"Miracle Legion were a Connecticut-based band that immediately sprung to life on the heels of post-R.E.M. guitar-rock boom, chiefly because lead singer Mark Mulcahy's voice bore an uncanny resemblance to Michael Stipe's, and the arpeggio guitar structures were akin to Peter Buck's. But the band, Ray Neal (guitar), Jeff Wiederschall (drums) and Steven West (bass), and later just Mulcahy and Neal, ultimately became unique in their own right. (...) By 1989, Mulcahy and guitarist Ray Neal were working as a duo and released Me and Mr. Ray a savvy acoustic album on Rough Trade. Having abandoned the R.E.M. sound, the band found their own direction as a country-rock duo. Mulcahy continues to perform as a solo acoustic artist".
(Denise Sullivan, All-Music Guide)
"Starting out in 1984, Miracle Legion released a few EPs with little fanfare before signing to Rough Trade in 1987. During this three-year period, they garnered minor college radio success, but were always dogged by lazy, cursory comparisons to R.E.M. Ostensibly, these comparisons might seem valid, but contrasting Stipe and Mulcahy's approach to songcraft paints a wildly divergent picture. It wasn't until Me and Mr. Ray, their third proper full-length, that Miracle Legion started to chart new directions and shake erroneous associations. From opening track The Ladies From Town, it's obvious that Mr. Ray is a more idiosyncratic and experimental endeavor, though it doesn't end up straying too far from the pop hooks the band were so good at. In lieu of jangly, electric guitars, the majority of the album favors pristine acoustic arrangements and playfully abstract lyrics, often bolstered with equally youthful and capricious instrumentation. Even more, the rhythm section seems much further subdued (You're The One Lee), even disappearing altogether at points (Old & New). Through conscious effort, Mulcahy's songwriting is in the forefront, resulting in newfound sense of immediacy. You can't help but give Me and Mr. Ray your full attention as it shifts from fast-paced folk songs like The Ladies From Town to dark, slow-burning ballads like Pull The Wagon, which acts as the album's centerpiece and is arguably the most complex and bleak song Miracle Legion ever penned".
(tinymixtapes.com)
ENJOY
Pull the Wagon
8 comments:
Tracklist:
01 The Ladies from Town
02 And Then?
03 Old & New
04 Sailors and Animals
05 If She Could Cry
06 Pull the Wagon
07 You're the One Lee
08 Even Better
09 Cold Shoulder Balcony
10 Gigantic Transatlantic Trunk Call
thanks again
TOTALLY WIRED:the unstopable music machine!!!
let's try two requests if there are more fans.
something ele from PAUL ROLAND and LOUIS TILLET ego trippin.
I've got lots of old ML vinyl, but not this. Thank you very much!
Marc
THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH.
AMG description says Mark Mulcahy's voice sounds like Michael Stipe. I don't think so. He sounds just like David Gray though. Just play them back to back - its uncanny.
Hi Tsounami,
Paul Roland is a personal favourite, and he's already left his mark in TOTALLY WIRED (just check the "labels" on the right side).
No doubt he'll show up again sooner than later, and the same can be said for Louis Tillet.
Take care.
..also for me ROLAND is personal favourite and had the chance to watch him live(unplugged in a way), the same for TILLET.
don't bother with my(our) requests,
they 're just ideas but sometimes it seems you have better than ours.
and for sure there are a lot of people with avery good taste visiting this blog .
This is a rare band actually I had never heard about them before, so I'd like to get more information of them and music to listening at home.
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