cultural change, compassion and personal conscience. Those subjects have taken on renewed relevance in contemporary social and political discourse and give additional resonance to material written years earlier.
Crossroads, released in April for Record Store Day 2026, acts as both an introduction and a retrospective. The collection assembles fourteen songs in chronological order, tracing Marks’ songwriting from 1976 through to the present day and providing a rare overview of a songwriter whose career unfolded largely outside conventional commercial pathways.
Crossroads Tracklisting
Castles
Words / Reflections
The Love We Take
For Molly’s Sky
The Elemental Line
Every Man
Signs
Thoughts Of Why
Schoolyard Shadows
The Grace To Be
Looking Glass
I Guess It Never Stops
A Whisper Can Change The World
Crossroads
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first-Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
Bluesky
Instagram
X (Twitter)
