Customer Reviews

Deserters Songs

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds." The Soft Boys' "Underwater Moonlight". R.E.M.'s "Reckoning". Mercury Rev's "Deserter's Songs." What do all these albums have in common? They are considered, at least in my mind, the top albums of all time. "Deserter's Songs" is on this list because it just happens to be a masterful, beautiful collage of dream pop, space rock, americana, and alternative rock. It took me nearly a year and a half to realize how incredible this album really is. I remember I bought it on a limb because I heard they were on R.E.M.'s 1999 Fall tour. Being an avid fan of R.E.M., I picked it up and popped it into my CD player. Well, I guess my reaction at the time was probably that of respect, thinking this band was a truly unique one who had churned out a truly unique album. I listened to it for a couple weeks, than casually placed it back into my CD case. Through time, I would occasionally listen to it, becoming a bit more enamored with it every time. Then, around the end of the summer of 2001, nearly two years after I had purchased the C.D., it hit me. This album is groundbreaking and definitely one of my all time top five albums. The brand new albums I bought during this time were ironically being shelved in place of "Deserter's Songs." Why? To put it simply, it's an album I just can't get enough of. From the chilling opener, "Holes", to the experimental sketches that close "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp," the album holds on and never lets go.

The orchestral, eerie opener "Holes" couples Donahue's creepy yet beautiful voice with bowed saws, majestic violins, and the gorgeous flutework of Suzanne Thorpe. A track that sweeps the listener to and fro. Delicate drums, calm acoustic guitar work...it's a sensational opener.

"Tonite it Shows" is a fairy-tale-esque song backed by once again dreamlike violins and flutes, along with Donahue's stunning lyrics. Lines like "The way you were/long before/you were a walking civil war" act like a chilling opposition to the dreamy instrumentation in the song.

"Endlessly" follows with gentle guitar picking, beautiful falsetto choir vocals, and that damn lovely bowed saw. Incorporating "Silent Night" into it just makes it even better.

"I Collect Coins" conjures up an early 1900's nostalgia, with its waltzy piano and vinyl scratches.

"Opus 40." God, what can be said about "Opus 40." Yes it's a single, but it's just to smart to be one. Yes, the slight drumming and majestic orchestrations are heart-wrenching, but Donahue's lyrics are just plain remarkable. "Catskill mansions buried screams/I'm alive she cried but I don't know what it means/somewhere out there across the moonlit sands/There's a line drawn like the lines on her own hand" could quite possible one of my favorite lyrics of all the music I have ever listen to.

The Grasshopper-penned "Hudson Line" is a fun romp that infuses crunching guitar and jazzy mellotron. It also shows that just because Grasshopper is usually confined to his role as a multi-instrumentalist, he can still create some intriguing lyrics like "technicolor raindrops wash gumballs down the drain."

The second instrumental, "The Happy End (The Drunk Room)" acts as a continuation to "I Collect Coins", once again evoking images of 1900's civilization dancing around a spacious ballroom.

"Goddess On A Hiway" is another clever single. Again, lyrically Donahue has hit the mark as he does throughout the album. The simple distinction between "Got Us on a Hiway" and "Goddess on a Hiway" is interesting and provokes some well-deserved beard-stroking. "Goddess" could possibly considered the most straightforward song on the album, even if it is an intelligent single.

"Funny Bird" is wonderful space rock song, starting off slowly with thumping drums and gentle bass. As the song progreses, it builds and builds until if finally explodes into a world of whacked-out guitar and furious bass. A truly excellent track.

"Pick Up if You're There" acts as the closer to the instrumental's story, circa 1900's. If prepares the listener for bombastic closer.

"Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" is perhaps the most radical song on the album, fusing the characteristics of dance with a traditional jazz and rock. Slide gutar, thumping bass, pulsing rythms... it's all there. As the song comes to a tumultous end, the interesting experimental leanings of the group come into place and fiddle around with the listener's ears before coming to abrupt stop.

Well, there you have at, a song-by-song analysis of this masterful piece of music. "Deserter's Song" is not only a great instrumentally, but also lyrically. Donahue's warped lyrics are some of the most uniqe and thought-provoking lyrics I have ever heard. Plus, Dave Fridmann's bass is outstanding throughout the album, particularly on "Funny Bird" and "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp." It took me nearly two years to discover the potential of "Deserter's Songs", and let's just say I'm glad that these guys are around to make music once again so pertinent to not only the music industry, but to the world.

