• Voto:
A fine gennaio è uscito, a quattro anni dal precedente "All Is Dream", il nuovo cd dei Mercury Rev "The Secret Migration".
Fin dal primo ascolto si può notare che la band ha attenuato i toni "ipnotici" del loro stile ed è ritornata ad un rock più genuino ma senza gli eccessi rumoristici della loro prima produzione. A scapito delle orchestrazioni oniriche e grandiose di "All Is Dream" (qui ancora ricordate con "Diamonds"), nel nuovo disco prendono il sopravvento ritmi rullanti e improvvise aperture, anche se non mancano accenni alle caratteristiche ninne, impronta maggiore del precedente lavoro. Alcuni brani hanno un dolce inizio di soli pianoforte e voce, sui quali dopo poche battute subentrano basso e batteria martellanti, come in "In The Wilderness", forse il pezzo più notevole.
A parte l'alto livello di ascoltabilità del singolo d'apertura "Secret for a song", della seguente "Across yer ocean" e del magnifico pop di "In A Funny Way" (già nella colonna sonora di "Laurel Canyon"), le peculiarità dei nuovi brani che risaltano immediatamente all'orecchio sono la coralità cullante di "Moving On", e la trascinante e rullante potenza di "Arise". "Vermillion" combina la doppia vena del disco mescolando forza ritmica e armonie, mentre in "First-time Mother's Joy" e nella conclusiva "Down Poured The Heavens" si sente quanto il leader stia portando avanti un impegnato studio da songwriter, non rinunciando alla struttura melodica e tendendo principalmente a pitturare un raffinato pop sulla tela della sperimentazione.
Purtroppo pecca del disco sono canzoni come "My Love", "The Climbing Rose" e "Black Forest (Lorelei)", che suonano ripetitive e in fin dei conti sembrano solo un inutile e noioso riempitivo. Dopo un tanto lunga attesa ci si poteva aspettare un lavoro più vario e impegnato, dove fosse ancora messo in risalto l'aspetto sinfonico del loro stile.
Dal vivo la band, ingaggiati come opening act di Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, propone i brani con la consueta energia e uno spirito scenograficamente sonoro, dove subito si coglie la versatilità dei musicisti (il leader e il chitarrista Grasshopper si destreggiano molto bene con l'armonica a bocca) e l'eccezionale bravura del batterista. Anche il sito della band è stato totalmente rinnovato appositamente per questo rilascio, con nuove sezioni e grafica.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Secret for a Song (04:01)
Dawn brought a wild light, back into her tired eyes,
Like violets, opening her eyelids to the light,
Oh she was golden, I caught her still glowing,
I told you where we're goin' girl,
We're off for a dark country ride
I'll tell you a secret, I'll sell you a secret for a song,
Some day I'll tell you and take you back home where you belong
All the leaves are falling, Two suns are slowly rising,
I'll take you where the morning star burns just for you,
My dark country bride
I'll tell you a secret, oh I'll sell you a secret for a song,
I'll give you my soul, babe, an one day you'll give me yours
Oh I'll tell you a secret, I'll sell you my secret for a song,
I'll give you my soul, babe, an one day you'll give me yours
I'll tell you a secret, I'll sell you my secret for a song,
Some day I'll tell you and take you back home where you belong
03 Diamonds (03:51)
Look how the sun, captured by the rain,
Glimmers and falls, and lands in golden balls,
Like a bracelet hung, from a spider's web,
For me to show to you, like gifts,
That you won't forget...
For as long as you live...
See how the rain, captured by the leaves,
Shimmers and falls, and lives on in diamond balls,
Like a necklace hung, over limb and branch,
For me to show to you, like gifts,
That you won't forget...
For as long as you live...
Watch how the stars, captured by the sky,
Appear to die, before our eyes and live on, in other ways,
Well tonite they're mine, for me to show,
For me to shower you, like gifts,
That you won't forget...
For as long as you live...
And you will always have...
For I will always give them...
To you
04 Black Forest (Lorelei) (04:46)
If I was a white horse...an offered you a ride...
Thru a black forest
If we took a strange course...promised you a danger...
For a while
Ooh-ooh (..a white horse)...Lorelei
Ooh-ooh (..a white horse)...Lorelei
There's no way 'round the forest...the only way is thru
An' there's no way I'll ever make it on my own..without you
But if you are persuaded...by all those dragonflies offering you a ride...
I'll know why
Ooh-ooh (..a white horse)...Lorelei
Ooh-ooh (..a white horse)...I'll know why
I'll know why
Forests come in all size...danger many shapes...
Well who's to say
If I was a white horse...offered you a ride...
Thru a black forest
06 In the Wilderness (02:32)
Has she found a way to make her man work out rite,
An' has she found a way to let her man into her life,
Has she found a way to teach her man some control,
Oh to make him understand her, as a whole,
Will she find a way to tell him just how lost she is,
An' will he find a way to lead her out of the wilderness,
Take her by surprise, and not by force,
Oh able to withstand, all her storms,
In the wilderness..things aren't what they seem,
In the wilderness..life is but a dream,
That flows on..that flows on...
Will he find a way to let her play such a sacred role,
Will she find a way to forgive him as a whole,
Oh how can he have been so blind for so long,
An' how can the woman I love, be so strong
In the wilderness..things aren't what they seem,
In the wilderness..life is but a dream,
That flows on..that flows on...
07 In a Funny Way (04:01)
On a summer day you can hear her call,
But in a funny way she reminds you of the fall,
On a summer day you can hear her call,
But in a funny way she reminds you of the fall,
Thru the fields an the streams an the lakes an the trees,
An the grass an the logs run all my dogs,
And I am home again
In the autumn air,
You can see her smile,
But in a funny way she reminds you of a child,
In the autumn air,
You feel her soul unfold,
And in a funny way you feel your own explode,
Thru the fields an the streams an the lakes an the trees,
An the grass an the logs run all my dogs,
And I am home again
Ahhhh Ahhhh
Ahhhh Ahhhh
On a winter day,
You can hear her call,
But in a funny way when the snow begins to fall
On a winter day,
You can hear her call,
And in a funny way,
You love her even more
Thru the fields an the streams an the lakes an the trees,
An the grass an the logs run all my dogs,
And I am home again
Thru the fields an the streams an the lakes an the trees,
An the grass an the logs run all my dogs,
And I am home again
On a summer day you can hear her call,
But in a funny way she reminds you of the fall,
On a summer day you can hear her call,
But in a funny way she reminds you of the fall
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di josi_
Premere i tasti dello stereo con dentro "The Secret Migration" è come sfogliare le pagine di "Racconti Fantastici Dell’Ottocento" di Italo Calvino.
I racconti dei Mercury Rev sono 'sonici', di suoni soprannaturali: tappeti d’archi, scintillii levigati, la voce eterea di Jonathan, le chitarre allucinate di Grasshopper.
Di zaireeka
Sono incazzato nero. Soprattutto con me stesso.
Trattasi effettivamente di album piatto, noioso e manierato.
