Customer Reviews

Mercury

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Yes, this might not be for everybody, I'll admit it took me years to "get" some of the tracks on this album. But patience leads to a lifetime of joy with this record. The production is fantastic. Remember when music sounded like it was made by real people playing real instruments made of wood and metal? This is it. Lyrically stunning. Instrumentally beautiful and powerful. Give it a chance and let it into your psyche. A lost classic.

Mercury is an album that I cannot seem to take out of my cd player. I want to because of the fear of burning out on it, but it's such an addictive album, that you never want it to stop. This is AMC's masterpiece. Everclear is a much more harrowing affair, and while this album is no walk in the park, the songs take on a much more metaphorical style than they did on Everclear. Eitzel is in top form here. The whole band is absolutely fantastic on this, especially Vudi, whose guitar playing boggles the mind, with sheets of noise and delicate finger picked solos. I have never heard another guitarist play something like the Challenger (maybe My Bloody Valentine), but to be able to make a wall of sound guitar part along with lyrics, and make it into a somewhat normal format is groundbreaking. But back to Eitzel's lyrics. Every line on this album is amazing. To me, his words on this album are like the musical equvialent of Burroughs Naked Lunch. Everytime I read through Naked Lunch, or any of the other cut ups, they begin to make more and more sense, until i finally grasp the basis of the story. Mercury is much like that. With every repeated listen, more and more is understood and discovered. The overall tone of the album is very lost at sea sounding. If you were to be out in the middle of the ocean on a boat, with no one around(I guess like the cover of Eitzel's 60 Watt Silver Lining) this album would fit the mood perfectly. But unfortunately, there are no oceans near me, so I am reduced to sitting in my bedroom, lights of, the blue fluorescent glow of my cd player filling the room, and the first few notes of Gratitude Walks playing, sending me into a musically euphoric state. But once you get this album, you won't be able to stop playing it. It won't leave your cd player. Honestly.

Simply put, when I'm in a sad mood, Mark Eitzel is my favorite songwriter. When I'm in a better mood, it is probably Bruce Cockburn (though Bruce has albums and songs to fit any mood). While my moods may be simple, the comfort and intoxication I've found in Mark's musical offerings throughout the years has been anything but. I have all of Mark's albums (either made with Vudi and the gang in AMC, or on his own since breaking up the band) and this one, "Mercury," is the best. "Mercury" establishes an atmosphere nothing short of rapturous. This album definitely requires multiple listenings to fully appreciate the musical and lyrical nuances. Musical angst and release are here perfected. Yes, Mitchell Froom's production brought out the best in these songs. "Mercury" was, in fact, the first AMC record to be truly well-produced. "San Francisco" ended up being the only other. Don't get me wrong, though; while the production on the earlier AMC album "California" was anemic, it is still my second or third favorite AMC album -- studio dollars do not a great album make. But American Music Club is not Guided by Voices (the absolute deities of lo-fi), so the production is nice. There may be a few of you out there who have only heard Mark Eitzel's solo albums. If so, get readied to be floored -- his best AMC albums outshine (or outdark?) any of his solo albums.

Why would I write a review on Amazon for a CD that's fifteen years old? Because I still love this album with the ardor that seized me when I first heard it, that's why: I moved recently, and (as I do with every move) I made sure that I could get my hands on this CD at a moment's notice. I don't care that everything's digital now (though as of this writing, I still don't own an iPod), I don't care that CDs now cost about as much as the plastic they're made from--you're still going to have to pry this from my cold dead fingers. On the other hand, it's good to know I can get a replacement quickly and cheaply should I somehow manage to play my copy into the ground (a distinct possibility!).

Ah, but why do I love this record so? What makes it so special, so distinct, so unique? I looked at the other five-star reviews here (there are several!), and pretty much everyone else says what I believe: the lyrics are exceptional, the instrumentation is unique and refined, the vocals capture Eitzel at his best--this is just a true musical gem. And in a way, its obscurity works in its favor, as it hasn't been played into the ground by radio stations or fashionable boutique stores.

So do yourself a favor, spend the five or six dollars or whatever, and have someone send you their copy. You won't be sorry.

And if anyone from the band or the label is reading this: if you re-release this, I will buy it again. Probably more than one, so I can share it with people--you know, like back in the days when everything wasn't downloaded in mp3 format onto iPods & whatnot. Call me old fashioned.

(One last thing: this is *not* "nineties rock"--this is TIMELESS music, friends.)

for me is this clearly their best album. i think it is largely due to froom's production. the audio space and quality really gives weight to eitzels lyrics and the great texture of his voice.

i'm deserately searching (for years now) for an album as good (contemplative, musically good, lyrically, soft and hard both at times) for a long time now.

Brilliant album. Ranks with "Automatic for the People" (REM), any Red House Painters disc, and even the elegiac but life affirming output of the venerable Cat Stevens and James Taylor.
I simply wish the Club was still active. At least Eitzel is still grinding out remarkable melancholy.

SF mopesters AMC were one of those bands that could be anything from wincingly embarrassing to mesmerizingly sublime. This record comes as close to their fabled "on" nights as any of their recordings. The songs are magnificent, the playing is dead-on (particularly Tim Mooney's cliche-free drumming) and the Tchad Blake and Mitchell Froom production is astonishing-- I've never heard a compact disc sound so deep and rich. I've had this record since it was made, and I never tire of it. It takes a few listens to get used to, but the rewards for giving it a chance are great. A genuine treasure.

This album gets better with every listen. This was AMC's first major label debut and by all accounts it was a commercial failure. It's just as well! The general public doesn't deserve music this gorgeous. Everything from the oddball Mitchell Froome production to the devastating songwriting is absolutely perfect. I can't praise this one enough. I like all the AMC catalog but this one will always be my favorite.

I love this album, one of my top 5 faves. If you only get one AMC album, make it this one... but you should make it two, and also get Everclear.

Everybody talks about AMC's masterpiece being Everclear, but I think that Mercury is far superior in terms of the music: much more hip and exploratory. For me, Everclear had a bit of a paint-by-numbers, nothing-all-that new feel to it and I was especially put off by the one honky-tonkish number on it (track 5 if I remember correctly). Mercury has a much more exploratory, experimental feel to most of it. Nits: The instrumental/pseudo-minlmialist FILLER that occupies track 13 and the somewhat corny folk feel of the last track. Not a masterpiece but worth checking out!