In 1998, Mercury Rev ditched the psychadelic indie-rock and took up this. Featuring experimental pop songs with passion and sadness, Deserter's Songs is the best Mercury Rev record out there. Opening with the magnificent, epic `Holes' which is beautiful and dreamy, all blissful strings and fragile vocals. Equally good is the uplifting dream world of Opus 40, an intoxicating perfect pop song with beautiful melodies and a big chorus. Some of these songs really are beyond words, impossible to describe in mere words, just a mood that only a song could create.

For another standout, seek out `Goddess on A Hiway': a downbeat verse with a simple yet effective tune and rhythmic piano and bass, suddenly rushing into a heartbreaking, epic, huge chorus of `And I know it ain't gonna last', all horns and strings and guitars creating a magnificent, larger than life sound.

These are perfect pop songs: not like horrible pop, but wonderfully experimental and beautiful: uplifting one moment and swimming with sadness the next, sometimes both at once. The horns, flutes and strings provide fantastic accompaniment to Jonathan's distinctive, high pitched, beautifully delicate voice. This could never be the falsetto of Thom Yorke, Chris Martin, or any similar British indie movers and shakers, but is quite clearly his own. Mercury Rev are American, but have more of a fanbase in Britain than in their native country.

In fact, though, this CD is full of old American influences, dug out from the bands' vinyl collections, long forgotten by all others but beautifully restored to life by this band. For proof, check out `The Hudson Line', the only song with lead vocals by guitarist Grasshopper, a driving, rhythmic bluesy track with an intoxicating, jazzy rhythm section and wild saxophone and guitar solos. Or `Tonite It Shows', a dreamy ballad that could have been lifted from any decade in American music between the 40s and the 90s.

Another dreamy track is `Endlessly', with its acoustic guitar arpeggios, choral singing, harp and horns. This sounds like it could have been taken from an old movie soundtrack and is touching. The Funny Bird also opens with the mood of movie music, but the vocals which enter have an effect on them which makes them sound experimental and lend a new mood. The track morphs round and round and is possibly the most ambitious song on the album, featuring huge strings accompaniments, yet also guitars, cymbal crashes and walking bass. This is fantastic stuff.

Stranger still is closer `Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp', beginning with harpsichord, then adding horns and a thudding bass and drum rhythm that could have been taken from a dance track, and country-style acoustic guitar. There is a bit of piano showmanship, and `stomp' describes the track very accurately.

The other three tracks are instrumentals: `I Collect Coins', `The Happy End (The Drunk Room)' and `Pick Up If You're There'. The first two of these both sound like old recordings: `I Collect Coins' being a piano and horn piece that deliberately crackles like an old record and could easily have come out of the 30s or 40s, and `The Happy End' being an unnerving, slightly sinister, somewhat discordant piece, which again sounds very old and is difficult to listen to. `Pick Up If You're There' sounds like modern soundtrack music to a film in a quiet but creepy bit, all sinister keyboard chords and quiet organ, joined by strings about halfway through.

One thing Mercury Rev are brilliant at is creating moods. Even in the instrumentals which lack Jonathan's fantastic lyrics, moods are conveyed and feelings and styles penetrate right into the listener's brain, even if they are difficult to put into words. Mercury Rev can paints soundscapes with their music, a true gift, and here is a CD full of fantastic, beautiful tracks whose feeling shines through. Wonderful. 5 stars.

Mercury Rev are soon to play an "18+ only" show in my area, exactly one week before I turn 18. No, life's never fair. But at least, for consolation, I still have this wonderful album to listen to.

I used to have this problem with this CD. It went like this. I would need to do some homework, and I would put Deserter's Songs on as background music. But before I could get started on the work, I would be drawn in by the haunting strings at the beginning of "Holes". I would sit still, waiting for that magic moment when Jonathan Donahue's voice comes in for the first time. I'd be sitting there staring into space, thinking about how the music sounded like rich dark colors, crimson and sea-blue, and what does he mean when he says "Holes, dug by little moles, angry jealous spies, got telephones for eyes"? Then--oh, the song is over. Time to get some work done.

