Signs Of A Dying Love CD

Following the release of their eponymous debut album on Mercury in 1973, sugary-sweet soul quartet Mark IV headed into the studio with Donald Shaw and Otis Brown Jr to record a sequel. The album never materialized, and until recently was considered one of soul's long-lost gems. In fact, Shaw and Brown Jr simply put the master tapes in storage. Now, thanks to Cordial Recordings, Mark IV's near mythical second album is finally appearing in stores. Signs of a Dying Love is typically beautiful and heart-felt, with the quartet's harmony vocals soaring above impeccably played and produced backing tracks that variously touch on sun-kissed soul-jazz, horn-fuelled dancefloor funk, Philadelphia soul and saucer-eyed slow jams. If you dig soul, it should be an essential purchase.