I just bought Yerself Is Steam by Mercury Rev and I'm very confused by the track listings and times; they are completely different from what is listed on the back (or printed on the CD itself) or AMG. For instance the first song is listed as lasting 4:27, but is actually over 7 minutes. And another song is listed as 2:27, but lasts only 47 seconds. Is this a prank that the band played or just a mistake? I do enjoy the song that is spread over 89 4 second tracks, however.
Zach
As the party responsible for that little joke, I can answer that: the album cover times are complete deliberate lies. It extends from the cover of the Flaming Lips' _In a Priest Driven Ambulance_, where all the tracks are listed as 3:26 - a duration I found recurrent on lots of pop singles I bought in the '70s. We did the covers for both albums around the same time, and Jonathan wanted to reprise the idea on the Rev cover, so we just pulled the numbers outta the aether - all of 'em end in :27... Jon M.