Search - American Music Club :: Mercury

One of the Top Records of the 90's

Robert L. Wehrle | Charleston, WV United States | 11/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, this might not be for everybody, I'll admit it took me years to "get" some of the tracks on this album. But patience leads to a lifetime of joy with this record. The production is fantastic. Remember when music sounded like it was made by real people playing real instruments made of wood and metal? This is it. Lyrically stunning. Instrumentally beautiful and powerful. Give it a chance and let it into your psyche. A lost classic."

Sorry, but the previous writer is an unsophisticated idiot!

arjay1957 | London, Ontario Canada | 01/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What kind of a review is that? If you're going to critique something, at least put some substance into it. "Mercury" is chock full of excellent songwriting and anguished lyrics. The critics for some of the world's most prominent and respected music publications seem to understand the talent and craft of Mark Eitzel and his former mates. The fact the record buying public is not says that there are many more dopes out there like a guy who writes with the profound observations that "this album is just another rock album and Eitzel is just another singer". Yeah, like the Beatles were just another British Invasion group!"

Like musical heroin

F. A Ognibene | Germantown, TN United States | 09/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mercury is an album that I cannot seem to take out of my cd player. I want to because of the fear of burning out on it, but it's such an addictive album, that you never want it to stop. This is AMC's masterpiece. Everclear is a much more harrowing affair, and while this album is no walk in the park, the songs take on a much more metaphorical style than they did on Everclear. Eitzel is in top form here. The whole band is absolutely fantastic on this, especially Vudi, whose guitar playing boggles the mind, with sheets of noise and delicate finger picked solos. I have never heard another guitarist play something like the Challenger (maybe My Bloody Valentine), but to be able to make a wall of sound guitar part along with lyrics, and make it into a somewhat normal format is groundbreaking. But back to Eitzel's lyrics. Every line on this album is amazing. To me, his words on this album are like the musical equvialent of Burroughs Naked Lunch. Everytime I read through Naked Lunch, or any of the other cut ups, they begin to make more and more sense, until i finally grasp the basis of the story. Mercury is much like that. With every repeated listen, more and more is understood and discovered. The overall tone of the album is very lost at sea sounding. If you were to be out in the middle of the ocean on a boat, with no one around(I guess like the cover of Eitzel's 60 Watt Silver Lining) this album would fit the mood perfectly. But unfortunately, there are no oceans near me, so I am reduced to sitting in my bedroom, lights of, the blue fluorescent glow of my cd player filling the room, and the first few notes of Gratitude Walks playing, sending me into a musically euphoric state. But once you get this album, you won't be able to stop playing it. It won't leave your cd player. Honestly."