{"id":9873,"date":"2025-05-30T23:57:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T06:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/?page_id=9873"},"modified":"2025-05-30T23:57:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T06:57:49","slug":"paul-mcdonald-review-of-pools-of-mercury-louisville-eccentric-observer-1998","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/paul-mcdonald-review-of-pools-of-mercury-louisville-eccentric-observer-1998\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul McDonald – Review of Pools of Mercury – Louisville Eccentric Observer 1998"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mercury rising
By Paul McDonald
Louisville Eccentric Observer<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When you hear Jim Carroll’s voice,
you know you’re in for an interesting ride.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 to the studio to record an album of new work, and he found his experience with Pearl Jam encouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About that time, guitarist Lenny Kaye, who worked with Carroll in the past, introduced Carroll to producer Anton Sanko. The resulting collaboration between Sanko and Carroll has yielded Pools of Mercury;<\/em> recently released on Mercury Records. It’s Carroll’s first CD of new music and poetry since Rhino Records released a retrospective of his work, A World Without Gravity, in 1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pools of Mercury<\/em> delivers an eclectic blend of music and spoken-word backed by the hypnotic instrumentation of Sanko and his brother Erik, and Tristan Avakian and Frank Vilardi. Opening with the evocative “Train Surfing,” Carroll’s metric delivery, backed by Vilardi’s percussion and Sanko’s keyboards, intones a shamanic quality reminiscent of Jim Morrison: “Who surfs beside me, tattooed into my flesh not by ink\/But by fire, the god of the crossroads, the messenger god\/The god of the railroad, who laughs as I do at the commuters beneath \u2026”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Train Surfing” leads directly into “Falling Down Laughing,” co-written with Robert Roth. It’s one of the strongest songs Carroll has performed since “People Who Died” in 1980. From there the CD moves like an ethereal wave through poems accompanied by percussion and electronic ambient strains, to songs of downright unabashed grunge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carroll is primarily known as a poet, and the poetic pieces, most notably “Message Left On A Phone Machine” and “Eight Fragments for Kurt Cobain,” are themselves probably worth the price of the CD. But Carroll’s excursions into song, such as “Desert Town,” “Pools of Mercury,” and the aforementioned “Falling Down Laughing,” are impressive enough to merit Carroll’s continued foray into music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pulling this all together is Carroll’s voice, which sounds as distinctive as William Burroughs. Occasionally, Carroll’s singing sounds timid and you wish he would trust his instincts and let go. But he trusts in the power of his words, and when you hear his voice, you know you are in for an interesting ride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 to the studio to record … Continue reading Paul McDonald – Review of Pools of Mercury – Louisville Eccentric Observer 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-9873","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9VlUH-2zf","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"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":9873,"position":0},"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":9869,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/david-duncan-review-of-pools-of-mercury-memphis-flyer-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":9873,"position":1},"title":"David Duncan-Review of Pools of Mercury-Memphis Flyer 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"May 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3987,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/music-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":9873,"position":2},"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":4211,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/jim-carrolls-interviews\/poet-jim-carroll-waxes-lyrical-on-return-to-rock\/","url_meta":{"origin":9873,"position":3},"title":"Poet Jim Carroll Waxes Lyrical On Return To Rock","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Colin DevenishEdited by Michael GoldbergSonicNet Music News of the World 24 November 1998 After 14 years out of rock scene, author\/singer returns with latest album of songs, Pools of Mercury. Contributing Editor Colin Devenish reports: After more than a decade out of the rock scene, poet and author Jim\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4238,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/book-reviews\/the-jim-carroll-website-full-text-articles\/","url_meta":{"origin":9873,"position":4},"title":"The Jim Carroll: The Poet Speaks","author":"catholicboy.com","date":"January 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Stephen PerrinBeat Scene 32(1999): 59 Note: most of this article was not printed in the original source.--CC The front cover of Jim Carroll's Void of Course declares that it is a new work by the \"author of The Basketball Diaries\" while the back cover describes Carroll as a \"diarist\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10044,"url":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/research\/jim-carroll-biographies\/jim-carroll-mercury-records-biographical-sketch-1998\/","url_meta":{"origin":9873,"position":5},"title":"Jim Carroll: Mercury Records Biographical Sketch 1998","author":"Cassie Carter","date":"June 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Max's Kansas City has gone highbrow and Midtown; heroin has a chic; and punk rock has gone the acceptable and safe shopping mall route--not exactly the world Jim Carroll thrust himself into as a carpe diem teen and literary rookie genius. It's not the universe that welcomed The Jim Carroll\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\/9873","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=9873"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9874,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9873\/revisions\/9874"}],"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=9873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.catholicboy.com\/WP\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/folder?post=9873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}