1. Falling Out of Love
2. Mercy Now
3. Wheel Inside the Wheel
4. I Drink
5. Just Say She's a Rhymer - Mary Gauthier, Howard, Harlan
6. Prayer Without Words
7. Your Sister Cried - Mary Gauthier, Eaglesmith, Fred
8. Empty Spaces
9. Drop in a Bucket
10. It Ain't the Wind, It's the Rain
Amazon.com
A spark of redemption illuminates even the darker songs on Mercy Now, the fourth album by Mary Gauthier (pronounced "go-shay"). The influence of her native Louisiana pervades her Southern Gothic songcraft, which first won an audience in the folk clubs of Boston. After a series of releases on independent labels, her Lost Highway debut seems destined to expand that audience significantly. Within her mature, weather-beaten artistry, Dylanesque metaphysics go to Mardi Gras on "Wheel Inside the Wheel"; the naked emotion and eye for detail of "Your Sister Cried" and "Empty Spaces" conjure comparisons with Lucinda Williams; and the plainspoken "I Drink" and "Drop in a Bucket" have the bittersweet bite of the best of John Prine. The spare arrangements of producer/guitarist Gurf Morlix, punctuated by cello, organ, and harmonica, give the material plenty of room to breathe. Gauthier's vocals are half-spoken, half-sung, and all soul. --Don McLeese
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Mercy Now
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2005-02-15)
- Publisher: Lost Highway
- Label: Lost Highway
- Studio: Lost Highway
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 39 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #12774
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: life-changing song 2008-07-27
Comment: The song Mercy Now is life-changing. It's as beautiful as anything I've ever heard, and full of mercy. What a miracle of a song.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: SUPERB 2008-05-27
Comment: I missed this album but picked up on "I Drink" via Bob Dylan's Theme Time Music Hour CD. Mary Gauthier is the real thing - arguments about whether the Hammond B3 has a place in country are moot (Booker T. + Willie Nelson on "Georgia on my Mind"??) - this is soul music of the highest order. If it were the 1970s Millie Jackson would have "I Drink" complete with rap on the charts. And Mary's new album is equally good.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!! 2008-04-05
Comment: Mary Gauthier has the most beautiful, haunting voice. "Mercy Now" really shows her New Orleans background, in both lyrics, and instrumental choices. She is an incredible "story teller", putting her life out there for her fans to "pick through".
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Critiquing the critics 2008-02-22
Comment: February 22, 2008
Clotblaster complains Mary Gauthier's lyrics cannot be classified as poetry. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines poetry as a "writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm." By that definition or any other, Gauthier's songs unquestionably qualify as poetry. Beyond that, whether one enjoys her poetry is simply a matter of personal taste. Clotblaster obviously does not, but based upon the other reviews posted this is decidedly a minority view.
Mary's many admirers include those responsible for her invitation to the Newport Folk Festival, and such notable singer-songwriters as John Prine and Guy Clark, for whom she has opened, as well as Bob Dylan and many others. I realize Mary's music is not going to be universally admired -- what music is? But I love it -- it hits my musical G spot -- that "specific emotional response" the poet seeks to touch.
As for criticism of Mary's twang, this gal grew up in Louisiana. If you haven't noticed, folks down there talk that way -- naturally.
To "A Kid's Review", if you've got a cat that can sing like Mary, I suggest you get an agent. You and that cat can make some real money.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Intense Real song writing 2008-01-02
Comment: As a struggling songwriter myself,I find it very refreshing that an album by Mary Gauthier[Mercy Now] found its way into main stream America. Its really good to know that good music with great real lyrics are still here too stay. Im a new Fan. Thanks Mary. Truly Morris Cardenas
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Mercy Now
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