and what are we fighting for? let's get in a groove now people, c'mon

Deserter Songs

But I'll plump for Deserters Songs too.

Another one for DS. A more consistent album .....one continuous mood.

.....BOTH hugely overrated (in my opinion) !

Now find it and the two other FL albums I own pretty much unlistenable. Not sure why.

They are the same album in different sleeves innit?

But I have listened to the hugely underrated third Rev album 'See You On The Other Side'
A fine record.

...Dave Fridmann, of course.

His magic has touched some fine albums over the past 15 years from the above mentioned 'See You On The Other Side' to Tame Impala's recent 'Innerspeaker'. Some points in between - Elf Power 'A Dream In Sound', Wheat 'Hope & Adams', The Delgado's 'The Great Eastern', Sparklehorse 'It's A Wonderful Life', Gemma Hayes 'Night On My Side, and MGMT 'Oracular Spectacular'.

Of the blokes involved can sing, in my opinion, but I do enjoy the music very much.

Deserters Songs has Goddess on a Highway on it, so it easily wins

Definately the Flaming Lips for me. They're "my" artist (see the 'Claim Your Artist' thread).

I like Mercury Rev too though.

Not even close. I've had both albums since they came out, but would struggle to name 3 tracks from TSB if you played them to me now, whereas DS is ingrained in me. It's a wonderful album which they performed superbly when I saw them in Manchester last year.

This is just about my favourite track on the album,

Mercury Rev - 'The Funny Bird'

Deserter's Songs for me too. Never really got FL, Wayne Coyne has always struck me as Howe Gelb trying too hard to be liked. Not a huge Rev fan either but can't deny Deserter's Songs has some great moments.

But Soft Bulletin for me. Perfect mixture of euphoria and melancholy.

Maybe it's a time/place thing, but as soon as I put it on, I just 'got' it. I picked up TSB a few months later, recommended by the same person who'd recommended DS to me. It didn't take.

on TSB is one of the most gorgeously heartbreaking songs I have ever heard.

it's "The Soft Bulletin" every time. Who else could shoe-horn words like 'accidentally' and 'vanguard' into a song? And "The Gash" is fantastic - Spartacus meets Magical Mystery Tour on the Muppet Show. Saw 'em at Sheffield Leadmill and V2000 - two of the best gigs I ever saw. Lovely.

it's the rev all the way for me. I admire The Soft Bulletin but I love Deserters Songs.

But SB just nudges it. It should have a double album, as born out by the 'Soft Bulletin Companion' bootleg.
Not quite sure how this track didn't make it, particularly as SB ends with a couple of bland remixes.

This could have had been the album's standout track, if it had be included.

Career highs for both bands, love them both

Love The Soft Bulletin now but it wasn't always the case. Deserters Songs I haven't played for a number of years because the singers voice and the bowed instruments got on my tits.Will give it another go and see if I have a different opinion which is not entirely impossible.

is probably the album of the last twenty years for me. I absolutely love it. Two things that may be of interest to the DS hardcore here - firstly, the band have recently made an instrumental version of the album available. Might sound like a rubbish idea, but it's actually fantastic, and really brings out the wonderful Disney-gone-slightly-wrong flavour of the album. Secondly, I have a very good home made compilation of Mercury Rev acoustic and live stuff from that era, and am very happy to share it with interested parties.

Soft Bulletin is, you know, alright, but not in the same class. Although it is interesting that both bands feature very highly in my mental best gigs ever list - the Rev at Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms on the DS tour, and the Lips a few years later at the Summer Sonic festival.

I still love it after all this time, whereas "TSB"... lovely people, nice sound, but the songs, the singing...?

Good Call Dept: the gentleman above who namechecked "See You On The Other Side". Fab album.

a framed and signed reproduction of the Mercury Rev NME cover from around the time of DS (CD in corner for scale)