Customer Reviews

Old Enough to Know Better: 15 Years of Merge

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This compilation is like a deep, porous sponge with many dead ends hidden in the most unlikely places. I don't mean to say it's disappointing; actually, it's quite the contrary. Think in terms of economics. A bargain, a deal, a steal. You start to believe you're getting something for free. And in a society where capitalism wrings each paycheck dry, it feels good to enjoy the supposed best things in life. Merge has hit us with a collection of odds and ends...3 CDs deep, it's a healthy mixture of indie gems and pointless experimentation, all for the price of one CD. Know what you will about Merge, but all I knew prior to my purchase was that Merge is Spoon's label. That was reason enough for me to take a chance on three CDs for the price of one...and it should be reason enough for any indie pop-rock enthusiast who would like to discover a new reason to blow a paycheck on music by one or more of the Merge artists you'll discover through repeated listens to this compilation. The first two CDs give the listener a nostalgic retrospective, while the third disc is chock full of B-sides and songs recorded especially for this collection.

Personal recommendations:
"Long Vermont Roads" - The Magnetic Fields (CD 1)
"Song Against Sex" - Neutral Milk Hotel (CD 1)
"Today is Gonna Be Mine" - David Kilgour (CD 2)
"Out of My Head" - M.Ward (CD 2)
"Decora" - Spoon (CD 3)
"Some Small History" - Portastatic (CD 3)
"Happily Ever After" - The Rosebuds (CD 3)

hard to believe so much first-rate and varied music is collected on these three cd's. sad it's no longer available from merge.

Boasting pivotal cuts by Spent, Polvo, the Magnetic Fields, Neutral Milk Hotel, Lambchop and others, this anniversary comp is a quick study in what a brilliant label Merge has evolved into over the last fifteen years... Their roster is practically the indie-rock dream team.

In addition, disc three of this very affordably priced compilation is all unreleased tracks: "Some Small History" by Portastatic, M. Ward's "One More Goodbye," Camera Obscura's "San Francisco Song" and "Happily Ever After" by the Rosebuds are all superb and worth the price of the disc alone. And there's more rare gems from Superchunk, Richard Buckner, Destroyer, Spoon, The Clientele, etc.

Outstanding value - 3 CDs for the price of one. Discs One and Two contain previously released material from Neutral Milk Hotel, Superchunk, M Ward, Spoon, etc. Disc Three contains previously unreleased material from Merge artists. The Camera Obscura and Essex Green tracks on Disc Three are my favorite songs from each band. This would make a great gift for a budding indie rock fan.

An excellent sampler of the North Carolina indie label at any price. All the big guns are here (Superchunk, Versus, M. Ward, Spoon) with some of their best stuff ("Anything You Want" Spoon, for example), but the pleasures of this compilation are in the lesser-known acts that shine through, such as the Ladybug Transistor, Camera Obscura, and Annie Hayden. Even if you're not completely familiar with all the bands (or only about half, like me), the formula means that you'll be rewarded for listening.

Strangely, or perhaps not so strangely, most of the material has aged well, and while the guitar is the noisemaker of choice throughout, the variety of styles is diverse. Witness disc two, which begins with Spoon, swings to a serene Ladybug Transistor tune (complete with mariachi horns), shifts gears to jazz-pop with M. Ward, then visits post-alt guitar territory with Versus.

Discs one and two are the hits; disc three is perhaps the roughest of the set, but there are still some fine tunes to be found there. Highlights from that disc: Camera Obscura "San Francisco Song", Spoon "Decora" (a cover of the great Yo La Tengo song that opens their "Electro-pura" album).