"Opus 40"...the "Golden Slumbers" chorus, Levon Helm on drums, and the women's backup vocals at the end.
― Joe, Sunday, 14 October 2007 02:12 (sixteen years ago) link
"opus 40" is my choice too.
also love "hudson line" for reasons similar to what cutty posted.
― hstencil, Sunday, 14 October 2007 02:24 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― ILX System, Sunday, 14 October 2007 23:01 (sixteen years ago) link
I used to love this album and now I can barely stomach it.
― the next grozart, Monday, 15 October 2007 01:23 (sixteen years ago) link
but fuck me, this came out almost 9 years ago!
― the next grozart, Monday, 15 October 2007 01:25 (sixteen years ago) link
Forgot to vote for "Endlessly"
― Spencer Chow, Monday, 15 October 2007 01:35 (sixteen years ago) link
i kinda hate this album
― Zeno, Monday, 15 October 2007 01:58 (sixteen years ago) link
I never understood why this album garnered so much praise. It's not horrible, but I rarely listened to it -- maybe once every other year or so to try to figure out what someone else saw in it. Finally gave it away last spring.
I would have voted for Goddess if I had ever noticed the poll.
― Vornado, Monday, 15 October 2007 03:11 (sixteen years ago) link
Yup.
― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 15 October 2007 04:31 (sixteen years ago) link
Mercury Rev Announce Reissue ofTheir Seminal Album Deserter’s Songson May 16 via Co-Op Music
http://gallery.mailchimp.com/1d59aca4aeedaab429816159e/images/Mercury_Rev_Lo_Res_Press_Photo_1.jpg
On May 16, Mercury Rev will return with a deluxe double CD reissue of their classic 1998 album, Deserter’s Songs via Co-Op Music. The release comes complete with a 13-track bonus disc of demos, b-sides, rarities and outtakes. And In honor of the album’s re-release, Mercury Rev have made their classic song “Opus 40” available for free download. Click HERE to listen to the song (feel free to post and share). Even for Mercury Rev, who had become know for their arty, left-field pop, Deserter’s Songs was something of a revelation. Tweaking their reputation for harsh noisy freakouts, the album was a lush, orchestral counterpoint to the band’s catalogue at that point. Incorporating elements of folk, jazz, ’60s rock, and even Disney soundtrack fantasia, Deserter’s Songs was like nothing that had come before it. Tracks like “The Funny Bird,” “Holes,” and “Opus 40” were cosmic epics, whose arrangements were simultaneously grandiose and tender. A paradoxical, unconventional record, the album turned heads and ended up an unexpected, worldwide hit. The album was named “Album of the Year” by NME, MOJO and many other publications. It was the record that broke Mercury Rev into the mainstream in the U.K. and Europe, with the album scoring three Top 40 singles in the U.K. for “Goddess on a Highway”, “Holes” and “Opus 40.” And in the U.S., the album remains a cult-classic, ready to be reintroduced to the next generation. Tracklist: Album:1. Holes2. Tonite It Shows3. Endlessly4. Collect Coins5. Opus 406. Hudson Line7. The Happy End (The Drunk Room)8. Goddess on a Highway9. The Funny Bird10. Pick Up If You're There11. Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp Bonus Disc:1) Piano vs. Telephone (Cassette Tape Player Demo)2) Holes (Bill Laswell 1998 Remix)3) Pick Up If You're There (DJ Nickel 1998 Remix)4) Endlessly (Tascam 8-Track Reel to Reel Demo)5) A Soft Kiss (for waking up) (Cassette Tape Player Demo)6) Tonite It Shows (Tascam 8-Track Reel to Reel Demo)7) Looking Back Now, I Can See (Unreleased Mix)8) Opus 40 (Early Rough Version)9) Hudson Line (Early Rough Version)10) Judging By The Moon (Cassette Tape Player Demo)11) Goddess On A Hiway (1989 Cassette Tape Player Demo)12) Night On Panther Mountain (Unreleased Mix)13) Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp (Early Rough Version)
[img]http://gallery.mailchimp.com/1d59aca4aeedaab429816159e/images/Mercury_Rev_Lo_Res_Album_Art.jpg[.img]
― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:04 (thirteen years ago) link
yeahhh. anyone know if the bonus trax are any good? or are they pretty much unheard?
― tylerw, Friday, 1 April 2011 20:06 (thirteen years ago) link
christ that is an ugly fucking picture!
