V2/COOPERATIVE

When Deserter’s Songs was initially released in 1998, it sounded like a rather definitive statement. The record stands as Mercury Rev’s moment of epiphany – when all of the myriad aspects of its shifting cinematic influences came into deep focus. Ostensibly a re-issue of the classic album, the new 2-CD edition features bonus tracks, rough mixes, alternate versions and re-mixes by the likes of Bill Laswell, and beautifully bent home cassette-recorded tunes that enhance its lingering legend. The original platter followed an intoxicating path toward some sort of celestial nirvana. The additional pieces gathered here – perhaps best seen in their alternate light on “Holes,” “Endlessly” and an early version of the effervescent “Opus 40” – are interesting for their raw orchestral passages, surreal psychedelia and modern pop sensibilities. Self-indulgent? Maybe. But, with the band playing the entire gorgeous album in concert this summer, one would feel hard-pressed to deny its continuing artistic value – bonus tracks or otherwise.