Various Artists – Ciao My Shining Star (The Songs Of Mark Mulcahy)

Thom Yorke once described Mark Mulcahy’s voice as the most beautiful he had ever heard. J Mascis and Joey Santiago contributed tracks to his last solo album In Pursuit Of Your Happiness. His solo albums and work with first Miracle Legion and then Polaris garnered critical acclaim across the board. And yet, for some reason, the man himself has never really enjoyed the recognition his songwriting deserves here in the UK.

A little over a year ago, Mark Mulcahy’s wife died suddenly of cancer, leaving Mulcahy to take care of their twin three year old daughters and the micro record label they set up together to release his records. Unbeknown to Mulcahy himself a group of artists began to put together a tribute record in order to raise money for his family and to aid him in continuing his musical career. It was not until work on the project was quite a way down the line that Mulcahy became involved in the project. By the time it was over over 40 artists had submitted tracks, with 21 making it onto the CD and the other 19 to be released as digital downloads. The list of artists involved: The National, Thom Yorke, Michael Stipe, Dinosaur Jr and Frank Black just goes to show in what high regard Mulcahy is held by his peers. These are not merely knocked out cover versions either- each artist appears to have taken Mulcahy’s often intensely personal work and given it their own unique take. As such you have Frank Black unleashing his trademark yelp and guitar scrawl on a pounding ‘Bill Jocko’, Dinosaur Jr slacking out, Vic Chesnutt delivering a haunting version of ‘Little Man’ and Fountain of Wayne’s Chris Collingwood jangling and bahbahbah-ing through ‘Cookie Jar’. Credit too to Frank Turner, who manages to bring out the dark humour of ‘The Quiet One’.

The National and Mercury Rev both turn in excellent string laden performances but one of the real highlights of the record comes from the Yorke brothers. Thom makes ‘All For The Best’ his own, picking up the minimal glitchy beats where The Eraser left off. He is joined on vocal duties by brother Andy, and the vocals work so well together it’s a wonder the two haven’t shared vocals before. It seems somehow fitting however, that the albums true highpoint is provided by Mulcahy’s long time friend and contemporary Michael Stipe, with his rendition of ‘Everything Is Coming Undone’. Singing over a juddering guitar and electronic burbles, Stipe delivers a poignant double cover juxtaposing the chorus “you know that I’ll never be/ the way that I used to be/ everything is coming undone” with the matralike “I know that I will be alright” fade from ‘A Cup Of Tea And Your Insights’. As the strings soar around Stipe’s vocal it serves as clear message of positivity from one friend to another. It certainly stands as Stipe’s most moving and vital vocal performance for quite some time.

While writing about Mulcahy’s Self Defeater in his ‘31 Songs’ book, Nick Hornby observed that his music was “only ever going to find its audience through word of mouth and recommendations by the like-minded.” One can only hope that this excellent compilation can help spread the word.