Wheels In Motion

Glenn Mercer | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Pravda Records
• ASIN: B000QCQ7RC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,913 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #49 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Jangle Pop

Track Listings

1. Days To Come

2. Wheels In Motion

3. Morning Lights

4. Until It s Clear

5. In Real Time

6. Whatever Happened

7. Get It Back

8. Two Rights

9. Here And Gone

10. Another Last Time

11. Within You, Without You/Love You To

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hasn't Missed A Beat, June 5, 2007

By 

E. Seifert (New Milford, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wheels In Motion (Audio CD)

Hypnotic chord progressions, multilayered percussion, and shimmering electric guitars--those were all hallmarks of the sound of the late, great Feelies, New Jersey's seminal indie-guitar-rock band, last heard from on their 1991 swan song,Time For A Witness. All these elements return on Wheels in Motion, the long-awaited solo debut from erstwhile Feelies frontman singer-songwriter-guitarist Glenn Mercer.
Much like Dangerous Game, this year's solo debut from the Shangri-Las' Mary Weiss, this disc sounds like a natural, organic extension of Mercer's strengths and taste without seeming like a slavish attempt to recreate the past. That being said, Wheels In Motion does include most of the former Feelies as guests, with latter-day members Stanley Demeski (drums) and Brenda Sauter-Barnes, more recently of Wild Carnation (bass) playing on five songs each.
Mercer's tasteful and subtle arrangements really shine here. So many times on this disc, a verse morphs into a chorus so seamlessly, with just a slight shift of the melody, or the chord progression, or even the percussion, most often supplied by another ex-Feelie, Dave Weckerman. The mix of acoustic and electric guitars is especially thrilling, particularly on the title track, where Mercer's slide work conjures up the ghost of George Harrison. Harrison's specter returns on the disc's finale, a medley of Within You, Without You and Love You To.
The vocals include some of the best of Mercer's career. There's an intimacy on Another Last Time that he's rarely, if ever, shown before and the song really benefits from the delivery. At the other end of the spectrum is the building intensity, both vocally and instrumentally, of Until It's Clear. Anton Fier, the Feelies' drummer for their 1980 debut LP Crazy Rhythms, plays on one song only, Whatever Happened, and it's this track that most displays the perpetually nervous sound of the band's early days. All the songs are strong, with variations in feel and tempo that make the whole disc flow very well.
After hearing a collection of songs as strong as this, one can only hope that we'll be hearing from Glenn Mercer a lot more often in the near future.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's beautiful man., July 17, 2007

By 

Mark W. Plechaty (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wheels In Motion (Audio CD)

I'm 50 years old and always a music lover but, I have never felt compelled to write any kind of review. I just had to say something. I never thought I'd hear new 'Feelies' type music again. Why does this music make me feel soooo good? Why do I want to hum along? What makes it different? I don't know, but I'm glad I have some new ones to hum along to.

Cheers

Mark

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dear Glenn Mercer: Thank you. What a wonderful, unexpected gift after so many years. Fantastic songs, please keep them coming., July 27, 2008

By 

Penfy "Klé" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wheels In Motion (Audio CD)

I keep playing this over and over at home, then continue listening to it on my iPod when I go out. It feels good to be buoyed along on those one-of-kind Mercer/Feelies rhythms and Mercer's soothing voice. I'd put it right up near "The Good Earth," yet it is no re-hash. The songs on this feel warmer, offer more space, and the tempo is easygoing compared with the urgency felt in most tracks on "The Good Earth." Ironically, the only song I don't care for (hey, just me) is the title track, "Wheels in Motion." Sounds like some unmemorable 80s Brit-pop song, not much of a melody, droning, and saccharine (musically). But that's quibbling. The rest-- wonderful.