American Standard

Mary's Danish | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 29, 1995)
• Original Release Date: September 8, 1992
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Morgan Creek
• ASIN: B0000042N0
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,564 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Killjoy

2. God Said

3. Underwater

4. O Lonely Soul, It's a Hard Road

5. Weeping Tree

6. Porcupine

7. Leave It Alone

8. The Living End

9. Ode to a Life

10. My Dear Heretic

11. Shotgun

12. Gotcha Covered

13. Sister Shade

14. I Fought The Law And The Law Won

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From a much-missed band....., March 15, 2001

By 

Sir Grand Citizen (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Standard (Audio CD)

This is a wonderful album, full of deep emotion and stirrings of the soul. While Mary's Danish had created two other full masterpieces prior to this, "AMERICAN STANDARD" really stands as a testament to thier incredibly strong songwriting abilities.

A much-missed band, this. They had the sound, the look, and a pretty strong fan-base..... Be sure to get this, and keep an eye open for "There Goes The Wondertruck", "Circa", and Julie Ritter's "Songs of Love and Empire" as well.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Has It Really Been 13 Years???, February 20, 2005

By 

Rob K (Encinitas, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Standard (Audio CD)

I did a double take when I saw that release date, wow, no wonder I miss Mary's Danish so much. I have all three of their releases on cassette, and who listens to cassettes anymore? I've tried to find their music on the internet to no avail, and may have to consider purchasing the CDs here on Amazon. They're such a superb band (were, anyway) that it would be worth it for sure.

If I weren't a surfer I probably never would have heard of Mary's Danish. A surf filmmaker named Jack McCoy put a couple of their songs - off their debut 'There Goes the Wonderstruck - in a video he put out 15 years ago or so. The music just jumped out of the film, as original as it was catchy and addictive. After buying and loving that album I got Circa, their second release, which I think is a brilliant album. It has the feel of a concept album, large in scope, but it's just a great listen all around with many great tracks. And finally, there came what would prove to be their final release, American Standard.

With American Standard, Mary's Danish got seemingly more serious about their music. The album has a stronger, more intense feel than the previous two. Songs like Underwater - an adrenaline pumping song if there ever was one - are perfect examples. Right from the opening track, Killjoy, you get a sense of Mary's Danish's style of songcraft. Edgy, hooky, powerful, and raw. One of the most unique facets of the band is its pair of female lead singers, and what singers they are. Two beautiful screeching (roaring, perhaps) women fronted this band very handily for the years that they were around. How many bands can boast that?

I remember back when this album came out they actually got a shot on Letterman, who was then on NBC, and funny. If memory serves me they played Killjoy, and rocked it. In retrospect I suppose it looked like Mary's Danish were about to take off, to have some financial success approaching the creative success they had achieved in the studio for years. But alas, it was not to be. The reasons why are a mystery to me, I'm not one to keep up with the gossipy details about why bands split up or get back together or do whatever they do. I only know that Mary's Danish is gone, and they've been gone for a very long time. Shame...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sets the Standard, March 5, 2003

By 

Greekfreak (Pusan Korea (South)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Standard (Audio CD)

I took a chance on this album the year it was released, after hearing so much about their (major label) debut "Circa". With so much critical acclaim, I was initially skeptical; I generally am where critics are concerned. But after further listenings, the band's influences mattered less than the total product, which turns out to be one of the top ten best albums of the 1990s.

Their influences range from Hendrix to the Go-Go's, but this isn't a novelty retro pastiche. Some of the numbers ('God Said', 'Underwater') suffer from lack of conviction, but 'Killjoy', 'Weeping Tree', and 'Porcupine' take the plunge and show that the band isn't afraid to rock out sensibly.

For the best song Jane's Addiction never wrote, check out 'Sister Shade'. It's epic in its scale, and the freshest thing written in all of 1992.

It's not original, but it's entirely unique in its field. The same can be said about "Everything Must Go" by the Manic Street Preachers (another essential 90s album). 'There Goes The Wondertruck' and 'Circa' are fine, and you can't go wrong by purchasing them, but if you don't own this album, then your collection is far from complete.