Deserter's Songs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Deserter's Songs | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by Mercury Rev | ||
| Released | September 29, 1998 | |
| Recorded | Tarbox Studios, NRS Studios, Six Hours Studios | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 44:39 | |
| Label | V2 Records | |
| Producer(s) | Dave Fridmann, Jonathan Donahue | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| Mercury Rev chronology | ||
| See You on the Other Side (1995) |
Deserter's Songs (1998) |
All Is Dream (2001) |
Deserter's Songs is the fourth album by the rock band Mercury Rev, released in 1998. British music magazine NME awarded Deserter's Songs album of the year for 1998.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Holes" – 5:55
- "Tonite It Shows" – 3:40
- "Endlessly" – 4:25
- "I Collect Coins" – 1:27
- "Opus 40" – 5:10
- "Hudson Line" – 2:54
- "The Happy End (The Drunk Room)" – 2:06
- "Goddess on a Hiway" – 3:45
- "The Funny Bird" – 5:51
- "Pick Up If You're There" – 3:05
- "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" – 6:17
The Japanese version appends two bonus tracks: 34 seconds of silence at track 12, and the closing instrumental, "Rag Tag" 2:54 at track 13.
All music by Jonathan Donahue & Sean Mackiowiak. All lyrics by Jonathan Donahue except "Hudson Line" by Sean Mackiowiak, and "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" by Jimy Chambers.
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Mercury Rev
- Jonathan Donahue – vocals, acoustic guitar, chamberlain strings
- Grasshopper – guitar reels, vocals on #6, woodwinds
- Adam Synder – B3, Mellotron, wurlitzer
- Dave Fridmann – piano, bass, mellotron, backing vocals
- Suzanne Thorpe – flutes
- Jimy Chambers – clavinet, harpsichord, drums
[edit] Additional Musicians
- Levon Helm - Drums on 'Opus 40'
- Garth Hudson - Tenor & Alto Sax on 'Hudson Line'
- Amy Helm & Marie Spinosa - Female Vox and Whistling
- Mary Gavazzi Fridmann - Female Soprano
- Jeff Mercel - Drums
- Joel Eckhouse - Bowed Saw
- Rachel Handman - Violins
- Matt Jordan - Flugelhorns
- Jim Burgess - Trombones
- Aaron Hurwitz - Piano
- Scott Petito - Upright, Elec. Bass
- Garrett James Uhlenbrock - Slide Guitar
[edit] Miscellanea
- The success of this album was a pleasant surprise for the band. After the commercial failure of See You on the Other Side, which Donahue considered to be the band's best album, they decided to make one more record entirely for themselves, ignoring commercial influences, and expecting to split up shortly afterward. Surprisingly, Deserter's Songs was their most successful album, and made them big celebrities in the UK and Europe, also making a smaller mark in the US.
- If one rewinds at the beginning of track 12, there is a hidden instrumental track. It is played on the Tettix Wave Acumulator, an instrument built by Donahue and Grasshopper. Reportedly, two versions of the instrument exist--one for recording that takes up half Grasshopper's basement, and a smaller one for the road.
- Limited edition copies of the album came in a hard brown envelope-like package, with a stamp on the cover postmarked with the release date.
- A limited edition bonus disc exists with conceptual videos made for every song on the album. This was repeated for the follow-up, 2001's All Is Dream.
- The song 'Holes' was used in the film Panic starring William H. Macy and Neve Campbell
