We did a post last year that still gets a bit of interest about when Mercury Rev were a really exciting rock band and I heard an old Flaming Lips track today and it reminded me of how great they were also. They didn’t go quite as soft as the Rev but to these ears I always preferred the older stuff and was not as taken with their breakthrough records such as The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi etc. I remember three albums in particular from there early to mid 90s period that were incredible:

Hit to Death in the Future Head (1992)
Transmissions from the Satellite Heart (1993)
Clouds Taste Metallic (1995)

I think it’s an interesting period because it encompasses the pivot point in the bands development for me. Hit to Death in the Future Head is harking back to their really early work, Transmissions from the Satellite Heart is the pivot point towards the more melodic/pop elements and Clouds Taste Metallic is where they really embrace the pop and point towards those later more commercially successful albums. With that in mind, Transmissions from the Satellite Heart is for me a stone cold classic. It’s still fuzzy, dirty, experimental and messy but the melodies are fighting to burst through whenever they can culminating in their popiest moment, She Don’t Use Jelly. A glorious album. Below are three beauties from Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.