American Music Club any good?

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Are American Music Club any good? also Eitzels solos stuff? And what about Willard Grant Conspiracy, Scud Mountain Boys/Pernice Brothers,Beachwood Sparks,Wilco, Uncle Tupelo,SOn Volt,Handsome Family,Neal Casal,Clem Snide. Im new to this Alt.Country gubbbins.

― Tim, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

These are really good:
Summer Teeth, Wilco
Trace, Son Volt
89/93, Uncle Tupelo
Pneumonia, Whiskeytown
Ok, but not as great: A.M., Wilco and Stranger's Almanac, Whiskeytown.

― lyra in seattle, Tuesday, 13 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Engine and California are AMC's best. If you like those two, try The Restless Stranger. The only solo Eitzel I've liked is Caught In A Trap... and the disc of demos he sold on tour last year.

― gabe, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Practically everything Eitzel has grunted, spat or strummed on is worthwhile... Especially Everclear, United Kingdom and California..

Some of his solo stuff is patchy, although the live album "Songs of love live" is pure gold from start to finish....

― Baxter Wingnut, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The album with 'Western Sky' etc on it is OK (California?). Everything I've heard post-that (Mercury, San Francisco, Everclear) is as wretched as it is possible for music to be.

― Dr. C, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I, love West. It was produced by Peter Buck. Great tunes plus Eitzel's melodramatic touching voice. He is the sadcore crooner. The only one coming close would be Conor Oberst.

― alex in mainhattan, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

AMC music all seems to be worthwhile but I never warmed to it despite having quite a number of albums.

The Arlenes are the best alt.country band I've heard.

― Winkelmann, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I have "Mercury" and was surprised at how dull and bland it was. Haven't heard their other stuff, but definitely avoid that one. Wilco and Uncle Tupelo are excellent, but the one you must have is Beachwood Sparks' - "Make the Robot Cowboys Cry". Only 6 songs on it, but its breathtaking from start to finish. Record of the year, no less. If you're new to alt-country, does that mean you're new to Sparklehorse? Cos they too are superb. Get "Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot"

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

May I just say that every band mentioned in this thread so far is rubbish.

― Dr. C, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

May you? No. You called California classic on an earlier thread.

― , Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Hey nosey - I said it was OK this time, didn't I? And I can change my mind if I want anyway (I've called 'Loveless' rubbish and classic on here before. And Scritti Politti). So there. Whoever you are.

― Dr. C, Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I love the EVERCLEAR album by AMC, play it fairly often. I've liked various songs here and there from both AMC & Eitzel solo, but never another whole LP (CD).

― Matt Riedl (veal), Wednesday, 14 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Search: all AMC pre-Warner Bros. Destroy: everything since

Dunno why, but that's the way it breaks down for me.

― Lee G, Thursday, 15 August 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

two years pass...

there are some great things on almost all their records. i particularly like "i've been a mess" off of mercury. he's a deceptive singer; he starts out that song so haggard, with such an apparently limited range, that you don't expect it to be as sophisticated a vocal performance as it turns out to be.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 6 May 2005 14:18 (nineteen years ago) link

This is one of those bands which resonates with certain people, like me, and it's almost like they can do no wrong. Even records of theirs that I was disappointed by at first - like the post-Warner Bros. Mercury, came around to become long-term faves. The only AMC-related disc I can't find much to like on is the solo Mark Eitzel disc West. The album from last year was probably their weakest as a band, but it was still excellent.

― southern lights, Friday, 6 May 2005 23:13 (nineteen years ago) link

"I've been a mess" is truly brilliant, I'd always liked it just for Eitzel's wasted performance, but it's only recently that I've actually listened properly to the lyrics. The idea of Lazarus tearing a strip off of Jesus for bringing him back to life is so hilarious.

Great songs, great band. Mark Eitzel might just be my favorite vocalist. Search: the fan club CD from last November's Pittsburgh gig. Many of their best songs, done at about half the tempo of the album versions. It's like drowning in a heavenly vat of syrup and tits.

― retort pouch (retort pouch), Saturday, 7 May 2005 00:45 (nineteen years ago) link

I always thought Mark E was a humorless self-absorbed pissant. And I didn't like his music either.

― Ken L (Ken L), Saturday, 7 May 2005 00:48 (nineteen years ago) link

You've not paid much attention to him because humourless he certainly isn't.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 7 May 2005 00:54 (nineteen years ago) link

"your beauty / is just a slap in the face" -- ouch.

in certain moods his vocals can sound overwrought* to me--but in other moods they seem pretty spot-on. he's like scott walker that way.

*i mean that in both the colloquial sense of "bombastic" but also the basic sense of "too worked out, too deliberate."

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Saturday, 7 May 2005 00:58 (nineteen years ago) link

(p.s. to ken l: you're fliriting with custos-style irrelevance.)

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Saturday, 7 May 2005 01:00 (nineteen years ago) link

"Why Won't You Stay" from the aforementioned Pittsburgh gig. Would it have been even better if they'd slowed it down even further to 25% of the original speed? I don't know, but it's an interesting mental exercise.

― retort pouch (retort pouch), Saturday, 7 May 2005 01:44 (nineteen years ago) link

two months pass...

*bump*

I don't know how they could improve on that...what a fantastic version of a beautiful song. I just ordered "A Toast To You" from their website, if it lives up to that taster I will be happy indeed! Thanks for the heads up, retort pouch.

― Bill A (Bill A), Friday, 22 July 2005 06:22 (nineteen years ago) link

it's not the best live record ever but it's good enough for fans.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 22 July 2005 06:28 (nineteen years ago) link

AMC is not alt-country for me.
I have a strange relationship with the band. I LOVED Mercury and when i saw them at that time.
Everything afterwards bored me. I saw them recently at Primavera. Mark seemed in a good mood, but the show did not really affect me

― Arnault (arc73hk), Friday, 22 July 2005 07:28 (nineteen years ago) link

I saw them on the UK tour earlier this year, and it was as magnetic a performance as could possibly be hoped for. But they are certainly *ahem* mercurial performers, especially Mark.

>it's not the best live record ever but it's good enough for fans.

That's good enough for me then.

― Bill A (Bill A), Friday, 22 July 2005 07:58 (nineteen years ago) link

i have a weird fondness for them. weird in that i generally don't like anguished confessional singer songwriters or guitar based bands at all. but - despite dimishing returns over the tears a la rolling stones syndrome - i can find something that affects me deeply in most of their records.

btw mark's gay - right?

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 22 July 2005 08:39 (nineteen years ago) link

years

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 22 July 2005 08:42 (nineteen years ago) link

i guess "affect" doesnt really exist in english...
Actually, I liked Mark's album of cover versions too, not just mercury

― Arnault (arc73hk), Friday, 22 July 2005 08:49 (nineteen years ago) link

I just ordered "A Toast To You" from their website, if it lives up to that taster I will be happy indeed!

Bill, I think you will be a happy man. That whole gig was dynamite. I went along to it thinking "Oh wow, American Music Club, this should be alright," and came away thinking that AMC must be the best band ever. Couldn't believe my luck when they chose the Pittsburgh gig as the document of that tour.

― retort pouch (retort pouch), Sunday, 24 July 2005 03:37 (nineteen years ago) link

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