Mercury Rev's 1995 classic 'See You on the Other Side' is a sprawlingly ambitious mix of beautiful melodies, complex arrangements and psychedelic lullabies
Mercury Rev: See You on the Other Side
What a great album… but sadly, Mercury Rev’s third album was as out of time in 1995 as the Velvet Underground's first was in peace’n’love 1967.
Yerself is Steam, Boces
Leading lights in the early 90s US alt-rock renaissance that gave the world such messy mavericks as Pavement and their close cousins and fellow cosmic explorers the Flaming Lips, the Rev were nothing but ambitious. They were a rock band in the broadest sense, influenced initially more by LSD, experimental films and their own private cosmology than by the blues or Beatles. Their first album, 91’s sprawlingly psychedelic ‘Yerself is Steam’, was followed by 93’s slightly more conventional ‘Boces’. But by then the internal tension that led to such mesmerising live shows had become too much to bear and the Rev’s unpredictable, larger-than-life frontman David Baker jumped ship. Most were quietly relieved.
Dave Fridmann at the controls
‘See you…’ began a new era for the Rev, now dominated, as they still are today, by the trio of founder and new vocalist Jonathan Donahue; bassist, keyboardist and production maestro Dave Fridmann (now also the Lips’ producer); and guitarist Grasshopper. It struggled to find an audience in an era where Britpop ruled, and catchy, straightforward melodies were the order of the day. You couldn’t tie these songs down to any one meaning – ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ they were not. But those who got it really got it. Looking back over a decade on, ‘See You…’ seems to represent the perfect synthesis of the old and new Rev sounds. The messiness, complicated arrangements and occasional blasts of noise are still there, but they are increasingly counterpointed by jazzy arrangements, poetic musings, much cleaner production and the kind of catchy, almost nursery-rhyme melodies that came to the fore on later albums.
The songs
Opener ‘Empire State’ sees vocalist Jonathan Donahue’s complex, lovely melodies fight it out with chiming guitar, nagging piano, Suzanne Thorpe’s squalling sax and Jimy Chambers’ wild up-and-down drumming, before a flute and string-filled outro. It is clear that the band have made a clear break from grunge’s soft-loud dynamics and sometimes wilful ugliness. This opener tells its audience that this record has more in common with old Hollywood musicals and Art Deco buildings than Sonic Youth. And one good thing about not being this year’s fashion, is that you are less likely to date: this record sounds as fresh today as when it was released.
‘Young man’s Stride’ is rockier and more straightforward, before ‘Sudden Ray of Hope’ returns to the new baroque sound. ‘Everlasting Arm’ has an old pre-war vibe which chimes with the cover art. Like much of the record, it has a real ambiguity - impossibly romantic and transcendental, but with overtones of the personal problems (is the title a junkie’s dream?) that several times threatened to drag the band down, and a queasy sense of ‘not-there’ness. It’s not easy out there on the frontiers of consciousness – and this record often hints at the psychic toll that some of the band have paid.
‘Racing the Tide’ is one of the album’s more conventional moments, with an anthemic feel and graceful, orchestral flourishes. It segues into the wonderfully titled ‘Close encounters of the third grade’. Combining a funky bassline with a moaning diva and the odd vocal interjection, this fragment is the most light-hearted and danceable moment on the album. The swooning ’Kiss from an old flame’ reprises the romantic feel of ‘Everlasting Arm’, before ‘Peaceful Night’ bids us goodnight with a lullaby.
Deserter's Songs
Like their old friends the Lips, the Rev finally got the credit they deserved when 98’s beautiful, epic, but more conventional ‘Deserter’s Songs’ topped many critics’ end of year polls and sold well. They are now veterans, an established act and a solid live attraction, though it seems that their most creative days are behind them. But this wonderful record, a pure studio concoction, is a reminder that they once shone like stars.
