CORY MARKS – Sorry For Nothing (2024) *HQ*

With his second full-length album, ”’Sorry For Nothing”, rebel ‘heavy‘ country pop/rock artist CORY MARKS takes up his territory, offering up an unapologetic double-barreled blast of 14 songs, equally divided between arena-rock, and roots country pop-rock.
It’s a blend that’s proven to be a crowd-pleaser for Marks, joining together diverse audiences on tours with Five Finger Death Punch or ZZ Top, while joining Nickelback on the main stage at this year’s Boots and Hearts festival.
Produced by longtime collaborator Kevin Churko and Andrew Baylis, ”Sorry For Nothing” is a welcome sign of unity in a world of divisiveness. The songs are fun, melodic, fusing country with metal / hard rock, rich in melody. Among the guests, we find ex- Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars and Sully Erna of Godsmack on the track ‘(Make My) Country Rock’, among others.

The album opens with the “rock” side of Cory leading the way, ‘(Make My) Country Rock’. 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 songwriting, the best compare / contrast 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 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 CD 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.

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.
Highly Recommended

01 – (Make My) Country Rock (feat. Sully Erna, Travis Tritt, Mick Mars)
02 – Guilty (feat. DL of Bad Wolves)
03 – Whiskey For Sale
04 – Sorry For Nothing
05 – Drunk When I’m High
06 – 17
07 – Fast As I Can
08 – Tough To Be Strong
09 – A Lot Like Me
10 – 1949
11 – Lit Up
12 – Late Night of Drinking Again
13 – (Make My) Country Rock (Harder version)
14 – Learn To Fly (Bonus)

Pre order:
www.amazon.com/Sorry-Nothing-Cory-Marks/dp/B0DB2NMJ8D