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Various Artists

SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: THE COVERS!
Merge | 2009 | Compilation
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Merge, the indie record company that began with Superchunk in the ’90s and has since brought us albums by bands like M.Ward, Spoon, and Arcade Fire, turns twenty years old this year and commemorate their anniversary with an eclectic album of cover tunes. The album, SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: THE COVERS!, contains 2 twenty tracks (one for each year) recorded by some terrific non-Merge bands such as: Death Cab For Cutie, Ryan Adams, and Quasi. The album was originally part of a subscription-based box set but is being released in a limited edition of 7,500 copies for charity, so in addition to some awesome tunes, you are helping charities like Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and The Land Institute.

The album itself is a real mix ranging from The Apples in Stereo’s upbeat, punky cover of the Neutral Milk Hotel track “King of Carrot Flowers Pt. Three” to Laura Cantrell’s earthy, playful cover of Lambchop’s “Cowboy on the Moon.” One of the best songs on the compilation is Bright Eyes’s cover of the Magnetic Fields’s “Papa Was a Rodeo,” which is appropriate because singer Conor Oberst is on Merge. The tune is significantly cheerier than the original (not exactly a Bright Eyes trademark) with a nice twinge of moody guitar and melodic emotion with that far-off sound. The song is representative of the album because it lets the listener appreciate the quality of the lyrics in these songs, which are not all well known and make you look up the originals, which are great. Another standout track is the cover of the Tenement Halls track “Plenty Is Never Enough,” which almost seems like it was created for The Shins. I can’t pretend I’ve ever heard of Tenement Halls or singer Chris Lopez (I’ll scold myself later), but I’m glad I know them now because the song, both the original and the cover, is awesome.

Finally, there’s the marvelously witty Magnetic Fields track “Yeah! Oh, Yeah!” covered by Tracey Thorn and Jens Lekman, which is a must-have. If you love the bands or if you’ve never heard of them, the album is a great listen, and you’ll discover some great songs.
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Buy SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: THE COVERS! by Various Artists at Amazon.com. Buy SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: THE COVERS! by Various Artists at Insound.com. Buy SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: THE COVERS! by Various Artists at eMusic.com.
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