EELs - The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett

The man behind Eels is one hell of a prolific guy. Since his Eels debut Beautiful Freak in 1996, Mark Oliver Everett has authored no less than 11 full-length studio albums – and that isn’t even counting his two fine solo efforts.

As if that wasn’t enough, Everett has a bunch of other intriguing projects on his resumé, including the memoir Things the Grandchildren Should Know (he doesn’t, incidentally, have any kids never mind grandchildren) and a documentary about his late father, the esteemed quantum physicist Hugh Everett.

From the outset, it has to be said, Everett stood out as a talent of unusual intelligence and creativity. The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett further displays the joys of his brilliant voice: frequently sad, it is always, but always, soulful. In timbre and tone, it can on occasion be remarkably similar to Beck’s – but Everett’s finely written lyrics are always unique.

The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett lives up to its title in being highly confessional and frequently disarmingly candid. Death, depression, love and loneliness have always loomed large in his songs: these cautionary tales are no exception.

Mark’s father, mother and sister died of heart failure, cancer and suicide respectively. His cousin was a flight attendant on the ill-fated plane that flew into the Pentagon on 9/11. To say that Everett has been through the mill is to understate it greatly. But he has lived to tell the story with remarkable eloquence. As cautionary tales go, these are wonderfully convincing.