Customer Reviews

Mercury (featuring Carter Beauford and Dave Matthews)

5 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Besides giving me his wonderful gift of his own music, Dave Matthews has opened the door to a whole section of music that I was missing out on. Upon entering graduate school at UVa I've made the journey to the downtown mall a handfull of times to check out John D'earth at Miller's. I had always heard about this magical musical place, and let me tell you they were right, John, and Dawn Thompson, and Jamal Milner, and Greg Howard, all the names I had heard so many great things about, are just that, they're great great musicians. Thursday nights have never been so fun. This new record features some incredible jazz, I can't turn off Moment by Moment or Ether. You can feel Carter the whole record, his explosive percussion is a phenomenal backing to this record. For the Dave fan in me the haunting lead on Copeland's Darkness is very cool. Both the Live Thursday Night and Mercury records have taken their place alongside the rest of my expansive DMB collection on the top shelf. Explore these musicians and these two records, you won't regret it.

Some people think that jazz has already reached its peak and that it's been steadily declining since the 1960s. These people have not listened to Thompson D'earth. "Mercury" is a great example of how Jazz Fusion is the wave of the future. These guys blend swing, bebop, Free and avant-garde, creating not your typical type of jazz. They keep your foot tapping and your mind guessing. To fuse it even more they throw in a splash of pop rock with the angelic voice of Dave Matthews on Copeland's "Darkness", and Carter Beauford on drums throughout the entire album.
This album has become a permanent fixture in my cd player, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys good music. If you want to go a little more raw, check out "Live at Millers" - you'll be blown away.

Now, I'm into Jazz. I appreciate Jazz as an art form and enjoy its merits. I bought this album, and it is horrible. Here was an ablum featuring one of the motivating musical forces in the life of Dave Matthews and a taste of the music scene in Charlottesville, VA. Who wouldn't be interested? Sadly, what I experienced as I listened was pretentious, badly written "jam jazz." The tracks could not even be saved by the incredible talent of Carter Beauford on percussion, whose abilities seemed "caged" throughout. Don't buy this CD expecting Matthews' minimal involvement and Carter's talent to make it a good CD, because it isn't. Don't waste your time on this one.

All I can really say is WOW. Words cannot express the pleasure my mind endured while listening to this album. This is one that cannot be described, you must listen for yourself ~ you will not be disappointed!