Ciao My Shining Star – The Songs Of Mark Mulcahy (2009/Shout! Factory CD)

 

Sound: B     Music: B-

 

 

I had not heard of Mark Mulcahy despite his long line of impressive music including bands Miracle Legion and Polaris, plus doing the score of The Adventures Of Pete & Pete, but the Alternate/Indie Rock/Pop artists has recently lost his wife and she is the subject of a very good tribute album Ciao My Shining Star – The Songs Of Mark Mulcahy (2009) now on CD from Shout! Factory.

You can have an impressive line-up of artists, but here, this list (that includes many artists even I had not heard of) really deliver all the way through the following tracks:

 

1)     All For The Best – Thom Yorke

2)     Ashamed of the Story I Told - The National

3)     Everything's Coming Undone - Michael Stipe

4)     Love's The Only Thing That Shuts Me Up - David Berkeley

5)     The Backyard - Dinosaur Jr.

6)     Micon The Icon - Chris Harford

7)     Bill Jocko - Frank Black - (featuring Black Francis)

8)     Little Man - Vic Chesnutt

9)     Ciao My Shining Star - Unbelievable Truth (live)

10)  I Have Patience - The Butterflies Of Love

11)  Cookie Jar - Chris Collingwood

12)  The Quiet One - Frank Turner

13)  In Pursuit of Your Happiness - Rocket From The Tombs

14)  Wake Up Whispering - Ben Kweller

15)  I Woke Up in the Mayflower - Josh Rouse

16)  Paradise - The Autumn Defense

17)  Happy Birthday Yesterday – Hayden

18)  You're Not In Charleston Anymore - Juliana Hatfield

19)  Sailors & Animals - Mercury Rev

20)  She Watches Over Me - Elvis Perkins

21)  A World Away From This One - Sean Watkins

 

 

Though no one song specifically stuck with me, the experience, feel, mood and general substance of the tracks made for a surprisingly good sit-though.  It helps that the PCM 2.0 16/44.1 Stereo sound is well engineered and produced, with all the songs sounding distinctive without being homogenized or digitally plastered or compressed to sound phony.  Note the approach on Track 7 versus Track 3 or 1.  If you like good music and want to be exposed to a special set in these genres, get this album.  Oh, and don’t forget to read the booklet.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo