Deserter's Songs

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Mercury Rev

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The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds." The Soft Boys' "Underwater Moonlight". R.E.M.'s "Reckoning". Mercury Rev's "Deserter's Songs." What do all these albums have in common? They are considered, at least in my mind, the top albums of all time. "Deserter's Songs" is on this list because it just happens to be a masterful, beautiful collage of dream pop, space rock, americana, and alternative rock. It took me nearly a year and a half to realize how incredible this album really is. I remember I bought it on a limb because I heard they were on R.E.M.'s 1999 Fall tour. Being an avid fan of R.E.M., I picked it up and popped it into my CD player. Well, I guess my reaction at the time was probably that of respect, thinking this band was a truly unique one who had churned out a truly unique album. I listened to it for a couple weeks, than casually placed it back into my CD case. Through time, I would occasionally listen to it, becoming a bit more enamored with it every time. Then, around the end of the summer of 2001, nearly two years after I had purchased the C.D., it hit me. This album is groundbreaking and definitely one of my all time top five albums. The brand new albums I bought during this time were ironically being shelved in place of "Deserter's Songs." Why? To put it simply, it's an album I just can't get enough of. From the chilling opener, "Holes", to the experimental sketches that close "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp," the album holds on and never lets go.

The orchestral, eerie opener "Holes" couples Donahue's creepy yet beautiful voice with bowed saws, majestic violins, and the gorgeous flutework of Suzanne Thorpe. A track that sweeps the listener to and fro. Delicate drums, calm acoustic guitar work...it's a sensational opener.

"Tonite it Shows" is a fairy-tale-esque song backed by once again dreamlike violins and flutes, along with Donahue's stunning lyrics. Lines like "The way you were/long before/you were a walking civil war" act like a chilling opposition to the dreamy instrumentation in the song.

"Endlessly" follows with gentle guitar picking, beautiful falsetto choir vocals, and that damn lovely bowed saw. Incorporating "Silent Night" into it just makes it even better.

"I Collect Coins" conjures up an early 1900's nostalgia, with its waltzy piano and vinyl scratches.

"Opus 40." God, what can be said about "Opus 40." Yes it's a single, but it's just to smart to be one. Yes, the slight drumming and majestic orchestrations are heart-wrenching, but Donahue's lyrics are just plain remarkable. "Catskill mansions buried screams/I'm alive she cried but I don't know what it means/somewhere out there across the moonlit sands/There's a line drawn like the lines on her own hand" could quite possible one of my favorite lyrics of all the music I have ever listen to.

The Grasshopper-penned "Hudson Line" is a fun romp that infuses crunching guitar and jazzy mellotron. It also shows that just because Grasshopper is usually confined to his role as a multi-instrumentalist, he can still create some intriguing lyrics like "technicolor raindrops wash gumballs down the drain."

The second instrumental, "The Happy End (The Drunk Room)" acts as a continuation to "I Collect Coins", once again evoking images of 1900's civilization dancing around a spacious ballroom.

"Goddess On A Hiway" is another clever single. Again, lyrically Donahue has hit the mark as he does throughout the album. The simple distinction between "Got Us on a Hiway" and "Goddess on a Hiway" is interesting and provokes some well-deserved beard-stroking. "Goddess" could possibly considered the most straightforward song on the album, even if it is an intelligent single.

"Funny Bird" is wonderful space rock song, starting off slowly with thumping drums and gentle bass. As the song progreses, it builds and builds until if finally explodes into a world of whacked-out guitar and furious bass. A truly excellent track.

"Pick Up if You're There" acts as the closer to the instrumental's story, circa 1900's. If prepares the listener for bombastic closer.

"Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp" is perhaps the most radical song on the album, fusing the characteristics of dance with a traditional jazz and rock. Slide gutar, thumping bass, pulsing rythms... it's all there. As the song comes to a tumultous end, the interesting experimental leanings of the group come into place and fiddle around with the listener's ears before coming to abrupt stop.

Well, there you have at, a song-by-song analysis of this masterful piece of music. "Deserter's Song" is not only a great instrumentally, but also lyrically. Donahue's warped lyrics are some of the most uniqe and thought-provoking lyrics I have ever heard. Plus, Dave Fridmann's bass is outstanding throughout the album, particularly on "Funny Bird" and "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp." It took me nearly two years to discover the potential of "Deserter's Songs", and let's just say I'm glad that these guys are around to make music once again so pertinent to not only the music industry, but to the world.