West

Mark Eitzel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 6, 1997)
• Original Release Date: May 6, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002NFJ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,167 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hardcore Fans Are Deaf, Dumb and Blind, June 17, 2000

By 

Jason Motz (Victoria, BC Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: West (Audio CD)

Hype killed this one before it hit the store shelves. Thats the story of Mark Eitzels career. All praise and accolades, zero sales. Co-produced and (co-)written with R.E.M.s Peter Buck--whose contributions to the process vary depending on who you talk to--over three days in '97, this was to be Marks last major label release. More textured and varied than his previous lp's, from the punch-drunk revelry of 'Helium' to the skronkin'sax of 'Move Myself Ahead', WEST is yet another example of Mark refusing to dilute his muse for the sake of greater public exposure. Celebrity, I geuss, just isn't his bag. 'Stunned and Frozen', though it features the single most haunting and defeated Eitzel vocal to date, is one for the ages with the saddest interplay of piano and accordion, augmented by Buck's razor-like acoustic flourishes. 'In Your Life', a rare pop item for Mark, is sweet and mesmerizing in its own awkward charm. How much you will like this lp may depend on your opinion of R.E.Ms 'UP' as many of the production tricks--vibes, synths et al.-- seem to foretell the ambitious R.E.M. project. Many Eitzel-watchers were put off by the jazz pretensions of this and 60 WATT SILVER LINE, but do not listen to them. Listen to me. Trust in Jason. Both of these discs, both high among the very best of the 90's, are all but impossible to find now but so very, VERY worth it. It is both a compliment and a insult to this talented man to regard him as the Nick Drake of our time. Do not let this talent rot in obscurity any longer. BUY THESE DISCS!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When South Meets WEST, November 1, 2001

By 

Martin Dawson (Royton, Oldham, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: West (Audio CD)

At the time of its release this album received a mauling from hard-core Eitzel fans(are there any other?)which seemed largely to be based on the fact that Peter Buck's guitar playing sounded like,er,Peter Buck.That view ignores two crucial elements:firstly,the friendship and mutual respect of Buck and Eitzel;secondly,the quality of the material.
'If You Have To Ask'is a slow-burner of an introduction but then we get the opening line of the second track,"The laws of purgatory...",which had me laughing wildly the first time I heard it,just thinking 'brilliant,Mark...'.There is a wry,very dry,wit at work here which is often missed.I would even go as far as to say that the live performances often become a cross between the heartache of the songs and the greatest stand-up comedy ever...
'In Your Life' was the potential hit single but we should all know by now what happens to ideas like that involving AMC/Eitzel,no matter how many formats I buy... It almost doesn't matter,it's a great song and the lyric,"Calling names and guessing games over my bi-loving life...",should really be the only interview Eitzel needs to give on this subject.
I think we all know the stories about how quickly this was written,recorded and mixed(what was it,ten minutes or so...)and I think this has become a long review because I wanted to defend it so...
Every great album has its central moment and this is no different.'Fresh Screwdriver'.It has Eitzel crooning ," I forgot there was such a thing as good people left..." before moving on to the chorus of,"I got a fresh screwdriver right before closing time...",making it sound like a celebration,a moment of wonder.Which,let's face it,it probably is.
A good intro,if you're into REM and are curious...for the rest of us,just a reminder that there really are good people left.Enjoy...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Way Down West, June 8, 2004

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: West (Audio CD)

What if R.E.M. were a darker band? What if American Music Club had a more optimistic front man? What if, what if, what if...Mark Eitzel has always played with conventional sound, and it made for some incredible pop music that never became popular. (Think "Wish The World Away" from "San Francisco.") So it shouldn't be such a leap for the friendship between Peter Buck and Eitzel to yield an album like "West."

The first time I heard "West," I was in a transitional situation myself, in Austin, Texas between jobs, trying to scrape by in what was supposed to be one of the boomingest cities in the nation (at that time). That Eitzel managed to capture that sense so perfectly in a song like "If You Have to Ask" won me over immediately. Or a great opening line like "The laws of purgatory pulled you off the tracks..." from "Free of Harm." In the summer of the Macerana, it was the perfect antidote.

Peter Buck's main contribution seems to have been keeping the mood a little lighter than usual for Eitzel. There are shared elements from both of their bands -- the somewhat jazzy instrumentation from the best of AMC, the not so shiny happy undercurrent that often frequents R.E.M. at their best (most prevalent in the songs "Live or Die," "Helium" and "Fresh Screwdriver"). There was even a hit single contender in "In Your Life," which probably would have been a smash had Michael Stipe sang it.

But it is still Eitzel that carries the album. His close-down-the-bar personality still prevails on "West," and when he sings (on "Fresh Screwdriver") "I forgot there was such a thing as good people left," it cuts deep and in both directions. There aren't too many singers who can pull off that kind of depressed optimism, and Mark Eitzel does it masterfully on "West."