How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Value for Money
Advantages:
Psychedelic and beautiful songs
Disadvantages:
Dodgy Sax Solos
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
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 Island Cyclone). Their old vocalist wasn't very good and while Jonathan Donaghue may not have the strongest voice, it is beautiful and endearing to listen to.
The album opens as it means to carry on, with the sprawling epic 'Holes'. Often a string section is a very lazy and ineffective way of trying to make an average song 'epic', but you cannot level that sort of criticism against Rev. The slow tempo of the opener is picked up a little with the next two tracks, the ponderous 'Tonite It Shows' and the waltzy 'Endlessly'. This is beautiful psychedelic music. 'I Collect Coins' is a perfectly timed diversion, sounding like the soundtrack to a silent movie.
The next track is quite simply one of the most beautiful and inspiring pieces of music you will ever hear. 'Opus 40' is indescribable in its magnificence, so I won't bother and just tell you to put it on a stereo very loud and sit back and let the music play.
'Hudson Line' is my least favourite song, due to the inclusion of the saxophone, an instrument which I detest. It is otherwise quite nice, but sounds just a little out of place being written by the humorously named Grasshopper. It's by no means a bad song, just relatively poor in such rich company. Another silent movie soundtrack comes and goes, but the next track can almost compete with 'Opus 40' as it's another classic. 'Goddess On A Hiway' could have been written by the Gods themselves (if they existed!).
The last few tracks can't really stand up to some of the others until we get to the final burst. A song with a quick tempo, uplifting and quite mad really; 'Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp' is a great way to finish the album. So different to the other songs, yet it fits right into place. The final bonus track sounds like music from a Tom & Jerry cartoon and lets the mind think up a cartoon of its own. And then it's all over...
'Deserters' Songs' is a special album. Whatever Mercury Rev release in the future will always be measured against this album. I more than urge you to fork out for it if you are insane enough to have resisted thus far. If you've already got it I suggest you delve into the very similar Flaming Lips or try Elliott Smith or Super Furry Animals.
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