Customer Reviews

Circa

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw Mary's Danish open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers twice in 1989, and was blown away by them. I subsequently bought their CD "There Goes the Wondertruck", which was as energetic and fun as their shows. In September of 1991 I purchased Nirvana's "Nevermind" and Mary's Danish "Circa". Too this day in 1999 "Circa" is the album I listen to most often. Mary's Danish should have been one of the great bands of the 90's. Alas, they were shafted royally by Morgan Creek Records, and to make a long story short they were forced to break up to escape their contract. There is a compelling article in one of the March or April issues of L.A. Weekly about how the industry treats acts poorly, and Mary's Danish was the feature of the story. I am angered that us fans were denied the joy of listening to this band because of Byzantine record label politics. The only thing that keeps me from purchasing their final album, "American Standard", is that none of the band will see one penny of royalties. People should know what happened to Mary's Danish. They didn't flame out. Rather, they were snuffed out.

You don't hear albums like this one every day. On _Circa_, Mary's Danish shows both that they know their roots and that they're unafraid to reach in new directions. Many songs start off one way, then change direction radically, either gradually or all at once. Despite this, the numbers hang together as whole compositions, and none of them lose the listener in self-indulgent noodling (though the musicians do prove they possess at least as much technical ability as your average 'progressive rock' band). Some of the songs are a great deal of fun, such as their drastically rearranged cover of Hendrix's "Foxey Lady" (which bursts into a note-for-note rendition of the bridge from Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused" before bringing it all back home). On the other hand, many songs are quite sad and bitter, and it's on these numbers that the group's two female vocalists truly show their mettle. "Hoof" is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, and has brought tears to my eyes on several occasions, as has "Beat Me Up". In short, this is a very good album, and if not for the presence of a few songs that are a bit too derivative of mainstream 'alternative'-labeled music, I would give it five stars. But "Hoof" is worth the price of the CD all by itself.

One of my all-time favourite albums. Should have been huge. Catchy as hell, musically ambitious, sweet sweet vocals..... I can't believe this band didn't take-over the world. WORTH HUNTING DOWN AT ANY COST.

Well M. Danish is a surfing icon band to me, I first listenned them at the "Billabong" Pump surfing video, it was 1990, whatever.
What a incredible CD to make a long distance journey or that airport wasting hours...
Try the other CD's too. It's hard to find a band with "same" level CD's. "there goes the wondertruck" is great too...
"Hellflower" is a quite perfect song for that after "something" you want.

If you're a big fan of sing-songy music w/lots of jangly guitars, this one is sure to please. It's not bad, just not my cup of tea.