Wildwood Flower
“The one instrumental on the 'Moments of Grace' CD, the extended, 13-minute Wildwood Flower, is classic. Its symphonic, improvisational quality offers the oasis promised in Moments of Grace, and is another tribute, through Cohen's soaring arrangement of this Carter family traditional country song, to the land 'from sea to shining sea.' ” - Rob Goldblum
— Blazer Communications
“'Wildwood Flower' must be one of the most haunting melodies in the American folk idiom, and it's hard to think of a lovelier and more lovingly embroidered version of it than in Cohen and The Spirits 'Thank God For You' cd. I predict it will be played millions of times.” - Seth Lipsky, Editor, The New York Sun
— Review of Cohen and The Spirits "Thank God For You" cd.
“Cohen and The Spririt's 'Thank God For You' cd blends rock, folk, and gospel idioms into a soulful mix of moods and styles, Mark's compelling voice rising above a driving band. My favorite track: an inspired thirteen-minute performance of the Carter Family's Wildwood Flower that Mark plays on a rich-toned vintage Martin guitar. Cohen's atmospheric guitar arrangement is so tasteful and lovely that it made the old mountain song new again.” - Michael Lydon, a founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine
— From reviews of "Moments of Grace" and "Thank God For You"
“Cohen and The Spirits rock cd, 'Moments of Grace', winds through 8 tracks of solid lyrical content, melody, and performance, before launching into an instrumental called 'Wildwood Flower'. The track, a 13-minute tune of travis style effected fingerpicking, is a captured intimate moment from a passionate guitarist. It concludes the album like an after-dinner dessert as it moves trough changed timbres, modes, and dialed-in choruses, flanges, and delays. 'Moments of Grace' - a poetic and endearing CD.” - Website review
— EarBuzz website
“Mark Cohen's rendition of ‘Wildwood Flower' is one of my favorite instrumentals of all times. Cohen takes this classic tune into absolutely mesmerizing realms, then seamlessly returns it to its original simplicity. I'm reminded of the Zen statement, 'Before enlightenment, mountains were mountains and rivers were rivers. During enlightenment, mountains were not mountains and rivers were not rivers. After enlightenment, mountains were mountains and rivers were rivers.' Mark's 'Wildwood Flower' is on one of these mountains, and he brings us on this journey with his masterful performance, taking a simple tune and scaling the heights with it, entering into a transcendent realm, then returning to the main theme. It is truly the musical equivalent of William Blake's line about seeing 'heaven in a wild flower.'” - Jeff Tone
— CD review
“I was blown away when I first heard Mark play his version of Wildwood Flower. He and his band still blow me away whenever I listen to them. Mark is not just a great musician, but a great man with a heart of gold. ” - Cindy Vierra Halverson
— Guestbook comment