Customer Reviews

See You on the Other Side

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alternative music sux! What in the world is alternative music? I have never understood the concept and will never understand it in the future. You call Oasis alternative, Alanis Moresette alternative, now you call Mercury Rev a quirky alternative rock band. What is the similarity between Mercury Rev and the other two? They have become big in the year 1998 with their latest offering `Deserted Songs',(at least among the critics) so you guys must be thinking, it must be another great alternative rock band right? And presumably, `Deserted Songs' is their best album right? Ok, let me tell you, you have made a grave mistake and deserve to be executed. Just check out their earlier `Boces' and this one, which I think is their classic. While `Boces' is noisier and more erratic, this one is diverse. Yes, its vision is much wider than that of `Deserted Songs', I agree with most people, `Deserted Songs' is great. The string arrangement, the exotic guitar effect, the experimental piano intro, it is their most romantic album to date. It can be melancholic and romantic at the same time without sounding anything along the line of saccharine divas. Yes, just like some of the R&B divas out there, soul music also influences the sound of Mercury Rev tremendously, so does progressive rock, ambient, jazz... Eclectic is the word, then again, thanks to most music critics, the word has become such a cliché. Anyway, if you think `Deserted Songs' is great, you have to check this out!!! Just listen to the atonal piano on the first track, as well as many other tracks, you can tell how different this band is. As the first track `Empire State...' proceeds, you can hear so much different instrumentation, everything could sound bloody out of place if another band did it. But on Mercury Rev's hands, everything fits perfectly well, "beautiful" some cry, wait, don't say this before you hear the noise which comes in at 2'30''. The noise sounds nothing like heavy metal, they have absolutely nothing to do with nasty heavy metal bands, the source of this white noise is from jazz, from bebop to be exact. The whole track lasts 7'29'', ambitious effort, but then again, it is absolutely diverse, so you can never get bored of it. `Young Man's Stride' is a punk song for Mercury Rev, for the imbecile bunch who devours trashy punk bands like Rancid and Green Day. Check this one out. As a contrast, to the punkish `Young Man's Stride', `Sudden Ray of Hope' is absolutely wonderful, yes, I admit, it gets noisy sometimes, but that's the pleasure you get when you listen to Mercury Rev's music. Your mood changes constantly, from happy to sad, from sad back to happy. Mercury Rev's music sounds pretty cheerful at first listen, but this is exactly the irony. They are in no way an optimistic bunch. One thing I have to mention is: the brass section on this track is splendid, you don't get to hear that often on another `alternative' band's record, do you? `Everlasting Arm' is an exquisite ballad, the distinctive atonal piano prevail. It could fit perfectly well with the rest of the songs on `Deserted Songs', well, this is even more beautiful than `Goddess On a Hiway', don't you think so? A bliss from start to end. `Racing the Tide' is yet another romantic yet anthemic track. `Close Encounter of the 3rd Grace' sounds not unlike a cross between `Come Together' on Primal Scream and Portishead's `Mysterons', while not as depressive as Portishead, this sounds even spookier, it sounds more like the ghosts are dancing happily. I really adore the part of lyrics on `A Kiss From An Old Flame', it goes something like this `Two fools rush in, you and I." Get it? The music is here at the album's most beautiful, really. Spooky as always, this one sounds even more cheerful. Not only ghosts dance to their music, even the angels come and join them on this track. Both angels and ghosts love their music, why don't you like this? That's the sole thing that has been puzzling me for ages. `Peaceful Night' is a lullaby, but it is one of the weirdest lullaby I have ever heard in my whole life, the way Jonathan sings, he sounds like he has just wet his pants and he is feeling very embarrassed. The way the piano is playing, not unlike those two instrumental tracks on `Deserted Songs'. That song brings an end to the album, even the aftertaste is great. You feel good after listening to their music, isn't that great or what? Sometimes I am thinking, why some great bands' average albums are the ones which brought them to fame? While the best album by them, the ones that should have been classics remain as hidden gem, or they are only discovered until later, it happened to REM's `Murmur' as well as Belle & Sebastian's `Tigermilk'. `See You On the Other Side' is Mercury Rev's best album, if you haven't heard anything from Mercury Rev, buy this one first, it is more traditional Mercury Rev than `Deserted Songs' and this is simply superior. The best thing is: This is NO ALTERNATIVE!!!

