Search - Marshall Crenshaw :: Mary Jane & 9 Others

It's easy buy this

excentrifugal | Brooklyn NY | 11/30/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I recently stumbled across this re-release and was happy to finally hear "This is Easy" and the 9 others "Mary Jean" being one of the unheard. It was a blast of pop bliss. Fat guitar licks, catchy beats, heartfelt melody. I am so happy this is avalible again."

Layers of guitars

Terrence B. Martin | Hendersonville, TN | 08/03/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you like pure power pop, Marshall is your man and this is a CD you need to have in your collection. All of the songs are gems, but "Calling Out For Love (At Crying Time)" is my favorite. The guitars swoop and soar in and out of the vocal track throughout this song, and they come together in the middle in a mad, almost hysterical rush (you can even hear shouting in the background at this point). Marshall's voice is full of anguish and longing--a trademark sound I never grow tired of hearing."

To The Nines

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 03/09/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Marshall Crenshaw is a man who seems virtually incapable of making a bad album. Granted, there was the occasional filler tune but almost every album had at least one power-pop classic on it. On "Mary Jean & 9 Others," you have the shimmering heartbreak of "Calling Out For Love At Crying Time." Like his first three albums, "Mary Jean.." carries on the classiscist tradition of weeding the kind of Buddy Holly pop to 80's new wave.



This time it was producer Don Dixon (REM, Smithereeens and Dixon's wife Marti Jones, who adds vocals here) trying to capture Crenshaw's essence. With Crenshaw's pop-leanings and Dixon's affinity towards jangley guitar pop, it should have been a perfect fit. Alas, however, this is the most wooded on Crenshaw's five CD's for Warner Brothers. It doesn't stop the brilliance of "Calling Out For Love" or "Somebody Crying," but it does make "This Street" feel uninspired.



On the other hand, "They Will Never Know" may be one of Crenshaw's best love ballads. The lone cover - of Peter Case's rootsy "Steel Strings" - is a perfect match of artist/production/song, and the exuberant "hold me darling, hold me baby" whoops in "Til That Moment" recall the hype that surrounded his debut album. Had it been any other artist, it probably would have been a landmark of Jangle-pop. Placed next to "Marshall Crenshaw" and "Field Day," its just a really good 4th album that slipped through the cracks. It had fallen out of print for several years (I still have my WB version, thanks Wounded Bird for this and "Downtown"), so this is for the loyal fans that were unwilling to cough up the exorbitant auction prices."