The Coroner's Gambit

Mountain Goats

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 7, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 17, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Absolutely Kosher
• ASIN: B00004Z45F
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,185 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Like Food, February 7, 2003

By	S J Watson (Hamilton New Zealand) - See all my reviews

Not only is John Darnielle a thoroughly nice guy, but he's currently making some of the most literate and emotive music under the radar. Look, lets be honest if you like your records with industrial strength studio polish and nary a bum note or fluffed string in sight, then this isn't for you. If you understand the idea that humans make mistakes, and that trying to erase your mistakes, and attain perfection only makes you less human, than welcome to what will become one of the soundtracks to your lives...the honest, the witty, the tender, the empathetic and just plain bloody wonderful Mountain Goats.
Too many great tracks on this one to mention. Just listen.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More amazing pop songs, November 21, 2000

By	Nicholas Hennies (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Don't ask me why, but for some reason I never get tired of the Mountain Goats. All of his songs are more or less the same, but I just can't get enough.

However, this new album actually DOES have some new elements to it. Most notably, the drums on 2 or 3 of the songs. They're minimal, but still, it's something I never thought I'd hear on a Mountain Goats record.

The songs themselves are some of his best ever. It even rivals "Full Force Galesburg" as my favorite Mountain Goats record. "The Alphonse Mambo" alone is worth the price of the album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The essential Mountain Goats album, July 3, 2007

By	James Maxey "James Maxey" (Hillsborough, NC United States) - See all my reviews

For new listeners to the Mountain Goats, an important thing to understand is that there are two distinct Mountain Goat eras. The first is often called "lo-fi." These include such albums as Sweden, All Hail West Texas, Zipolte Machine, and collections like Ghana. Most of these albums are recorded on a boom box, with John Darnielle solo on vocal and guitar, and the occasional accompaniment of one or two other artists. The second era is the studio era initiated with Tallahassee, growing in complexity with We Shall All Be Healed, and reaching its artistic pinnacle with The Sunset Tree. Straddling these two eras stands "The Coroner's Gambit."

On Gambit, John has reached full maturity as a lyricist. Songs such as The Alphonse Mambo, Baboon, and Family Happiness show a depth of imagery and complexity of emotions that rival those of the Sunset Tree. And, it's difficult to listen to Trick Mirror without concluding that this song is as much about his abusive childhood as the Sunset Tree song Up The Wolves.

Musically, the stark folk sound of his early albums is giving way to the rock tracks of later works. Jaipur, the lead track, is full of punk rock energy, yet full of religious images that raise it above standard pop fair into the realm of the profound. Yet, most of the tracks on this album are recorded on a boom box, and the raw, low-fi sound gives this album an urgency and immediacy that his later, more polished work never quite captures.

For a glimpse of the best of both Mountain Goat eras, and as a fine, stand alone work dealing with death and loss, Coroner's Gambit is, I think, the essential Mountain Goats album.