I, unlike the other reviewer, see this as the best of the lot. Yerself has some moments(car wash hair! saw it live and it blew me away)and Boces has that one song(the first one)but this one has a flow and is consistently strong throughout. Sudden Ray of Hope gives off a warm feeling that one can rarely experience through sound. There are moments of Empire State and Young Man's that have more energy than a nuclear plant. Deserter's song was a great album as well but almost a little too sweet in places. This is the one for me and hopefully you will enjoy it as well. If you like this one try out the latest Flaming Lips.

As the stratospheric album cover ensigna suggests, this album will carry the listener to dizzying heights of transcendental euphoria and leave him/her gasping for more. Instrumentally more discplined than previous efforts they keep the sonic over indulgence that obscured "Bounces" underlying greatness, to a minimum on this record. The net result is powerfull rollercoaster ride of an album which, despite seemingly threatening to spontaneously implode at any given moment, never falls of the tracks. Highlights include the opening tracks wonderful Cale-esque piano anthem 'Empire State'. 'Racing The Tide' is a great rambling ode of self delivery sung with overpowering belief and conviction. 'Young Mans Stride' is easily the albums standout track and an abiding testimony to this groups immortal nature. Who else but the Rev can create a song that gesticulates between a blistering astro funk guitar riff one minute only to morph into a dreamy psychedelic soundscape the next without sounding even faintly ridiculous? Instead of waiting the twenty odd years it will enevitably take for this album to acquire it's status as a transcendental classic I would beseech the intelligent listener to buy beg/borrow/steel this album now!

This album is aural candy. Really. And there's no way Your Self Is Steam or Boces is better than this: not until Mercury Rev unburdened itself of Baker were they able to exploit the possibilities of their sound and, more importlantly, move it in a more mature and sophisticated direction. This is one of most incredible albums you'll ever hear--dare I say one of the greatest concept albums too. Empire State begins with our naive young protagonist going to the City for the first time. The music begins to generate some momentum and when the first brash burst of feed-back comes on you realize it's done in immitation of traffic. As the City approaches the sound gets thicker, louder, a little dangerous and at once hopeful and celebratory. That's hard to pull off, but they do it and they sustain it. Keep listening and maybe you'll sense a sort of impressionistic narrative full of allusions to Dark Side of the Moon (see the title). We even witness our protagonist lose his virginity: "I'm so close. I'm almost inside. It won't be long before the mystery is mine. I'm so close. I'm almost inside. But there's times I hung my head and cried." Beautiful and hilarious. See You On the Other Side is about coming of age. But concept aside the music is incredible, Fridman (not sure about my spelling here) has got to be one of the best producers out there (he did The Soft Bulletin, for those who don't know, and I hear he's doing the next Sparklehorse). One of the ultimate headphone albums. To be listened to with little to no expectations. The anti-alternative invective from the previous poster is really right on. This is just music: good music.

No one I know who listened to the raw, swirling, aggressive tracks on the `Rev's first full-length release, "Yerself Is Steam" anticipated the heavy orchestration brought to bear on "See You On The Other Side", their third CD, and the first to be recorded without original vocalist David Baker. While plenty of melodies could be found on "Yerself Is Steam", it seemed as if they were imposed upon the structure of many of the cuts through a process of chaotic order. While "See You On The Other Side" does retain/contain some of the heavily psychedelic guitar work so prevalent on "Yerself Is Steam", it promotes many more of the sweeping and atmospheric moments that punctuated (rather than propelled) that CD's less densely cluttered tracks.

