Deserter's Songs - Mercury Rev

Advantages: The Only Desert Island Disc You'll Ever Need.
Disadvantages: Blast, There's A White Liner In The Distance.

...And right out of the blue came Mercury Rev. Nearly men, who had crafted several flawed albums, until the magical opus that is 'Deserters Songs' reared its head. Add this album to their unforgettable intimate live performances and Mercury Rev rightfully hold pride of place on the a-list of innovative artists. I've always liked 'Boces', one of Mercury Rev's previous albums, because it was it was full of brilliant half ideas. What it lacked in focus, it made up in energy. Songs like 'Something For Joey' will always hold a special place in my heart. 'Deserters Songs' is a different proposition altogether, however. Where Mercury Rev once fumbled (with some success) in the dark, they now provide the bright lights for an art form in serious need of reinvention. 'Holes' kicks off proceedings in reflective mode. Lacking a distinct beat... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Psychedelic and beautiful songs
Disadvantages: Dodgy Sax Solos

...To be perfectly honest, I didn't have a clue who Mercury Rev were until 'Deserters' Songs' was released. Even then it took about Four months of the NME waxing lyrical about them to convince me to buy the CD. I never usually trust the NME, but as I chanced to see the inspiring 'Goddess On A Hiway' on Irish TV station TV3 one morning, I was blown away (no not literally!) by it and knew it had to be my next purchase. Today, almost 2 years later, it still gets regular spins on my CD player. Mercury Rev are not the most high profile of bands. They rarely get radio air-play or their videos on MTV. Therefore you should be pretty assured that they must be pretty good and they just get on with making great music. And that's what they do. Their earlier work I have only sampled by way of Napster and it sounds a bit dodgy to me (besides Coney... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: strange beauty
Disadvantages: Theramins!

...I have all the previous Mercury Rev albums which were jazzy, dissonant, chaotic and at times, unlistenable. Throughout them all however there was a core of brilliance. In 'Deserters Songs' Mercury Rev have managed to bring their distinctive sound into the mainstream. The highpoint of the album for me is the song 'Endlessly' which is based around the tune of 'Silent Night'! It also includes the classic single 'Goddess on a highway'. Overall the songs have a dreamlike quality but always with an edge of strangeness. This allows the album to hang together as a coherent entity and contributes to the reasons that it is (rightly) aclaimed as one of the best albums of the late 1990s.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful