Does anybody care that American Music Club has gotten back together?

MP3 for AMC fanz: Ladies and Gentlemen.

Got an advance of their new one yesterday. I never got this band - I tried & tried back in the day, I knew so many people who thought they ruled & would tell me "oh just see Eitzel live, you'll get it then" - but no sale, over and over. Something about the timbre of his voice & the way he sang I think - always very hard for me to say why it just wasn't registering with me.

Maybe I'm just older or different, I don't know, but the new one fucking knocks me over. Utterly utterly gorgeous, so sad in a resigned way rather than an emo way. Totally, totally great.

His voice sometimes reminds me of Elvis Costello and Bill Janovitz from Buffalo Tom.

I totally loved the first track I ever heard by them the instant I heard it on some midnight radio show almost 20 years ago and I still do, but - also after repeatedly trying - I've failed to find more that struck the same nerve.

Will check out the new one now though.

I don't think I've ever met two AMC fans who've agreed on their favorite album. Mine's Mercury, but California and Everclear often get the nod from others. I haven't liked an Eitzel album since..yikes, 60 Watt? The cover of Rehearsals for Retirement was moving. And I liked a cut or two off Candy Ass. But the last AMC album was horrible. WIthout their pedal steel man, Bruce Kaphan, I have problems. But I'd be happy if Eitzel refound his muse and hold skeptical hope for the new one. That would be great. (And for the record, I liked San Francisco, the album. Not perfect but some stunning moments...Fearless, for starters....)

Only problem with San Francisco was the production and mix -- the songs and performances were very good indeed.

Production, mix, and sequencing. But if you take 10-12 of the best songs from it and rearrange them,
you can make a really good album.

Yes, arrangements seem to be the weak spot. I remember hearing most of SF on solo Eitzel tours and they were amazing and when the album came out it took a lot of getting used to...and I still prefer some live acoustic boots of tunes like "Sleeping Pills," "In the Shadow of the Valley," "Help Me," "I Broke My Promise" and "President's Test." Same for "Everything's Beautiful" and "Mission Rock Resort" off 60 Watt...not bad on album but so much more direct in person...

Great news about the new album - I never really connected with the last one (despite a couple of lovely songs) but what I've heard about The Golden Age fills me with optimism. Same goes for Mark's solo output too, some of it I love as much as AMC, some I never listen to. I've never really had AMC down as a great albums band anyway, there's always stuff that could have been cut and in full agreement that often the production and arrangements have torpedoed great songs. I'll always pay to see AMC and/or Mark when they tour though, reams have been written about his live presence but he is genuinely the most mesmerising performer I have ever seen.

I know that at this stage in their career they are unlikely to ever "make it" commercially, but a part of me has always wished they could just have one big hit (or license a song or something) to give them a bit of financial stability. Can that be too much to ask in a world where Maroon 5 still exist and are as rich as Croesus?

if you liked 60 Watt then you will like the new AMC album, it feels like a spiritual successor. I wrote about it in another thread I'm too lazy to dig up at the moment. This album is more consistent than the last one (love songs, which I liked) in tone, I think because they worked with a producer this time rather than tackling it themselves. Also, rhythm section has been replaced (possibly a temporary thing); this one does a good job, they are more sedate than Danny and Tim though.

Generally I think this album misses some of the highs and lows of previous AMC albums, so I expect reactions to be kind of all over the place. But after being initially disappointed, I now think it's one of the best albums Mark's made.

No Danny or Tim? Then it's just Mark and Vudi left? If so, that makes it even more of a Mark Eitzel and Friends album than an actual AMC record...who produced it?

dave trumfio produced it

also, as someone pointed out in the other thread, Vudi started AMC, so it's pretty much up to him whether a band is AMC or not, as far as Mark is concerned. the offical reasons for danny and tim's departure were that mark wanted to record the album in LA so vudi could be more involved this time than he was last time and it didn't work with their schedules. danny at least will probably work with AMC again in the future.

the song "windows on the world" on this record is fucking incredible. Just...incredible.