I don’t know how I missed this, but I’m not too sorry I did. A couple of otherwise very good musicians put together a benefit album for the great Mark Mulcahy (of Miracle Legion and solo fame) because his wife, Melissa, died a while ago. And while it’s… just okay. Which is mysterious, because the songwriter is a genius and performers are mostly pretty great. There really aren’t a lot of opportunities to screw this up. I mean, the involved parties could probably mumble each others’ songs out of tune into Fischer-Price tape recorders in their bathrooms and produce something better than half of what was released last year. It will be easier for those who didn’t know enough about it to be disappointed to appreciate, but, even if you know how great it could have been, you should still check it out, as there are a few good moments.
If you’ve been in anything more than a vegetative state for any significant portion of the last ten to twenty years, you’ll recognize Dinosaur Jr, Frank Black, Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Mercury Rev, Hayden, and the National, who all make appearances with varying levels of success.
