- Audio CD (24 Jan 2005)
- Number of Discs: 2
- Format: Limited Edition
- Label: V2
- ASIN: B0002Z17JQ
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 195,457 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Holes | |||
| 2. Tonite It Shows | |||
| 3. Endlessly | |||
| 4. I Collect Coins | |||
| 5. Opus 40 | |||
| 6. Hudson Line | |||
| 7. The Happy End (The Drunk Room) | |||
| 8. Goddess On A Hiway | |||
| 9. The Funny Bird | |||
| 10. Pick Up If You're There | |||
See all 11 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Deserters Songs – Film | |||
| 2. Opus 40 (video) | |||
| 3. Goddess on a Hiway (video) | |||
| 4. Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp (Chemical brothers Remix) (audio) | |||
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
That Mercury Rev avoided a messy, chemically-assisted burnout in the middle of the 1990s is remarkable; that they should return in 1998 with an album as fine as Deserter's Songs is almost unfeasible. But working by the old adage that "what does not kill us makes us stronger", Deserter's Songs is an album of unparalleled scope. Drawing on the legacy of America's pioneers and the nascent scenes of folk-rock and psychedelia, Mercury Rev have formed a living, breathing piece of heritage. "Holes" is dizzied in America's vast scope, and warmed by woodwind instruments, mellotrons and a Wurlitzer organ. It sounds like a beautiful climax, but it's only the first song, and there's better to come, what with the weathered "Goddess On A Hiway" and "Opus 40". Deserter's Songs is one of the essential American albums at the end of the 1990s. It's hard to see that they--or anyone--can top it. --Louis Pattison
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Deserter's Songs (Audio CD)
"What was all that about?"was my first reaction when I heard this album, I couldn't believe how hyped it was.But as experience has taught me before the best albums are the ones you initially hate so I listened a few more times still not really getting it,but on the umpteenth listen I started to notice it's charms no longer was the lead singers voice annoying and with each subsequent listen it get's better and better and I even like the odd incidental tracks which litter the album, this now ranks alongside OK computer and Moon Safari as one of my favourite albums.It also has the strangest hidden track i've ever heard at the end and I love that too.Play this one full blast with the window open and look at the bewildered faces on people walking past.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eerie mix of Disney sounds and black-hearted America,
By A Customer
This review is from: Deserter's Songs (Audio CD)
This is an album that you hear and say "they can't be serious, can they?" as you listen to the singer's strangely cartoon like voice and impossibly twee mellotrons and ultra high strings. It's only when you listen to the complex orchestrations that you begin to realise this band is indeed serious. "Deserters Songs" sounds like candy but tastes like something darker, giving us glimpses of an american landscape full of despair, humour and hope. It's an emotional ride, and has the feeling of albums like OK Computer and Achtung Baby, that drift along and leave hundreds of layers of meaning, saying far more than they suggest but never appearing to be pretentiously profound. It even ends with a good ol' downhome footbanger in Delta Blues Stomp, that lifts the spirit and leaves you with a reflective, exciting and technically superb album.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There's No Running Away From This,
By Music Man "Jonesy" (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Deserter's Songs (Audio CD)
Not sure how you explain this CD to people not familiar with Mercury Rev. Brilliant, Innovative, Defined, Inspirational, Refreshing............all would be appropriate adjectives. But that still doesn't get across the true essence of the Band.
My introduction to MR was the track "Holes" which was on a compilation disc given away with a music magazine. It sounded so different and enchanting that I had to explore them more. When I bought and listened to this CD, I was completely taken aback by the sheer beauty and uniqueness of their approach to writing and producing. Jonathan Donahue has a voice that often sounds as if he is about to go off key but never does. He keeps an edgy side to his vocals that make you feel both uneasy and consumed at the same time. Quite simply it works so well with the material they write. And what material. The songs and arrangements on this CD are sumptuous and beauty personified. It really takes you by the hand and leads you to another land........zone even. The unusual instrumentation, at times sounding like ethereal garden saws crying in the wind of some enchanted forest. I told you it wasn't easy to describe. This is music on a much larger and grander stage. It is almost like a fairy tale melding with high class ballet. Close your eyes and it does far more for the imagination than any mind warping drugs. Absolutely brilliant. This is the sort of escapism that really makes you forget stress, bad times or sad times. Each track unfolds into something magical. I cannot rate this CD highly enough. This should be in everybody's collection.
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