A true masterpiece of one-man power pop: 12 songs recorded in a room, as the title makes clear. All the songs are extremely well crafted and do not suffer too much from the synthetic drum beat that underlies them. Indeed, it sounds as if gorgeous melodies popped up in Mark Johnson's head at every turn while he was sitting in his room in Bleecker Street, New York... Mark Johnson I rank with Todd Rundgren at the time of Something/Anything. He is a home studio pioneer. His Mark Johnson and the Wild Alligators album (Applehead Records) bears the imprint of Drew Zingg (Steely Dan), Watne Kramer (MC5) and Richard Lloyd (Television). His home studio was at 18 Cornelia Street, NYC, USA."How does one create three minutes of music that somehow tweaks the soul and seems mysteriously in sync with the most private dreams and longings? On "12 In A Room", Marc Jonson offers an able demonstration of how it's done." Kristine McKenna Self-recorded and produced, Marc Jonson's second album came out in 1992, two decades after his debut, the psych folk/baroque pop masterpiece "Years". "12 In A Room" was another brilliant display of his gift for beautiful pop music, now available on vinyl for the first time. A pop wizard of sorts.