Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev | |
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 Mercury Rev at All Tomorrow's Parties in 2004. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Buffalo, New York, United States |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts | The Flaming Lips |
| Website | mercuryrev.com |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.[5] Original personnel were David Baker (vocals), Jonathan Donahue (vocals, guitars), Sean Mackowiak, known as "Grasshopper" (guitars, clarinet), Suzanne Thorpe (flute), Dave Fridmann (bass) and Jimy Chambers (drums).
Contents
1 History
1.1 The first years with David Baker
1.2 Transitional period
1.3 Wide critical and commercial success
1.4 Later years
2 Band members
3 Discography
3.1 Albums
3.2 Compilation albums, live albums and soundtracks
3.3 Singles and EPs
3.4 Other contributions
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
History
The first years with David Baker
With their early records, Mercury Rev offered experimental, psychedelic rock, which gradually shifted to a melodic, ornate sound. Mercury Rev is often compared to The Flaming Lips,[6] and in fact share close ties: soon after the band's formation, Donahue also joined the Flaming Lips as second guitarist and appeared on two of their albums; and since the 1990 album In a Priest Driven Ambulance, Dave Fridmann has co-produced every Flaming Lips studio album to date except 1993's Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.
Despite considerable critical acclaim,[7][8][9] their early releases never gave Mercury Rev more than cult popularity,[6] though they appeared on the smaller second stage at some 1993 Lollapalooza stops. Baker left after their second record, Boces (1993), citing musical and personal disputes; he later recorded an album as Shady. With his departure, the thematically darker and musically experimental features of the band began to disappear.[4]
Transitional period
The band's first post-Baker album, See You on the Other Side (1995) contained a variety of styles, including a sprawling psychedelic opening track and noise rock numbers like Young Man's Stride (for which a music video was released), but also more melodic songs, such as Sudden Ray of Hope.
The same year the group also recorded and released the album Paralyzed Mind Of The Archangel Void under the moniker "Harmony Rockets". This album features a single forty minute track of mostly instrumental psychedelic improvised music. It was rated four and half stars, out of five, by AllMusic. The group performed it again in the Don't Look Back concert series in 2009.
Wide critical and commercial success
The 1998 release of the acclaimed[10][11][12][13][14]Deserter's Songs (which featured appearances by Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of The Band) made Mercury Rev unexpected pop stars. In the UK, NME magazine made Deserter's Songs their Album of the Year.[15] Donahue's earnest, high-pitched vocals and concentration on relatively concise, melodic songs gave the band's material an entirely new feel and much increased popularity (Deserter's Songs spawned three UK Top 40 singles).
All Is Dream was issued in 2001. It included, "The Dark is Rising," which reached No. 16 in the UK Singles Chart.[16]
Later years
Mercury Rev's The Secret Migration was released on January 24, 2005. This was followed up in 2006, by a compilation album, The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006 and the film soundtrack album Hello Blackbird. More recently, the band released a pair of albums on September 29, 2008: Snowflake Midnight, and a free MP3 album of instrumentals, Strange Attractor.
The Light in You was released on October 2, 2015 through Bella Union, their their first studio album in seven years.[17] Mercury Rev's most recent album, "Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited", was released in February 2019.[18] It includes versions by Mercury Rev and singers like Norah Jones or Margo Price.
Band members
Jonathan Donahue – vocals and guitar
Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak – guitar, keyboards, clarinet, tettix wave accumulator- Jesse Chandler
Film Music Live Improvisation for the short movie The Red Balloon
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | Sales | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [19] | US Heat. [20] | AUS [21] | BE (Wa) [22] | BE (Fl) [23] | FRA [24] | NOR [25] | SWE [26] | ||||
| 1991 | Yerself Is Steam
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993 | Boces
| 43 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995 | See You on the Other Side
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Paralyzed Mind of the Archangel Void (as 'Harmony Rockets')
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 1998 | Deserter's Songs
| 27 | — | 85 | — | — | 36 | 15 | 38 |
|
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| 2001 | All Is Dream
| 11 | 17 | 36 | — | 46 | 27 | 4 | 55 |
| |
| 2005 | The Secret Migration
| 16 | — | 66 | 48 | 27 | 30 | 27 | — | ||
| 2008 | Snowflake Midnight
| 52 | 14 | — | 94 | 48 | 150 | — | — | ||
| 2015 | The Light in You
| 39 | — | — | 152 | 77 | 66 | — | — | ||
| 2019 | Bobbie Gentry's The Delta Sweete Revisited
| 32 | — | — | — | 184 [29] | — | — | |||
Compilation albums, live albums and soundtracks
- 2002 - Instant Karma - A Tribute to John Lennon (song, Isolation)
- 2006 - The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006
- 2006 - Hello Blackbird (soundtrack to the film Bye Bye Blackbird)
- 2006 - Back to Mine (compiled by Mercury Rev, includes exclusive new track "Cecilla's Lunar Expose")
- 2009 - The Peel Sessions
- 2011 - Beyond The Swirling Clouds - An Evening At Barrowland Ballroom Recorded live on March 6th 2005 at Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow.
