Great Cover Song #620: Rev Family Stone

Meant to post this last night, but got busy... Mercury Rev has been an often-great band. But there at the very beginning, they made a joyful noise - fusing pop hooks, jazzy flutes, general weirdness, groovy experimentation, and lots and lots of distorted guitars. Originally considered a Flaming Lips offshoot, because Jonathan Donahue had played on In a Priest-Driven Ambulance, really it was his main band when he joined the Lips to help out. David Baker was their lead singer for two albums before leaving or getting the boot.


"If You Want Me To Stay" from Chasing a Bee EP (1992)

This is a "b-side" to the first single from their debut album, Yerself is Steam (1991): "Chasing A Bee" [see below]. I have the semi-rare Rough Trade cd of the full album, which unfortunately doesn't tack on "Car Wash Hair," another mind-blower. The Family Stone original has been covered a few other times, but this one's way out there! The third track on the cd-single is a set of 4 Yerself songs from their first Peel Sessions (8/27/1991). The totality of which was released a few months ago as The Complete Peel Sessions (2009). Also, if you like this stuff and don't own it - you might wanna look out for the Yerself is Steam/Lego My Ego 2xCD (2007), with bonus dvd of "Car Wash Hair" and this video:


"Chasing a Bee" from Yerself is Steam (1991)

I really need to get back to the historical Top 10's. I originally learned about Mercury Rev not through the Flaming Lips, but from a mixtape a friend sent me probably in early 1992. It included a bunch of new stuff, but Mercury Rev, Slint, Shockabilly and Chris Knox/Tall Dwarfs are the main ones I remember first being exposed to. And I need to get that tape back...