Jonathan Donahue, who took lead vocals on a minority of "Yerself Is Steam"'s cuts, takes them on every track of this release. Having been turned on to Mercury Rev by that first CD, I have to admit that it took a couple of listen-throughs before I could make a positive adjustment to the absence of Baker's throaty vocals, as Donahue's cadence is not only more clipped and precise, but the intonation is softer as well. What made "See You On The Other Side" a revelation for me was the decision to send it in that heavily orchestrated direction. Sure, Dave Fridman's heavy resounding basslines and Jimi Chambers's polyrhythmic percussion form the spine of each song, with both Jonathan Donahue and Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiack manning the guitars. Suzanne Thorpe's flute plays an integral part in establishing the bouncy, slowly building tempo of "Empire State", the first track, until, with brass fanfare to enrich it, it reaches its explosive climax. "Sudden Ray of Hope" also develops a portion of its groove from a particularly savory fluteline, trumpet weaving its way through the song in fluidic progression, tied together with main guitarist Grasshopper's heavily modulated, almost tangibly present wave after wave of circular distortion. "Everlasting Arm", a gorgeous, elegantly structured piece, is driven mainly by a slowly plucked, heavily resonant bassline and a variety of keyboards and horns (primarily in the manifestation of piano and trumpet)but weaves in wickedly offbeat elements such as syncopated fingersnaps and whistling to lend a truly inspired polish. "Racing The Tide", another cut that slowly builds toward a sustained explosive ending, has the most sweeping orchestral dimension of any of the tracks, again tied together with heavily modulated riffing and keyboards that chime through levels of ascension. "A Kiss From An Old Flame" finds the flute and other instruments clambering up and down their respective scales in a more moderate tempo, while "Peaceful Night" plays out as some sort of quiet psychedelic lullaby. The only song that seems out of place here is "Young Man's Stride", an aggressive, up-tempo cut driven by a heavily churning guitar and pounding, insistent drums, more reminiscent of something that might have fit in more tightly on their previous release, "BOCES" .

"See You On The Other Side" served as a major transitional point in Mercury Rev's sound, and is still my favorite among their releases that contain their lushly orchestrated version of psychedelically tinged pop. Definitely worth grabbing!

Once upon a time, there was a band called Mercury Rev, who made some of the best Ye Olde Rock'n'Rolle in the music world.

But long before Mercury Rev began making Ye Olde Rock'n'Rolle, they made sometimes noisy, more often brilliant psychedelica. Rich, panoramic music is paired with some truly entrancing songwriting, making this among their best albums to date.

Somebody plays chopsticks as the album opens, with Jonathan Donahue intoning softly, "I stabbed myself back into the night/One heel in front, one heel behind/Life in the Empire State/Angels and devils before my eyes..." I think it's meant to be a "first time in New York" story-song, especially when the horns, rhythm and bass all explode in a mad parody of city traffic.

Things only get better with the following songs: swirling pop songs, explosive bass-rockers that Queens of the Stone Age wouldn't be ashamed of, and hilariously eerie little jazz-edged numbers. It follows the initial arrival at the Empire State Building, getting used to the place, first mature love, losing virginity, and watching the sun rise after a wild night. And finally Donahue and Co. end the album with "Peaceful Night," a fatigued-sounding jazz ballad.

Mercury Rev's more recent works have been more fantastical in nature. But "See You On The Other Side" predates that, with a very different theme: Growing up in the city. The entire album reflects that, from the jazzy piano and brass to the sound of traffic and sirens.

At the same time, it has the sweet feeling of being dazzled by the bright lights and exuberent nightlight. "With a wink from a starlet's eye a string of pearls come to life," Donahue sings softly, sounding almost overwhelmed by the music. "Who knows what black and crazy thoughts swim inside a girlfriend's heart?/No brighter jewel is there above than the gem of a girl still in love..."

Mercury Rev's thick, layered sound is in full force here, with thick layers of guitars, bass, bowed saw and wurtlizer, along with electric piano and sweeping strings. It's a credit to their talents that they can convey both the beauty and the chaos of a major city like New York, all through instrumental music.

"See You On The Other Side" is among Mercury Rev's most exceptional albums, and for this band, that's saying something. Beautiful, wrenching and bittersweet.

I really have to take issue with the previous lukewarm review. First off, Boces came before this album, so they were not progressing TOWARD Boces with it, but beyond.

That the album peters out is ridiculous. Mercury Rev explores a strange aesthetic soundscape here, paying homage to a 1930's Art Deco era at times, with Wizard of Oz-like zither or saw sounds. The songs build majestic momentum and shimmer with beauty. Racing the Tide is, IMHO, one of their best songs to date, segueing wonderfully into "Close Encounters". Their entry into bluesy and other Black music forms is successful. Sly Stone, Delta blues, 70s cheese-disco are all filtered through the unique swirl of Mercury Rev's intensity.

One of the sleeper ignored albums of the 90s, and an interesting bridge from their first two records into Deserter's Songs, fusing the strengths of both periods.

Buy it at this cutout price and get alot of pleasure for 7 bucks.

This is Mercury Rev's greatest work and an all time classic, This album trancends all genres. This is pure bliss. No filler. I heard that it sold squat and fell below the radar. A true miscarriage of justice. I have NEVER heard a greater song than Empire State. Hey Jon and Grassy - Make more like this!

