Mercy: Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy

Ours | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 15, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: American
• ASIN: B00133KDWS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,242 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

out of print and hard to find

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing., April 15, 2008

By 

Ash Ryan (Salt Lake City, Utah) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mercy: Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy (Audio CD)

Their best album yet. Ours' third album, Mercy, gets back to the moody, soulful, epic sound of their debut, Distorted Lullabies. Like that album, Mercy ranges in mood from dark ("Murder," "Black") to hopeful ("Ran Away to Tell the World" and "The Worst Things Beautiful," the album's stand-out tracks). But underlying every song is the most profound longing you're likely to hear on a rock album.

Jimmy Gnecco sings about the pain of failed relationships and the hope of recovery and finding something better, as in the opening lines of "Live Again": "The cuts are gonna make you forget years / You married someone's carrying your tears / But you sleep with the ones that keep you from all that / You said yourself you can't afford to feel / So live again." The ending of "The Worst Things Beautiful" also demonstrates this profound optimism in the face of ugliness: "So I'll wake every morning, wake with the sun / Where the worst thing's always the first thing to come / Find a way to move on, and a way to be strong / Because some things do change / Some things come that make / The worst things beautiful."

Oh, and Jimmy Gnecco can *sing*. In fact, he may be the best singer in the rock world today (the only serious competition that I'm aware of is Matt Bellamy from Muse).

The inevitable comparisons will be made to Muse, as well as U2, Radiohead, and of course Jeff Buckley, but such comparisons are really just groping in the dark, because Ours is unique. But they'll give you a hint to the extent that, if you like those other bands, you will probably appreciate Ours as well.

Ours fans have been waiting for this album for many years now, and it was worth the wait. If you're not a fan already, you should be. Pick up this album. And if you have a chance to see them play live, don't miss it--they're astonishingly good, one of those rare bands that actually sounds even better live than on their studio albums, and in this case that's a high standard.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty and despair in musical form, April 15, 2008

By 

Rob Ez (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mercy: Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy (Audio CD)

Ours has been around for quite sometime, and has built quite an army of followers despite never even having a charting album..ever. Their fan base has been built on lovers of hard rock and lovers of beautiful voices. This band has a strong assessment of both factors and this CD is no exception.

It has been 6 long years since their last album and the wait seemed to have paid off. The band has never stopped touring and most, if not all, of these songs have been written and performed on tour over the last few years. For those who have been around, these songs are no new material but can come as a surprise to hear them in polished form. As one of these types of people myself, I must commend the band on not straying too far from their original raw incarnations on tour. Their recorded version of "God Only Wants You", which they have been performing since 2004, is just heavenly. It has the perfect balance of raw emotion and polished arrangements.

One of the most touching songs that Ours has performed on tour was unfortunately not included on this album. "I Heard You Singing" was written about Jimmy Gnecco's dear friend, the late Jeff Buckley, and as I recall, would really get to both the audience and the singer when performed. I always figured such a gem would be prominently featured on the record as such a song would not only garner praise but also attention as Jeff has built a posthumous mainstream fan base over the years. Such a shame, may this song eventually find the light of day.

Overall, the record is a must have for anyone who loves strong voices and esotheric themes.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eloquent, Soulful, Raw, Emotive, April 16, 2008

By 

S. Musielak (STL, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mercy: Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy (Audio CD)

Like many others, I have patiently (and not-so-patiently) eagerly awaited Ours' third album. And as others have mentioned, it has been 6 LONG years since "Precious" was released. Most recently, the two live performances I was lucky enough to see in the past year have held me over quite well as "Mercy..." was continually pushed back.

As you might have imagined, this is not an unbiased review. However, I did have great expectations for this release. Previously I had waited with great anticipation of other releases and have been severely let down (Taproot, OneSideZero, Boy Hits Car, come to mind). Rest assured there is no let down with "Mercy...". I will not take you play-by-play through each and every song, that's part of the journey you need to take when you pop in this CD for the first time. And what a wonderful journey it is.

If you like Ours, you'll love "Mercy...". If you have yet to hear Ours, give them a listen; start with any of their releases, you can't go wrong. Is "Mercy..." their best album yet? Well, I've only listened to it one time through so I'm not ready to make that statement yet. But it is nothing short of great.