Ciao My Shining Star (2009)

Product Summary Label: SHOUT! FACTORY/SBME UPC: 00826663115819 Release Date: 9/29/2009 Buy.com Sku: 211974545 Item#: M4RDSF Buy.com Sales Rank: 25079 Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. All For The Best - Thom Yorke ~ Various Artists 2. Ashamed of the Story I Told - The National ~ Various Artists 3. Everything's Coming Undone - Michael Stipe ~ Various Artists 4. Love's The Only Thing That Shuts Me Up - David Berkeley ~ Various Artists 5. Backyard, The - Dinosaur Jr. ~ Various Artists 6. Micon The Icon - Chris Harford ~ Various Artists 7. Bill Jocko - Frank Black - (featuring Black Francis) ~ Various Artists 8. Little Man - Vic Chesnutt ~ Various Artists 9. Ciao My Shining Star - Unbelievable Truth (live) ~ Various Artists 10. I Have Patience - The Butterflies Of Love ~ Various Artists 11. Cookie Jar - Chris Collingwood ~ Various Artists 12. Quiet One, The - Frank Turner ~ Various Artists 13. In Pursuit of Your Happiness - Rocket From The Tombs ~ Various Artists 14. Wake Up Whispering - Ben Kweller ~ Various Artists 15. I Woke Up in the Mayflower - Josh Rouse ~ Various Artists 16. Paradise - The Autumn Defense ~ Various Artists 17. Happy Birthday Yesterday - Hayden ~ Various Artists 18. You're Not In Charleston Anymore - Juliana Hatfield ~ Various Artists 19. Sailors and Animals - Mercury Rev ~ Various Artists 20. She Watches Over Me - Elvis Perkins ~ Various Artists 21. World Away From This One, A - Sean Watkins ~ Various Artists   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info Personnel: Hahn Rowe (vocals, guitar, violin); Aaron Dessner (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums); Patrick Sansone, David Berkeley (vocals, guitar, percussion); Daniel Greene, Josh Rouse, Andy Yorke, Ray Neal, Ben Kweller (vocals, guitar); Jeff Wiederschall (vocals, lap steel guitar, percussion); Geoff Sanoff (vocals, piano); Dub Gabriel (vocals, synthesizer); Dave & Ian Thomas, Anna Soloway, John Stirratt, Michael Stipe, Thom Yorke, Chris Harford, Scott Devendorf, Matt Berninger (vocals); Jason Mills, Cheetah Chrome (guitar); Jim Crosskey (electric guitar); Padma Newsome (violin, viola, upright bass); Jordan Katz (horns); Brad Jones (piano, organ, drums); Nigel Powell (piano, keyboards, drums); Will Robertson (piano); Scott Amore (organ); Neil O'Brien (drums, percussion); Steve Mehlman, Bryan Devendorf (drums); Aaron Schwartz (percussion). Audio Mixers: Justin Pizzoferrato; Myles Mangino; Myles Mangino; Nigel Powell. Liner Note Author: Mark Mulcahy. Recording information: Brother Sleeze studios, Portland, CT (12/13/1998); Camp Workaround, Northampton, MA (12/13/1998); InnerSpaceSoundLabs (12/13/1998); Koko, London (12/13/1998); Roundhead Studios, Auckland, New Zealand (12/13/1998); STratosphere Sound, New York, NY (12/13/1998); The Bloomsbury Theatre, London (12/13/1998). Arranger: Dub Gabriel. Love is a gift that is usually given with the utmost sincerity, but there's no way of telling how long it will last. It's not just the fickle nature of the human heart that guarantees this, but the simple cruelties of fate, which can take away the person who has given your life its greatest meaning without a moment's notice. While singer and songwriter Mark Mulcahy has shown he knows more than a little about the nature of love in the fine songs he's written as a solo artist, and with his bands Miracle Legion and Polaris, he learned an especially harsh lesson in September 2008 when Melissa Rich Mulcahy, his wife and the mother of his two daughters, died suddenly and unexpectedly. Beyond the human tragedy of Mulcahy and his children losing someone so important in their lives, there was the unfortunate reality that life as a single parent would make it a lot harder for Mulcahy to continue his career as a musician, songwriter, and composer of contemporary operas. So Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy is a very real act of love on behalf of a handful of friends and admirers of Mulcahy and his music; this album, created in tribute to Melissa, a woman who loved music and was fiercely supportive of her husband's career, features a number of Mark's most memorable tunes performed in a rich variety of styles. The presence of Thom Yorke (contributing a spare, electronic-based treatment of "All for the Best," a Miracle Legion number he's covered in concert with Radiohead) and Michael Stipe (performing "Everything's Coming Undone" with a band including Tom Gilroy and Hahn Rowe) will doubtless lure a great many listeners previously unfamiliar with Mulcahy's work, but everyone on this album turns in work ranging from quite good to excellent. And the musicians approach these songs in enough different ways to demonstrate the full spectrum of emotional colors in his songs, from Vic Chesnutt's spare solo turn on "Little Man" and the lightly sweet country-rock of Josh Rouse's "I Woke Up in the Mayflower" to the noisy, expressive eccentricity of Frank Black ("Bill Jocko") and Rocket from the Tombs ("In Pursuit of Your Happiness"), and the epic-scale guitar crunch of Dinosaur Jr.'s "The Backyard." For the stylistic variety of these interpretations, the consistent strength of Mulcahy's songs and the wise, compassionate tone of his lyrics give this collection a unified voice, and if it unwittingly raises the question of how someone as talented as Mulcahy could gain little more than a cult following with this level of talent, it also demonstrates that the belief these musicians (and the late Melissa Rich) placed in his work was in no way misplaced. Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy wasn't created to give some critical favorite a musical high five or raise money for a worthy charity -- it's a concrete demonstration of caring and support for a fellow artist in a time of need that will also put some publishing royalties in his pocket to help care for his children. If that's not a show of love when and where it's needed, it's hard to say what else would qualify. ~ Mark Deming Producer: Neil Baldock; Myles Mangino; Dub Gabriel; Paul S. Thomas; Hayden Desser; Chris Collingwood; Josh Rouse; Myles Mangino; Nigel Godrich; Peter Katis; Will Robertson; Carlos Anthony Molina; Brad Jones Engineer: Paco Loco; Elvis Perkins; Justin Pizzoferrato; Neil Baldock; Myles Mangino; Dub Gabriel; Patrick Sansone; Geoff Sanoff; Hayden Desser; Scott Amore; J Mascis; Chris Collingwood; Nigel Godrich; Nigel Powell; Ben Kweller; Will Robertson Musical Guests Black Francis Chris Collingwood   Technical Info Release Date : 09/29/2009 Original Release Date : 2009 Catalog ID : 8266631158 Label : Shout! Factory Number of Discs : 1 Runtime : 73m : 41s Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00826663115819   Professional Reviews Record Collector (magazine) (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "It's Mulcahy's melodies and lyrical twists that shine brightest. When handled tenderly they can floor with their beauty."    Product Image