Mercury Rev has been a Band I have been paying more attention to recently.
Every single one of their releases (that I have heard) have been pure and an exciting joy! to listen to. From "Yerself Is Steam" to "Deserter's Songs" as I am not too familiar with their later work ('00s) but I soon will be. As there is ALWAYS a surprise ( a thumbs up one) with each and every listen. My mind just melts at times and my smile is closer to reaching the bottoms of my Ears! and I tell you check out "See You On the Other Side" possibly first- as it is my favorite; which first came out in 1995 right in between two purely different albums in "Boces" and 1998s "Deserter's Songs" <- where you could almost call them a late '90s Pop - Psychadelic Rock Band). "D.S." More Poppy for Sure!.. but just as Delightful as THIS ONE which may be on a whole 'nother level than most of the music you may have been listening to on the Radio and (Blech!) MTV 12 years ago when this first came out (at least I mostly was).
I know I wasn't listening to such an Amazing Epic as this when it was new. My tastes were a lot more immature back then and got into the punk and pop I saw on the television,(like Greenday..or even Blink). Well Led Zeppelin and The Beatles too.
Anyways back to Mercury Rev-
"See You On the Other Side" - Is a more Extreme and a glistening Jazzed Up Mesh Mash of Psyche-Like Rock and Exploding Bubble sound effects!...and that is just in the Wonderful Opener "Empire State" (!)
....And START Up your Engines for the next Cosmic-gem as "Empire State" bleeds into the 2nd song: "Young Man's Stride" - a more in-your-face type of POP-ROCK PUNCH!...as the chorus repeats over & over and goes: "STRIDE TO KICK BACK" - stridin' to kick back>>>-just to set you back a few notches. Now (3rd track) - a more Summery laid-back tune in "Sudden Ray of Hope" - Ahhh a sweet breath in each and every moment until it turns on you...stops your heart for a second ...for a Much faster wreck of guitar sonic Flare and then off to the trumpets, simply magical with sweet substance.
And The vocals are TOP NOTCH and inviting all the way through from beginning to end.
Another Beauty is towards the end of "See You On the Other Side" is track 7 (of 8) titled: "Kiss From An Old Flame" - Singing in a psyhadelic swirl of imagination vacations, singing of rainbows - moons - and love;- "Walk into the scarlet night" ) possibly my favorite track. Even though it's hard to say. Too bad I don't have The Japanese version which contains a Bonus Track 9 in "Cartwheel" clocking in at just over 7 minutes. If you can find the Japanese import of "See You On The Other Side" I suggest you get it! If it's within your budget.
I am still learning a lot in this psychadelic genre buying a lot more of the earlier Psychadelic bands(with some help from a friend or two) in the '60s and '70s...
I do believe MERCURY REV are a Good Updated version of The Originators.
Also one of the Better Rockin' Bands of the '90s and BEYOND!
....Deserter's Songs would also get 5 stars from me.
...Excuse me I have to take another Trip into Space..."Where I Land don't care to know" (Closer: "Peaceful Night" )*

I remember Mercury Rev playing on the side stage, of I believe the third Lolapalooza, and I thought, "Cool, pretty heavy, very grungy." I had NO IDEA. It wasnt until I heard this album, and then Boces, that i realized what they were about. Some of the Deepest, most textured psychedelic, you will ever want to hear. You almost have to be altered, to get it all in. Layer upon layer of sax, flute, mellotrones, vocals, and on and on. The first song, EMPIRE STATE, comes across a bit harder, than the rest of the album, which sort of rocks you into a peaceful, dreamy voyage of sorts. I hear hints of krautrock, Pink Floyd, that neo-psychedelic new wave,(Lene Lovich, Camper Van Beethovan, Legendary Pink Dots, etc.) and of course, fushion jazz. I often thing, that maybe some of the best music, was made in that 67-79 period, but then, really, there will always be a handful of great bands, dishing out the truth, with an acid edge, no matter what year it is, so long as that Band lives in a freedom loving society, that supports experimentation, and the voices whispering on the edge "BE REAL INDIVIDUALS---BE AWARE---EVOLVE---LOVE--OPEN YOUR EARS AND EYES----LOOK DEEPER, hear more details. Because the Truth is ALWAYS found in the details, and the plurality of an artists vision. MERCURY REV SHOWS THIS HERE, and on BOCES. Sure, they mellowed out later. I respect that. But, start here, to find out about the band.