Mercury Rev

Mercury Rev
Jonathan Donahue fronting Mercury Rev in Tel Aviv, Israel, 2010
Background information
Origin	Buffalo, New York, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, dream pop
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Jungle Records, Rough Trade Records, Columbia Records, Beggars Banquet Records, V2 Records, Yep Roc Records
Website	http://www.mercuryrev.com
Members
Jonathan Donahue Grasshopper Jeff Mercel Carlos Anthony Molina Dave Fridmann
Past members
David Baker Suzanne Thorpe Jimy Chambers Justin Russo Jason Russo Adam Snyder Paul Dillon Michael Bouquard

Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York.^[1] Original personnel were David Baker (vocals), Jonathan Donahue (vocals, guitars), Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a. "Grasshopper" (guitars, clarinet), Suzanne Thorpe (flute), Dave Fridmann (bass) and Jimy Chambers (drums).

History

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,^[2] 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,^[3][4][5] their early releases never gave Mercury Rev more than cult popularity,^[2] 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 darker, more experimental and less accessible features of their music began to disappear.^[6]

The band's first post-Baker album, See You on the Other Side (1995), found them in transition, and the 1998 release of the acclaimed^{[7][8][9][10][11]} 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.^[12] 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).^[13]

All Is Dream was issued in 2001. It included, "The Dark is Rising," which reached #16 in the UK Singles Chart.^[14]

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.

Members

• Jonathan Donahue - vocals and guitar
• Grasshopper (Sean Mackowiak) - guitar
• Jeff Mercel - drums and keyboards
• Carlos Anthony Molina - bass

Film Music Live Improvisation for the short movie The Red Balloon

Discography

Chart positions listed are for the United Kingdom; the band has not charted in the United States.

Albums

• Yerself Is Steam (May 14, 1991) (re-issued in 1999)
• Boces (June 1, 1993) - UK #43
• See You on the Other Side (September 19, 1995)
• Deserter's Songs (September 29, 1998) - #27
• All Is Dream (September 11, 2001) - #11
• The Secret Migration (January 24, 2005) - #16
• Snowflake Midnight (September 29, 2008) - #52
• Strange Attractor (free MP3 download album) (September 29, 2008)^[15]

Compilation albums and soundtracks

• 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")

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 #51
• 1998 - "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" - #26
• 1999 - "Opus 40" - #31
• 1999 - "Holes" (Australia only)
• 1999 - "Goddess on a Hiway" - #26 (1999 re-issue)
• 2001 - "Nite and Fog" - #47
• 2002 - "The Dark Is Rising" - #16
• 2002 - "Little Rhymes" - #51
• 2004 - "Secret for a Song" (internet download only)
• 2005 - "In a Funny Way" - #28
• 2005 - "Across Yer Ocean" - #54
• 2008 - "Senses on Fire"
• 2009 - "Butterfly's Wings"^[15]

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

1. ^ Official Band Bio, MercuryRev.com, Retrieved on August 24, 2009.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Trouser Press". http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=mercury_rev. 
3. ^ "Melody Maker 1991". http://archivedmusicpress.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/chris-roberts-reviews-mercury-revs-yerself-is-steam-16th-february-1991/. 
4. ^ "Boces Review". http://www.fastnbulbous.com/mercury_boces.htm. 
5. ^ "AllMusic". http://www.allmusic.com/album/r218547. 
6. ^ "Allmusic". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p13667. 
7. ^ Allmusic link
8. ^ Fluffhouse Music (10/10) link
9. ^ NME (9/10) link
10. ^ Pitchfork Media (8.5/10) link
11. ^ "Entertainment Weekly Deserter's Songs Review Sep. 25, 1998". http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284989,00.html. 
12. ^ "NME Album of The Year Index". http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmeindex.html. 
13. ^ "Everyhit.com". http://www.everyhit.com. 
14. ^ "The Official UK Top 40". BBC News. January 27, 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_1785000/1785755.stm. Retrieved May 12, 2010. 
15. ^ ^{a b} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 361. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 

External links

• Official website
• Mercury Rev at Allmusic
• Mercury Rev at WorldMusicDatabase
• V2Music: Mercury Rev
• Review of 'Butterfly's Wings'
• Silvertone Series #2 Mercury Rev in Russia. An interview for Podstantsiya.ru