Magic City

Helium | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 23, 1997)
• Original Release Date: September 9, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Matador Records
• ASIN: B0000036VZ
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,795 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gives "Prog" Back Its Good Name, March 25, 2003

By 

William F. Parrish "Dante_Mosier" (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic City (Audio CD)

I hope I'm not offending any indie die-hards out there, but "The Magic City" really does remind me of early Genesis in places, with grandiose, madrigal melodies and odd textures abounding. "Lullaby Of The Moths" immedeately comes to mind, with its lush Elizabethan swoon, and "The Revolution of Hearts Pts I and II" practically screams Gabriel-era Genesis, with it's brusque, galloping riff pattern and eight-minute sprawl. This record is a God-send to me because it finally reconciles my lingering love of the old Genesis records that got me through high school with the indie rock that sustained me through my post-adolescent drift. Mary Timony, on the smattering of Helium releases (two LPs, two EPs) and on her two solo records, has become one of my musical heroes, and this brilliant record has taken a prime spot in my collection, right beside "Foxtrot" and "Selling England By The Pound". Now if only Sleater-Kinney would do a riff-rock record about pipers and misty mountains....

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sultry Surrealism for the 21st Century, October 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Magic City (Audio CD)

Helium is one of those bands, much like Throwing Muses during the Eighties, that may never be appreciated by the public until after the fact (ten years after).

"The Magic City" is a lush and cryptic album that should be listened to at night with headphones. The dreamy, pastel imagery of Timony is full of texture and color. It's not just Timony's seductive voice and lyrical power that make this record work, it's the range of influences, from Pavement to King Crimson that seem to drive you along as you listen.

Certainly worth the price of admission.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Under their spell, December 18, 2004

By 

Michael Hanna - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Magic City (Audio CD)

This album is often absent from "Best of the 90's" lists, but it is easily one of the top twenty releases of that decade. Mary Timony transports the listener to her inner fantasy world on this concept album filled with great guitar playing and bizarre medieval instrumentation. The Magic City is surreal, warm, colorful, mysterious, and not without a sense of humor. This is the album that best showcases Mary Timony's talents as both a songwriter and a guitar player. In twenty years, the most creative artists in indie rock will be citing this as a monumental and influential album. Buy this album and listen to it early in the morning as the sun comes up.