Editing Mercury Rev (section)

===Breakthrough albums: ''Deserter's Songs'' and ''All is Dream'' (1998–2001)===
Mercury Rev relocated to Donahue's birthplace of [[Kingston, New York]],<ref name="sisario">{{cite news |last1=Sisario |first1=Ben |title=Just Your Standard Rock Band: Guitar, Drums and Electroencephalograph |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/arts/music/10merc.html |access-date=23 July 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=9 September 2008}}</ref> and began recording in the [[Catskill Mountains]]. The personnel for the album was a loose core of Jonathan Donahue, Grasshopper and Suzanne Thorpe, joined by Dave Fridmann and by former drummer Jimy Chambers, and augmented by local musicians (including two former members of [[The Band]]: [[Garth Hudson]] and [[Levon Helm]]). The involvement of the latter shifted the band's musical focus closer to roots and acoustic music. At the secondary recording and mixing stage, Donahue, Grasshopper and Fridmann opted not to use their previous method of distorted guitar and electronic overdubs and instead began to use strings, horns and woodwinds, resulting in more of a [[chamber pop]] sound while retaining a psychedelic tinge.<ref name="Halpin" /><ref name=Inglis>{{cite web |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/dave-fridmann-producing-flaming-lips-mercury-rev| title=Dave Fridmann: Producing Flaming Lips & Mercury Rev|first=Sam|last=Inglis|date=September 2000|access-date=August 20, 2012|website=[[Sound on Sound]]}}</ref>

The 1998 release of the resulting ''[[Deserter's Songs]]'' album met with acclaim, and made Mercury Rev unexpected pop stars.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jason Ankeny |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/deserters-songs-mw0000043055 |title=Deserter's Songs - Mercury Rev &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fluffhouse.org.uk/musicreviews/album.php?albumid=615]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521145154/http://www.fluffhouse.org.uk/musicreviews/album.php?albumid=615|date=May 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Nme.Com |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/mercury-rev/203 |title=NME Reviews - Deserter's Songs |website=Nme.com |date=2005-09-12 |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19842/Mercury_Rev_Deserters_Songs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021163144/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19842/Mercury_Rev_Deserters_Songs|date=October 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Sinclair |first=Tom |url=https://ew.com/article/1998/09/25/deserters-songs/ |title=Deserter's Songs |website=EW.com |date=1998-09-25 |access-date=2015-12-04 |archive-date=2014-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216222207/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,284989,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom|UK]], ''[[NME]]'' magazine made ''Deserter's Songs'' their [[NME album of the year|Album of the Year]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmeindex.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907194846/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmeindex.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |title=Rocklist.net...NME Lists Menu Page |website=Rocklistmusic.co.uk |date=1992-05-09 |access-date=2015-12-04}}</ref> Donahue's earnest, high-pitched vocals and concentration on relatively concise, melodic songs gave the band's material an entirely new feel and much increased popularity (''Deserter's Songs'' spawned three UK Top 40 singles: "[[Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp]]", "Opus 40" and "[[Goddess on a Hiway|Goddess On A Hiway]]").
 
Both Suzanne Thorpe and Jimy Chambers left Mercury Rev following the recording of the album, with the tours promoting ''Deserter's Songs'' featuring the return of the Russo brothers and Adam Snyder (although all three would depart the live band during 2000). Jeff Mercel, who'd played on ''[[Deserter's Songs]]'', also joined as touring drummer, and would soon become a full band member.<ref name="revufaq" /> Although Thorpe would return as a guest player for ''All is Dream'',<ref name="revufaq" /> she would subsequently concentrate on academic research and emerge as a Deep Listening instructor, university lecturer and electro-acoustic improviser, as well as becoming part of "pirate-punk" band The Wounded Knees.<ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/the-wounded-knees Wounded Knees page] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref> Thorpe has also returned for occasional band revisitations of the Harmony Rockets project, including one at the 2009 [[All Tomorrow's Parties (festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties]] festival in England.<ref name="revshownotes" /><ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/bio Biography] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref><ref>[https://www.suzannethorpe.com/mercury-rev Mercury Rev page] on Suzanne Thorpe homepage</ref> Chambers would later form the band Odiorne.<ref name="revufaq" />

By 2001, the band's nucleus was Grasshopper, Donahue and Mercel, with Fridmann remaining as co-producer and studio bass player. The ''[[All Is Dream]]'' album was issued in 2001 and became the band's highest-charting album in the UK to date (#11). It included "Little Rhymes", "Nite and Fog" and "The Dark is Rising," which reached No.&nbsp;16 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/music/newsid_1785000/1785755.stm |title=The Official UK Top 40 | work=BBC News | date=January 27, 2002 | access-date=May 12, 2010}}</ref> David Bowie producer [[Tony Visconti]] arranged strings and provided [[Mellotron]] parts for the album, which also featured contributions from Jason and Justin Russo. However, the Russo brothers did not join the band on tour this time, their places being taken by bass player Paul Dillon and by multi-instrumentalist Carlos Anthony Molina on keyboards, augmented by second keyboard player Michael Schirmer.<ref name="revufaq" />