American Music Club: Classic or Dud?

YEP!

i even really dig the rerecorded "all my love," it's sounds more spacious and aching

Yeah, that threw me at first, but it's pretty wonderful. "Costumed Characters..." has been in my head lately, everything I love about his work distilled into 2.5 minutes.

! I really liked the original "All My Love"

Thread inspired me to give Klamath another spin. "I Live In This Place" was apparently the opening number for a musical he wrote?! It's an incredible song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aspneMZXNY0

he wrote the music for a musical that was done in Brighton a few years ago, yeah. That is a great song. Klamath is underrated because it's a 'home production' but several of the songs on there are excellent. I really like "Remember"

One of my favourite bands, late 80s/early 90s. I know Mark E is still doing it good.Excellent

I need to rediscover.

Slight tangent but their version of "Goodbye to Love" Carpenters always sounded just fine. I'm off for a listen now which is so boring of me.
Sorry for posting

I listen to Engine often.

I love Klamath. That album returned my enthusiasm for Mark's solo work, a joy which had waned upon the release of the Invisible Man. Okay, I've since found some affection for The Ugly American, his Greek interpretations of AMC songs. But looking back on the 2000s, it sure seems like he earmarked his stronger material for the reunited AMC.

Aquarium Drunkard has an interview with Mark Eitzel up: http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2015/02/06/mark-eitzel-the-aquarium-drunkard-interview/

I really hope Eitzel doesn't need to keep relying on lottery winners to get records made. Would he be a good candidate for a crowdfunding effort, I wonder?

Now that Fall is here properly it's Eitzel season again.

https://youtu.be/xNVbvhM46MY

Did anything ever come of reissuing AMC's early catalogue again?
Is much of it in print.

Nothing of that nature is happening AFAIK, stalled by all that tragedy upthread I'd guess. Which is really too bad since I bet a decent number of folks would buy the fuck out of some remastered reissues.

"Help Me" might be their finest pop moment

"Did anything ever come of reissuing AMC's early catalogue again?"

I'm working with the management on this. It will happen, we are just trying to secure a few things.

!!!

Recently found a decent vinyl copy of United Kingdom, I'd kill for California and Everclear.

it'll only be the albums through UK; Alias still owns the masters for Everclear unfortunately.

Glad to hear this, Do hope that means cd too. Would love physical copies of that stuff again. Shame about Everclear since i don't think I've had a physical copy of that.

Plenty of reasonably priced vinyl and CD copies of Everclear on discogs.

What are the AMC records that sound the most like Don't Be A Stranger? (if any)

The last one, The Golden Age, is closest.

Thanks.

it'll only be the albums through UK; Alias still owns the masters for Everclear unfortunately.

wtf how does Alias still own anything

The Golden Age is an f'in' masterpiece imo

agreed, it and California are tops imo

new Eitzel album out in January, produced + accompanied by Bernard Butler (!!!)

http://www.stereogum.com/1907667/mark-eitzel-the-last-ten-years/music/

tbh the song is just OK but an album of Eitzel gone Britpop is intriguing

Eh, not much chance for Britpop. Have you heard the last two Ben Watt records?

don't forget that Butler also produced Duffy

So is AMC definitely over now? Has he said anything about that?

I've had the album for a few months. It's def. not 'britpop', more akin to the last Ben Watt album if anything. Butler did a great job; he did this as a favor to our friend in London (they are neighbors) who manages Mark right now. This is probably the 'poppiest' arrangement, the rest of the album is more in the lines of the last solo Eitzel job. Butler did play almost everything but the drums on this though (and acoustic which was played by Mark).

AMC: don't hold your breath. I've been working with management on possibly doing reissues of the first four albums (fingers crossed this still happens). The dream would be to do a few shows with Danny and Vudi if/when that happens but who knows. AMC albums don't exactly make any money, and Mark feels like he needs to pay people (and people want to get paid) at this point. Vudi is a bus driver in LA at the moment.

Would be cool if you could get the tour-only albums re-released too (Atwater Afternoon/Everclear Rehearsals/Mercury Demos) since the only people making money on those are resellers and not the band.

I like the new album, too.

I like the single a lot, it reminds me of 60 Watt

Surprised how few monthly listeners on Spotify Eitzel has: ~2k, and AMC ~4K

AMC hasn't enjoyed the popular legacy of many of their inferior peers, mostly (I think) because many of their albums are not easy/cheap to find. Hoping that will be rectified as mentioned upthread.

The offering of AMC on Spotify could be better, too (the 1985-95 greatest hits, California, United Kingdom for starters) but I'm sure that's a licensing nightmare.

(but they got Songs of Love from Demon, so maybe there's hope...)

re: first four album streaming. we are working on it.

everclear/alias: alias are a fucking pain in the ass, they've never paid the band or given any accounting.

dont' know why the WB/Rhino licensed later albums aren't up there

tour albums/streaming: working on talking mark into putting these all on bandcamp at this point.

There was a great live recordin from the Mercury tour tgat came packaged with as part of a promo version of one of the single or eps. I wish I could track this down.

Brilliant. I have some of that stuff would like to have the rest of at least the AMC stuff.

Bernard Butler also worked with Bert Jansch shortly before he died. The one time i got to see Jansch was in duet with butler in one of teh Galway Art Festivals a few years ago. I never made it to Whelan's when he used to play there which I should have done.

moodles i can pass that to you if you want mp3s of it (the slim's live promo)

trying to track down the person who recorded the entire show

That would be great, I didn't realize that was the same one.

everclear/alias: alias are a fucking pain in the ass, they've never paid the band or given any accounting.

they tried to sign me waaaaay back when and when I said "I don't think so, thanks" were really insulting about how I really only considered my work a hobby

I don't know anybody who ever had a good experience with them

recall hearing that when merge re-released the archers of loaf records they had to use new artwork because alias had 'lost' the originals

the fact that alias still claim, I think, to own everclear is also bizarre. granted who knows what the original contract says; we have someone trying to track it down now and see. but owning the licensing for a recorded work in perpetuity seems....a little weird. and if they own it, you'd think they'd stick it up where people can fucking hear it, or do some reissues so people can buy it, considering, you know, it's the greatest american indie rock record of all time

amen

I enjoy the demos for Everclear and Mercury. And the 2004 live album is great as well. Amazing band

are these actual releases? where did you hear them?