Feb 05, 2010 - 04:30 AM

Mike Ruta

PICKERING -- Mark Jackson has been playing music for years, but the release of his fourth album, Early Morning, represents a departure.

While there are the acoustic tunes he’s known for, the Pickering resident has mixed it up with some songs featuring his electric playing, and the record in general has a fuller sound than any of his previous work.

Jackson is getting ready to play some dates in support of Early Morning. And that will take the musician and singer/songwriter across Ontario and to states, including New York and Michigan, for some college gigs. He’s planning a Durham concert or two also.

“People who listen to college radio are generally people looking for something new,” Jackson says. “I didn’t realize that that was a great venue for me. It’s nice to get recognition, even if it’s small.”

You might have caught him at Pickering Ribfest last year. But if you’ve seen him live, it was just Jackson and his acoustic guitar. The electric playing on Early Morning, stylish and kind of dreamy on the title track and downright raunchy on the cynical All You See Is All You Get, and the feel of the record has Jackson leaning toward using guest musicians, a rhythm section and maybe a keyboardist, when he performs at least some of the tracks live.

He clearly has a special fondness for the nostalgic Precious Things, which opens with the lyric, “When I look back on the pages of my youth...”

“It was sitting in the drawer for a while,” Jackson says, adding that it’s so personal he “didn’t want to put it out there” at first.

There’s a live version at the end of the disc.

Early Morning also features two covers, one of the George Harrison-written Beatles’ classic, Something, and, somewhat of a surprise, Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell. And while the latter might make you pause, it’s a natural for Jackson, who maintains the energy of the original while playing it on his acoustic.

“When doing a cover version, if you’re doing it different enough, it is your song,” he says.

Jackson, who started as a bassist and later switched to guitar, plays most of the instruments on the album and wrote six of the eight tunes. He lists himself as “a fan of 80s rock” and counts as influences everybody from The Rolling Stones and The Doors to U2 and Peter Frampton. His voice can easily remind one of Bono’s and while it was tempting to fool around with effects on his voice for some of the tracks, he resisted the urge, listening to those who advised him not to.

Stay tuned for word on his Durham show.

Learn more about Jackson at markjackson.tv and www.myspace.com/markjackson17, where you can listen to Early Morning and order a copy.