Mercury Rev - Stillness Breathes: The Essential Mercury Rev 1991-2006 (V2)
3/5
By: Keri Kennedy
This monster of a double disc best of, complete with a whole CD of bonus extra tracks and cover versions, is a treat for any fan of Mercury Rev, or indeed the Flaming Lips. Quite bluntly, the 'Rev and the 'Lips (who they're regularly compared to) sound so damn identical at times, and it's no coincidence - Rev frontman Jonathan Donahue was of course once a member of Wayne Coyne's band. This compilation doesn't take the usual chronological journey through the hits, CD 1 darting all over the place, beginning with 2005's 'Diamonds', taken from most recent LP 'The Secret Migration', before jumping back a decade to 'Everlasting Arm' (which is a real 'Lips-esque tune), then back to 2005, then on to '98... you get the picture.
Slotting in familiar hits such as 'Goddess On A Highway' with early tracks like the 1993 'Chasing A Bee' gives the listener an idea of most of the span of the 'Rev's career, and just how much their sound has evolved. 'Chasing A Bee' itself, along with 'Car Wash Hair' and 'Frittering', are from the era that saw current frontman Donahue on backing vocal duty, and have a completely different edge. Then vocalist David Barker's voice (he left the band in 1994) is often more along the lines of The Magnetic Fields than Wayne Coyne. The trio of tracks hark back to a grungy sound for the band, and are a far cry from the orchestral sound of today. 'In A Funny Way' is the polar opposite to the early dirge; it has a Spector-like wall of sound and Shangri-La's beat, whereas 'The Dark Is Rising' still has those massive cinematic strings, interrupted by Donahue's whimper, soft piano and haunting backing vocals.
CD 2 is for the serious chin-strokers, with 18 tracks varying from Peel Sessions to cover versions of Dylan, and even a track from a pre-incarnation of the band - 'Clamor' by Shady Crady. This early work sounds like the Ramones covering The Cure, and there would be no way of telling that this was who we now know as Mercury Rev (well, it is almost 20 years old). It's a brilliant surprise, but maybe won't appeal to fans of their current sound.
The Beatles classic 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' is present, a carbon copy attempt that's efficiently, if cheesily, constructed. A cover of David Bowie's flop single from the '70's, 'Memory Of A Free Festival', is a psychedelic wall of noise, somewhere amidst the early grunge Rev and the Rev of today. 'Stillness Breathes' is a fitting conclusion for this journey through the career of a band whose first impression may come across as a twee mirror image of the Flaming Lips, but this 15 year's worth of music shows how far they've really come, and how much they've actually achieved.
Artists in this article: Mercury Rev
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment