My second album, “Man of Mystery,” drops today. Here is the song page from the HearNow site: https://markmeinero.hearnow.com/man-of-mystery

That’s right. My second album. I released the first, “Walkin’ Downtown,” two years ago.

Wait a second. Some of you who know me, either through my career as a journalist or as a blogger are having a hard time wrapping your mind around the word “album.”

But it’s exactly what you think it is. An album. Of music. Recorded by me. Arranged by me.

Ten songs. Nine of which I wrote. The tenth is a cover of a ’80s hit that I wore out when it was a hit back in the day.

I describe this album as contemporary jazz, but I suspect Miles and Trane and Bird might resent the intrusion. I just wrote what came to my head and recorded it using keyboards and the magic of digital audio workstation software. (I don’t play the trumpet, in case you wonder about that if you listen to this.)

Only one of the songs has lyrics. I sing them. One reason I don’t write lyrics to a lot of songs is that writing lyrics is really hard – something that shocked me since writing a post like this comes relatively easy. 

The other reason is that I’ve discovered that I don’t sing particularly well. You might feel that way after you hear the one track I do sing. Until I can write really good lyrics and have a really good singer sing them, I’ll hold off.

I started working on “Man of Mystery” in December 2024 when I developed my arrangement of “Destination Unknown,” the 1983 hit by the California rock group Missing Persons. I always thought there were some themes in the song that deserved to be drawn out. The result is a track that’s about twice as long as the original.

The other nine songs reflect my moods and my attitudes over the past two years. Music is a great form of expression – even if there aren’t lyrics.

Over the next ten weeks, I’ll detail the mindset behind each song. Hopefully, coupled with the song itself, you can get into my head about whatever it is I’m pondering.

“Man of Mystery” is available to you two ways, both of which are digital. If you want to buy it, you can download the album or individual tracks from iTunes and Amazon Music. The album is $9.90 and each track is 99 cents.

You can also stream it on your favorite music service. These include Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora and YouTube. In fact, if you’re in China, check out the album on Tencent Music Entertainment. As of now, there are more than 20 services carrying “Man of Mystery.”

I’n very proud of this album. I’ve been eager to share it with the world – and now the time is come.

I hope you enjoy it.