{"id":9869,"date":"2025-05-30T23:36:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T06:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/?page_id=9869"},"modified":"2025-05-30T23:36:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T06:36:46","slug":"david-duncan-review-of-pools-of-mercury-memphis-flyer-1998","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/david-duncan-review-of-pools-of-mercury-memphis-flyer-1998\/","title":{"rendered":"David Duncan-Review of Pools of Mercury-Memphis Flyer 1998"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Review by David D. Duncan<\/strong>
Memphis Flyer<\/a>, 28 December 1998
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening to Jim Carroll\u2019s music is a lot like reading his poetry \u2013 it\u2019s 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<\/em> (strangely enough, on Mercury Records), a 15-song\/story collection that defies easy categorization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNobody is going to ruin me. If I have to, I will ruin myself,\u201d Carroll asserts in \u201cMy Ruins.\u201d No one seems more surprised that he\u2019s still alive than Mr. Carroll himself, and his somber meditations on survival ultimately prove inspirational instead of desperational (particularly on \u201cMessage Left On A Phone Machine\u201d and \u201c8 Fragments For Kurt Cobain\u201d). Don\u2019t expect another righteously angry anthem like \u201cPeople Who Died,\u201d as Pools Of Mercury<\/em> is more story than song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two-thirds of the album is derived from selections out of Carroll\u2019s last two poetry collections \u2013 Fear Of Dreaming<\/em> (1993) and Void Of Course<\/em> (1998). Carroll\u2019s 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\u2019s shadow. \u201cI am not the corpse buried beneath snow, waiting for spring to be found,\u201d Carroll calmly intones on \u201cI Am Not Kurt Schwitters,\u201d as if it were a matter-of-fact victory over terminal adversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these 10 poems are pretty tough meat (and benefit greatly from the stark, swirling soundscapes of producer Anton Sanko), it\u2019s the brand-new songs (\u201cFalling Down Laughing,\u201d the queasy \u201cDesert Town,\u201d \u201cHairshirt Fracture,\u201d \u201cThe Beast Within,\u201d and the feedback-drenched title cut, \u201cPools Of Mercury\u201d) 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Pools Of Mercury<\/em>, Jim Carroll has delivered another shadowy stunner, a sensory and sensuous tableau of wordplay contrasted against starkly atmospheric instrumental backgrounds. Not exactly the \u201cfeel-good\u201d record of the season, but an important release, just the same.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The original article was found at <\/strong>http:\/\/weeklywire.com\/ww\/12-27-98\/memphis_musrv.html<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a9<\/strong> 1995-99 DesertNet, LLC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review by David D. DuncanMemphis Flyer, 28 December 1998 Listening to Jim Carroll\u2019s music is a lot like reading his poetry \u2013 it\u2019s 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 … Continue reading David Duncan-Review of Pools of Mercury-Memphis Flyer 1998<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3987,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-9869","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-2zb","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3987,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":9869,"position":0},"title":"Audio Reviews","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Here are some reviews of \"audio recordings.\" So far the reviews are of albums by the Jim Carroll Band and solo albums by Jim Carroll\u00a0. More to come later . . . Runaway EP Matt Ashare, \"Jim Carroll:\u00a0Runaway.\"\u00a0Boston Phoenix, 4-11 Jan. 2001.\"Carroll gives 'Runaway' his best shot, and he gets\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9873,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/paul-mcdonald-review-of-pools-of-mercury-louisville-eccentric-observer-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":9869,"position":1},"title":"Paul McDonald – Review of Pools of Mercury – Louisville Eccentric Observer 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Mercury risingBy Paul McDonaldLouisville Eccentric Observer \"When you hear Jim Carroll's voice,you know you're in for an interesting ride.\" Back in 1994, Jim Carroll was recording some songs with Pearl Jam that would later be included on the soundtrack for the film \"Basketball Diaries.\" Carroll had been thinking of returning\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4057,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-music-and-spoken-word\/music-jim-carroll-jim-carroll-band\/pools-of-mercury\/","url_meta":{"origin":9869,"position":2},"title":"Pools of Mercury","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Pools of MercuryBy Jim CarrollMercury Records, October 1998 Get this on Amazon.com LINER NOTES Produced by Anton SankoRecorded and mixed by Denny McNerney Mastered by Denny McNerneyRecorded & mastered at Easter Island Recording, NYC (212-229-2949)Assistant engineering--Jim Naisby The Poems: \"I Am Not Kurt Schwitters,\" \"Things That Fly,\" \"It Goes,\" and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Pools of Mercury (1998) - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pom.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9871,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/jim-macnie-review-of-pools-of-mercury-boston-phoenix-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":9869,"position":3},"title":"Jim Macnie – Review of\u00a0Pools of Mercury – Boston Phoenix 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Pools of MercuryReview by Jim MacnieBoston Phoenix, 9 November 1998 **1\/2 It starts with a promise of decapitation, as if to prove that his punkishness is still in effect almost two decades after Catholic Boy's skag stories turned heads. And it ends with an evaluation of Kurt Cobain's pre-blast psyche,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4056,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/works\/jim-carroll-music-and-spoken-word\/music-jim-carroll-jim-carroll-band\/","url_meta":{"origin":9869,"position":4},"title":"Music by Jim Carroll & The Jim Carroll Band","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Runaway EP Released: 2000 By: Jim Carroll Label: Kill Rock Stars Get this recording on Amazon Pools of Mercury Released: 1998 By: Jim Carroll Label: Mercury Get this recording on Amazon A World Without Gravity: The Best of the Jim Carroll Band Released: 1993 By: The Jim Carroll Band Label:\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover Art - Runaway EP (2000) - by Jim Carroll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/runaway.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9849,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/review-of-runaway-by-matt-ashare-boston-phoenix-2001\/","url_meta":{"origin":9869,"position":5},"title":"Review of Runaway by Matt Ashare – Boston Phoenix 2001","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Jim Carroll:\u00a0Runaway Review by Matt AshareBoston Phoenix\u00a0, 4-11 January 2001 Singing has never been one of\u00a0Basketball Diaries\u00a0author and poet\/spoken-word artist Jim Carroll's strong suits, and his pipes haven't improved with age. So though covering fellow NYC poet\/rocker Lou Reed's \"Sweet Jane\" back in the '80s wasn't such a bad idea\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9870,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9869\/revisions\/9870"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=9869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}