20,000 Streets Under the Sky

Marah | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Yep Roc Records
• ASIN: B0002ABTT4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,082 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The fourth album from Philadelphia’s Marah and their first for Yep Roc, "20,000 Streets Under the Sky" is, by their own estimation, the album Dave & Serge Bielanko have always wanted to make. With songs about (in Serge’s words)"pigeons, cocaine, pizza, young love, bullets in the head, transvestites, a beautiful little baby, and the strange optimism one might feel watching jets take off in the evening at Newark Airport. "Streets" follows the Bielanko brothers’triumphant return to the road, energized by a dynamic new lineup (featuring Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster, multi-instrumentalist Kirk "the Barber" Henderson and lap steel whiz Mike "Slo-Mo" Brenner). This is the sound of a band gleefully taking their lives back into their own hands — or as Serge puts it, "I guess you could say "20,000 Streets Under the Sky" is our love letter to people everywhere who, just like us, keep waking up everyday hoping to turn it all around...." Digipak.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Rock Album Of The Year..., August 7, 2004

By 

Thomas Ruttan (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 20,000 Streets Under the Sky (Audio CD)

I'd never heard Marah before picking up 20,000 Streets Under the Sky. It took a few listens before I realized how great this album is. Why the geniuses at Rolling Stone can go on promoting musical wonders such as Brittney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and Nickleback and then badmouth an honest and literate rock band like Marah is beyond me. If you have any integrity you should stay away from low-grade magazines like RS that celebrate and promote music for stupid people.
This album is exellent - best I've heard all year so far. Pick up a copy, give a few listens to sink in, and then reap what you've sown. You're going to make a lot of mistakes during the course of your life but purchasing '20,000 Streets Under The Sky' won't be one of them.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why aren't their more band like Marah?, July 20, 2004

By 

M. Kunkle (Leesburg, New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 20,000 Streets Under the Sky (Audio CD)

Rolling Stone started commenting on this band by saying "a couple of guys from Philly trying to hard to be country", this was in reference to their masterpiece debut record "Let's Cut The Crap and Hook Up Later On Tonight". This time around, on their fourth release "20,000 Streets Under The Sky", Rolling Stone exclaims the band is trying to hard to sound like Philadelphia. ZZZzzzzzzzzzz, does anyone still buy this rag?

First of all, what is wrong with trying hard?

I for one, appreciate the effort...street sounds...in depth lyrics and layered production the band offers up. 20,000 Streets puts Marah right back where they need to be...in the hearts and minds of their fans. With lyrics as original as "They call me Soda cause when I was a baby, my mother was so young that soda was all she gave me. It made me sickly so that's why I shake like I'm scared or something but Hanna, I ain't", their characters breathe life into every track. While this album is a far departure from "Float Away", the band continues with a fair amount of cohesiveness from album to album. They started with a scrappy down home sound (Let's Cut the Crap), leaped into action and straight out of bounds with the stunning "Kids in Philly", followed the alternative radio oriented sound into "Float Away" and came back with "20,000 Streets Under The Sky" - an album that seems to combine all three album tendencies together and takes you down a path you want to wear out so bad the grass never grows again.

Second, what is wrong with Philadelphia?

Lot's of amazing music came from this city. From 50's do-wop to the 70's Quiet Storm sound, this city has always been loaded with talent and ingenuity. Not to mention...the discovery of electricity itself and the creation & signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Well I declare RS to be BS. There is nothing wrong with a little self-discovery and true self-discovery takes time and effort, something Marah has had all along. A band who isn't afraid to experiment & try out different styles, but also knows when to come home.

This is just round 4, and Marah has enough to go all 15.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Album of the year, December 9, 2004

By 

Mark A. Gilbert "(clever nick name)" (Orange County) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 20,000 Streets Under the Sky (Audio CD)

I first heard this album while interning at British music mag Big Cheese. From the very first song I knew this album was special. There is no band around quite like Marah, for the life of me I can't figure out why it doesn't get radio play. With all the crap being released it's nice to see someone can get it right. If I could only own one album, this would definately make the final cut.