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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Mercury Rev| image = Mercury Rev at Tel Aviv 7.jpg| caption = Jonathan Donahue fronting Mercury Rev in Tel Aviv , Israel , 2010| background = group_or_band| origin = Buffalo, New York|Buffalo , New York , United States | genre = Alternative rock , dream pop | years_active = 1989–present| label = Jungle Records , Rough Trade Records , Columbia Records , Beggars Banquet Records , V2 Records , Yep Roc Records | website = http://www.mercuryrev.com| current_members = Jonathan Donahue Grasshopper (musician)|Grasshopper Jeff Mercel Carlos Anthony Molina Dave Fridmann | past_members = David Baker (singer)|David Baker Suzanne Thorpe Jimy Chambers Justin Russo Jason Sebastian Russo|Jason Russo Adam Snyder Paul Dillon Mercury Rev is an United States|American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York . http://www.mercuryrev.com/bio.html Official Band Bio, MercuryRev.com , Retrieved on August 24, 2009. Original personnel were David Baker (singer)|David Baker ( singing|vocals ), Jonathan Donahue (vocals, guitar s), Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a. " Grasshopper (musician)|Grasshopper " (guitars, clarinet ), Suzanne Thorpe ( flute ), Dave Fridmann ( bass guitar|bass ) and Jimy Chambers ( Drum kit|drums ).
History
The first years with David Baker
With their early Gramophone record|records , Mercury Rev offered experimental, psychedelic rock, which gradually shifted to a melodic, ornate sound. Mercury Rev is often compared to The Flaming Lips ,cite web |url= http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php? a=mercury_rev |title=Trouser Press 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,cite web |url= http://archivedmusicpress.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/chris-roberts-reviews-mercury-revs-yerself-is-steam-16th-february-1991/ |title=Melody Maker 1991cite web |url= http://www.fastnbulbous.com/mercury_boces.htm |title=Boces Reviewcite web |url=Allmusic|class=album|id=r218547|pure_url=yes |title=AllMusic their early releases never gave Mercury Rev more than cult following|cult popularity, 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.cite web |url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p13667|pure_url=yes |title=Allmusic
Transitional period
The band's first post-Baker album, See You on the Other Side (Mercury Rev)|See You on the Other Side (1995), found them in transition. The album was varied: Like the first releases, it still featured a sprawling psychedelic opening track and noise rock numbers like ''Young Man's Stride (for which a music video 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 minutes 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)|Don't Look Back concert series in 2009.
Wide critical and commercial success
and the 1998 release of the acclaimed Allmusic Rating|4.5|5Allmusic|class=album|id=r377120|pure_url=yes linkFluffhouse Music (10/10) http://www.fluffhouse.org.uk/musicreviews/album.php? albumid=615 link NME (9/10) http://www.nme.com/reviews/mercury-rev/203 link Pitchfork Media (8.5/10) http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19842/Mercury_Rev_Deserters_Songs linkcite news |url= http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284989,00.html |title=Entertainment Weekly Deserter's Songs Review Sep. 25, 1998 | date=1998-09-25 '' Deserter's Songs (which featured appearances by Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of The Band ) made Mercury Rev unexpected pop stars. In the United Kingdom|UK , NME magazine made Deserter's Songs'' their NME album of the year|Album of the Year .cite web |url= http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmeindex.html |title=NME Album of The Year Index 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 Single (music)|singles ).cite web |url= http://www.everyhit.com |title=Everyhit.com
All Is Dream was issued in 2001. It included, "The Dark is Rising," which reached #16 in the UK Singles Chart .cite news |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_1785000/1785755.stm |title=The Official UK Top 40 | work=BBC News | date=January 27, 2002 | accessdate=May 12, 2010
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, Snowflake Midnight|Strange Attractor .
British Phonographic Industry|UK : Gold" http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx Certified Awards Search". 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.
http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/mercury-rev-butterflys-wings-single-review-07112008-1239.aspx Review of 'Butterfly's Wings'
http://www.podst.ru/? area=posts& id=3055 Silvertone Series #2 Mercury Rev in Russia. An interview for Podstantsiya.ru
Mercury Rev Category:Mercury Rev Category:Musical groups established in 1989 Category:Neo-psychedelia groups Category:Alternative rock groups from New York Category:Musical groups from Buffalo, New York