2) Holes (Bill Laswell 1998 Remix)
this sounds like a horrible idea
― in my world of loose geirs (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:11 (thirteen years ago) link
would rather somebody reissued the Grasshopper and the Golden Crickets LP to be honest
― in my world of loose geirs (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Sorta surprised the Chemical Brothers remix of Delta Sun isn't on here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB9fmzXb9V4
― Mark, Friday, 1 April 2011 20:12 (thirteen years ago) link
still a great album, but it is hard for me to celebrate it as such b/c it being the beginning of the end for one of my favorite bands sort of overwhelms its individual merits imo.
― Grotjahn in the Moma (Pillbox), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:18 (thirteen years ago) link
like I can't help but think that, if this had not ended up finding such a large audience, they might have eventually returned to weirdo guitar freakouts instead of locking grasshopper's stompboxes in a vault somewhere.
― Grotjahn in the Moma (Pillbox), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:20 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah he seems like such a wasted resource on the stuff that came after this.
― in my world of loose geirs (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:27 (thirteen years ago) link
never heard the grasshopper/golden cricket thing -- it's good? lol, just looked, selling for $.01 on amazon marketplace.
― tylerw, Friday, 1 April 2011 20:28 (thirteen years ago) link
I hear he plays a mean bowed saw tho
xp
― Grotjahn in the Moma (Pillbox), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:29 (thirteen years ago) link
it is GREAT
― in my world of loose geirs (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:29 (thirteen years ago) link
I went for Tonite It Shows, but I might never listen to it again - I hate so much similar stuff now that I'm worried I won't like this.
― Matt DC, Friday, 12 October 2007 10:43 (3 years ago) Bookmark
Still OTM. Kinda tempted to go see the Deserter's Songs live tour thing, but I reckon I might find it a bit rubbish.
― oppet, Friday, 1 April 2011 20:38 (thirteen years ago) link
I saw the original tour, it was pretty awesome. it was LOUD. they did a fair amount of stuff from the first two albums too, closed with Cortez the Killer. wouldn't bother nowadays though.
― in my world of loose geirs (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:40 (thirteen years ago) link
i bet it'll be good -- they were pretty majestic on this tour. songs sound good in a big room.
― tylerw, Friday, 1 April 2011 20:40 (thirteen years ago) link
Weird, I saw them in the summer of '99 (different leg of same tour, or different tour?...they were with Sparklehorse) and they weren't particularly loud at all. They were, however, fucking majestic. "Tonite It Shows" was utterly mindblowing not just because of how different the arrangement was from the record (I couldn't place the song until midway through the first verse), but because it somehow still managed to retain the spooky drama of the record's arrangement.
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Friday, 1 April 2011 20:47 (thirteen years ago) link
heyyy i saw them w/ sparklehorse in the summer of 99 too. great show, tho it was weird that mercury rev played first. just with their oversized thing happening, they seemed more like the headliner.
― tylerw, Friday, 1 April 2011 20:51 (thirteen years ago) link
I did not see Sparklehorse, and at that time I would have been interested in seeing him. Don't remember who the opener was tbh. this was at Bimbo's in SF.
― in my world of loose geirs (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:52 (thirteen years ago) link
they did have some incredibly cool pseudo-theremin laser-light controller thing that I loved
― in my world of loose geirs (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 1 April 2011 20:53 (thirteen years ago) link
Love this album to death Nothing else they’ve done has connected with me though
― calstars, Tuesday, 13 April 2021 01:39 (three years ago) link
Endlessly 2
shocked by this!
― piscesx, Tuesday, 13 April 2021 11:03 (three years ago) link
Was there ever a poll of the previous album?
This is great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdHfWizyWE0
― piscesx, Tuesday, 13 April 2021 11:04 (three years ago) link
^ the loudest thing I've ever heard live.
― Scheming politicians are captivating, and it hurts (ledge), Tuesday, 13 April 2021 11:21 (three years ago) link
I mean that's a nice song but when compared to the opening tracks of their first two albums it comes in a very distant 3rd
― imago, Tuesday, 13 April 2021 11:29 (three years ago) link
And I do think it'd be much better if it was recorded differently yeah. It feels weirdly muted on record
― imago, Tuesday, 13 April 2021 11:30 (three years ago) link
The instrumentals version of this album is gorgeous and perfect for long summer twilights.
― Shard-borne Beatles with their drowsy hums (Chinaski), Thursday, 14 July 2022 21:01 (one year ago) link