But then "Tonite it Shows" comes on. I try to work, but mostly I'm kind of staring through the page. I'm concentrating on the lovely changes in the melody. Track 3--"Endlessly". Hmm, interesting-of all the songs with vocals, this is the only one without any water imagery. But it does mention ships, so maybe that counts. This isn't the best song, I think, but it's very pretty. Jonathan really does have a beautiful voice. I smile dreamily.

OK. This next track is an instrumental--"I Collect Coins". Now I can get some work done. But my concentration keeps on wandering to the fact that "Opus 40" is about to start. And the instrumental is short. And then "Opus 40" does start, and I fall over in a panic attack of amazement. Since when is music allowed to be this good?

The guitarist Grasshopper takes over lead vocals on the next track, and it's a nice change. His voice isn't as unique as Jonathan's, but it's good in its own way. Once again, it is impossible to concentrate. Interesting lyrics here--I'm fond of the line "Mercury is falling, yeah who forgot to pray?"

Another instrumental, during which I stare continuously at the same paragraph, debating whether I should really try to read it. But before I can come to a conclusion...oh yes..."Goddess on a Hiway" begins.

If you've heard this track, then you understand. If you haven't, I'm telling you that the album is worth it just for this song. Reading the line "And I know, it ain't gonna last" on paper will never be a substitute for hearing the melody that goes with it. Oh, the power.

You'd think I'd manage to get a little work done, now that the album's best track is over. Wrong. Because they follow it up with "The Funny Bird", a mysterious, atmospheric song with filtered vocals and a storm-at-sea feel. Sometimes I think this song is even better than the preceding one. The first few seconds are incredible--a couple of quick ascending notes on the keyboard, simple and unadorned, suddenly crash into a huge ocean-like wash of sound that remains for the rest of the song. Good stuff.

"The Funny Bird" leads into "Pick Up If You're There", one of the best instrumental songs I've ever heard, and that includes the works of Mogwai, Tortoise, et al. With an extremely sad mood, it's actually just as expressive as the songs with vocals. I chew the pencil as my mind conjures gray-blue images of a dark, lonely house by an ocean.

The last song, "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp", would be okay to do homework by, if it weren't for the fact that it's so darn good and it's kind of happy for a change and I want to dance around the room. Instead, I settle for just sitting there grinning, thinking, "I love this album." I haven't gotten any homework done, and that's okay, man. Mercury Rev exists, and all is right in the world. Yeah.

Now, I've just been describing my reactions during the first few weeks of owning this album. I should also mention that this was nearly my very first exposure to what is often known as indie music (I credit Mercury Rev for permanently altering the direction of my musical tastes, away from the likes of Coldplay, toward the underground and obscure). At the time I'd never heard anything like it, so naturally, it had to seem amazingly good. But, naivete aside, this is still a very strong album, in my opinion. Bear in mind that your individual results may vary.

I've had the CD for several months now, so the initial thrill has worn off somewhat--as it does for all music. Nowadays, of course, I don't die of astonishment every time I hear it, and I've discovered that, besides being excellent music for close listening, it really is very good background music, once you're used to the songs. But I still love the album, yes. It has aged well. It still elicits strong reactions from me. I'm giving it four stars because 1) five stars is reserved for a classic on the level of Modest Mouse's The Moon and Antarctica; 2) I don't want to add to the hype more than necessary; and 3) I'd like it to be a little more...substantial. The first two instrumentals are kind of throwaway, and if it was cut down to just the 5 or 6 best songs, you'd have a really killer EP. But I'm nitpicking. Deserter's Songs is great. Check it out. It'll do you good.

Transforming from a noisey indie guitar band Mercury Rev formed in Buffalo, New York in the late 1990's as a means for creating soundtracks to experimental films that they and their friends where creating. From the earlier distorted pop of the debut Album "Yourself is stream" and 1993's "Boces" they have had something of a reputation for being volatile, with their unpredictable early live performances only exasperating the myth.