- 2012 - Live In Brixton '92
Singles and EPs
- 1992 - "Lego My Ego'" (re-released with 1999 re-issue of "Yerself Is Steam")
- 1992 - "Car Wash Hair"
- 1992 - "If You Want Me to Stay"
- 1993 - "The Hum Is Coming From Her"
- 1993 - "Chasing a Bee"
- 1993 - "Bronx Cheer"
- 1993 - "Something for Joey"
- 1995 - "Everlasting Arm"
- 1995 - "Young Man's Stride"
- 1998 - "Goddess on a Hiway" - UK No. 51
- 1998 - "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" - No. 26
- 1999 - "Opus 40" - No. 31
- 1999 - "Holes" (Australia only)
- 1999 - "Goddess on a Hiway" - No. 26 (1999 re-issue)
- 2001 - "Nite and Fog" - No. 47
- 2002 - "The Dark Is Rising" - No. 16
- 2002 - "Little Rhymes" - No. 51
- 2004 - "Secret for a Song" (internet download only)
- 2005 - "In a Funny Way" - No. 28
- 2005 - "Across Yer Ocean" - No. 54
- 2008 - "Senses on Fire"
- 2009 - "Butterfly's Wing"
Other contributions
Acoustic 05 (2005, Echo) - "First Time Mothers Joy"
Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy (2009, Mezzotint) - "Sailors and Animals" (Miracle Legion cover)
See also
- List of dream pop artists
References
^ Cardew, Ben (May 18, 2016). "Mercury Rev – 10 of the best". The Guardian..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ DeVille, Chris (July 1, 2016). "Premature Evaluation: The Avalanches Wildflower". Stereogum.
^ "Neo-Psychedelia". AllMusic. n.d.
^ abc Jason Ankeny (2001-09-11). "Mercury Rev | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ [1] Archived February 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
^ ab "Mercury Rev". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ "Chris Roberts reviews Mercury Rev's Yerself Is Steam, 16th February 1991 | Archived Music Press". Archivedmusicpress.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ [2] Archived September 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ Heather Phares (1995-09-19). "See You on the Other Side - Mercury Rev | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ Jason Ankeny. "Deserter's Songs - Mercury Rev | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ [3] Archived May 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ Nme.Com (2005-09-12). "NME Reviews - Deserter's Songs". Nme.com. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ [4] Archived October 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ Sinclair, Tom (1998-09-25). "Deserter's Songs". EW.com. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ "Rocklist.net...NME Lists Menu Page". Rocklistmusic.co.uk. 1992-05-09. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ "The Official UK Top 40". BBC News. January 27, 2002. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
^ "The Light in You - Mercury Rev | Credits". AllMusic. 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2015-12-04.
^ "Mercury Rev | Bella Union". bellaunion.com. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
^ "Chart Stats - Mercury Rev". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
^ "Mercury Rev | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
^ "Discography Mercury Rev". Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
^ "Discography Mercury Rev". ultratop.be/fr. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
^ "Discography Mercury Rev". ultratop.be/nl. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
^ "Discographie Mercury Rev". lescharts.com. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
^ "Discography Mercury Rev". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
^ "Discography Mercury Rev". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
^ ab "Certified Awards Search Archived 2013-01-11 at WebCite". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved on 2011-12-26. Note: User needs to enter "Mercury Rev" in the "Search" field, "Artist" in the "Search by" field and click the "Go" button. Select "More info" next to the relevant entry to see full certification history.
^ Martens, Todd (1 September 2001). "Mercury Rev Creates An Upbeat, Mythic World On V2's 'All Is Dream'". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 7, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mercury Rev. |
- Official website
Mercury Rev at AllMusic
- Mercury Rev at WorldMusicDatabase
- V2Music: Mercury Rev
- Review of 'Butterfly's Wings'
Silvertone Series No. 2 Mercury Rev in Russia. An interview for Podstantsiya.ru
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