Review by David D. Duncan
Memphis Flyer, 28 December 1998
Listening to Jim Carroll’s music is a lot like reading his poetry – it’s usually a harrowing journey, but one worth all the ensuing trauma. Pungent, street-smart urban poet Carroll returns to the rock arena after a 14-year absence with Pools Of Mercury (strangely enough, on Mercury Records), a 15-song/story collection that defies easy categorization.
“Nobody is going to ruin me. If I have to, I will ruin myself,” Carroll asserts in “My Ruins.” No one seems more surprised that he’s still alive than Mr. Carroll himself, and his somber meditations on survival ultimately prove inspirational instead of desperational (particularly on “Message Left On A Phone Machine” and “8 Fragments For Kurt Cobain”). Don’t expect another righteously angry anthem like “People Who Died,” as Pools Of Mercury is more story than song.
Two-thirds of the album is derived from selections out of Carroll’s last two poetry collections – Fear Of Dreaming (1993) and Void Of Course (1998). Carroll’s never been one to shy away from the gory details, so expect a slap or two across the face as these twisted little tales unfold. As would be expected, death imagery abounds when you live in the junkie’s shadow. “I am not the corpse buried beneath snow, waiting for spring to be found,” Carroll calmly intones on “I Am Not Kurt Schwitters,” as if it were a matter-of-fact victory over terminal adversity.
While these 10 poems are pretty tough meat (and benefit greatly from the stark, swirling soundscapes of producer Anton Sanko), it’s the brand-new songs (“Falling Down Laughing,” the queasy “Desert Town,” “Hairshirt Fracture,” “The Beast Within,” and the feedback-drenched title cut, “Pools Of Mercury”) that make the deepest impression. The overall package exudes literary confidence without a trace of pretension, displaying Jim Carroll as a true artist unfettered by fashion.
With Pools Of Mercury, Jim Carroll has delivered another shadowy stunner, a sensory and sensuous tableau of wordplay contrasted against starkly atmospheric instrumental backgrounds. Not exactly the “feel-good” record of the season, but an important release, just the same.
The original article was found at http://weeklywire.com/ww/12-27-98/memphis_musrv.html
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