Deserters Songs seems more content, they almost seem happy to be alive. It's an Album that penetrates with it's swooning hypnotic wall of sound, drawing you into a dreamy timeless zone.
I've heard many people describe this Mercury Rev effort as Art Rock. Such genre defining statements don't do justice to the instinctive creativity, the trial and error. Music is always over-lit, and it is exactly in the right brain (intuitive) of human activity the Deserters songs works so well. Through dimensional layers of sound Mercury Rev on Deserters songs are attempting to create the space where music carry's no definition and wears no tag. Derserters songs is a clean and polished change in direction with disturbing yet liberating overtones, one of the Albums of the nineties.

Desserter's Songs is a strange, surreal, dreamy soundscape. Dave Fridman works his magic yet again to pull together what must be considered one of the nineties' best produced albums. INdeed, muted horns, strings, and even singing saw come together to create one intoxicating brew. The music is only part of the equation, however, and the coup de grace of Mercury Rev's sound is the unique voice of Johnathan Donahue. Donahue's voice can take some getting used ot, but it really is the perfect accopmaniment to the music. Fittingly, the lyrics are surreal and beautiful, much like the music in which they are immersed. When Donahue sings lines like "well she tossed all nightlike a raging sea / Woke up andclimbed from the suicide machine" it is oddly moving. There really inn't a weak song on the album, but "Holes", "Tonight it Shows", "Funny Bird", and the rollicking "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" must be considered highlights. This is an album tobe experienced rather than simply listened to: dreamy, surreal, and cathartic.

I purchased "Deserter's Songs" about 3 months ago along with about ten other CD's. (Flaming Lips, Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Negativland, Zappa, Pavement...and so on.) Well...as fate would have it, I listened to every other CD I bought about 200 times collectively as opposed to the ONE time I listened to "Deserter's Songs." Well, for some reason I snaked "Deserter's Songs" from the pile of 30 next to my computer, popped it into my CD drive, and found myself grateful for doing so. This CD seems to have a linear "build up", the crescendo being the last track, "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp"; a downright toe tapper!! The CD's denouement is a hidden track that has a decidedly "Bugs Bunny meets 'Old Man and the Sea'" motif. Quite a great CD! Recommend it to your Bjork loving friends! Hell, recommend it to everyone...It's not THAT far out! (hence the four star rating.)

Once in a while, an album comes along that suddenly finds itself occupying the space in your car, home, and work CD player. Before I found this album, Radiohead's OK Computer was it. And before that, King Crimson's Discipline (Ok, so I am a little outdated. Great music has no time limit!). I own Yerself is Steam and Boces, two previous efforts by Mercury Rev. These guys must have attended some group counseling sessions or given up their lives as bank robbers to procure a life of religion. Talk about growing up and seeing the other side! This is a full-range album, straddling the high wire of life, from deeply regretful (The Funny Bird) to outright raucous (Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp). Let this album play in the background at first; don't be quick to try to "see" what I am talking about. Let it be absorbed. After a week or two of constant playing, try and figure out what Jonathan is exactly trying to say. You'll be glad you did.

A timeless classic of astronomical proportions. It's been 5 weeks since I've first heard this album; I was choked up with emotion then and still choke when I hear it now. An absolutely beautiful piece of work. I can't understand anyone who doesn't like this art. Mind boggling, Amazing!

Exhibiting uncanny melodic ability and wrapping their "songs" in a musical framework that's all frills and garland, Mercury Rev have forged a kind of alternative music that sounds like it was created a century ago. But beneath the sheer orchestrations lie sombre, irony-tinged word-plays that are a little dense at first, but reward fully in the long run. "The Funny Bird" has grand orchestral flourishes (and the distanced, timid-sounding voice works astonishingly well given the context)while "Hudson Line" (about riding a commuter train) adds great sax accents and a cool, metronomic shuffle-beat that creates the perfect visual. Comparing it to anything would do no justice to them or the compared object. But if you enjoy pop music filled with ideas and thought, image and structure, then these pieces (they're more than songs) will always amaze.

If Brian Wilson and John Lennon had co-written a record and allowed Tom Waits to produce it, Deserter's Songs is what it might sound like. It has a retro feel but the songs themselves are haunting, repetative, and shimmer in the distance. I guess the musical saw is a cliche, but I haven't heard too much of it, and I think that here it works. However, if you are expecting rock and roll, go far elseware. This has more in common with classical leider and Brecht-Weil songs than it does Indie rock.