Crucial Music (Volume XI: Miracle Legion)

I still remember the first time I heard Miracle Legion.  A friend of mine made me a compilation tape as a Christmas gift in the mid 80's (an idea I'd later adopt and still follow) and he put the song "The Backyard" on it, I became an instant fan.  At the time Miracle Legion were unfairly maligned as R.E.M. ripoffs, which was neither true nor a particularly original critique.  Anyone with a bit of jangle and east coast roots were lumped into that company: The Connells, Let's Active, dB's and Guadalcanal Diary were just a few of the bands accused of sounding like the most famous Athenians since B-52's. We'll see how the whole R.E.M. thing comes full-circle later on. 

While I became a Miracle Legion fan in high school, it wasn't until I was off at college that I got to see them live and "Closer to the Wall (Live)"* from the Glad record demonstrates their prowess on stage.  Iowa City is the perfect tour stop between Chicago and Minneapolis and the smart bands did just that, building a nice fan base in the process.  Miracle Legion made many stops in Iowa City while I was there and the most memorable (for me) was when they came to town in support of their Drenched record in the Spring of 1992, featuring the stellar "Sea Hag". The first leg had them traveling with a huge stage set and a series of risers and backdrops but then that fall they came back with a spartan set.  I contacted their label (Morgan Creek) about interviewing band leader Mark Mulcahy on my college radio station: KRUI.  While they were pressed for time, Mark agreed to a 'phoner' from Chicago after they had played Lounge Ax (R.I.P).  If you promise not to laugh, here's that interview, warts and all: "Mark Mulcahy Interview". 

Miracle Legion's output was sporadic after that but Mark continued to record as a solo artist.  To be totally honest, he'd fallen off my radar screen of late but I recently heard of a tribute album in the works for Mark, featuring songs from his solo career as well as Miracle Legion.  Unfortunately, the reason for the tribute was rooted in tragedy; Mark's wife Melissa (also the mother of their twin girls) died unexpectedly last year and this album will benefit Mark and his daughters. Usually, in my Friday posts I provide samples of music to whet your appetite but not this time.  I've provided examples of Miracle Legion above but in the interests of generating interest in the tribute/benefit album, I will only provide a link to the album's site and list a few of the artists who have contributed to the project.  Everybody from (the aforementioned) Michael Stipe to Frank Black, Dinosaur Jr. (who cover 'The Backyard') Thom Yorke, Juliana Hatfield and Mercury Rev, to name but a few.

Have a great week, enjoy the music and if you can, try and help out Mark Mulcahy and his daughters by buying this album. Hopefully, like the Sweet Relief series, it will not only help Mark and his family but also will introduce a whole new audience to the magic of Mark Mulcahy's songwriting.

* This song was ripped off of an old vinyl copy, hence it skipping at the end, sorry.

Comments

[MEB*]

Thanks for the great post. Missy was one of my best friends from high school. Please support Mark and check out all the awesome songs on this tribute disk. If you order a digital copy, it comes with a bunch of extra songs. - MEB*

[ken]

Sorry for your loss, MEB. Hope this post helps get the word out.

[freakgirl]

Whoa. I haven't thought about Miracle Legion for like 20 years. Thanks for the reminder. I will definitely check out Mark's music.

[SpellCheck]

You get Marks's as well as Miracle Legion albums from www.mezzotint.com