Miracle Legion - Portrait of a Damaged Family (1996, Reissue 2016)

For too long the story of Miracle Legion – the Connecticut-born outfit co-led between 1983 and 1996 by Mark Mulcahy and Ray Neal – has been recounted far too indirectly. Obscured by record label woes, due to the early-‘90s collapse of Rough Trade Records and the litigiousness of Morgan Creek Records, the biggest tragedy of Miracle Legion’s existence has been the almost total absence of the band’s recordings from print. Thankfully however, with the group reconvening for some live reunion shows, this historical wrong is being righted with a wave of reissues; starting at the band’s erstwhile ending with a reconfigured vinyl edition of 1996’s Portrait Of A Damaged Family for Record Store Day.
Originally released on CD only with a marginally longer tracklist via Mulcahy’s still-active Mezzotint label, Portrait Of A Damaged Family documents Miracle Legion’s final studio bow (at least until any potential new recordings come together in future). Gratifyingly, despite its self-referencing battered veterans title, the long-player is undoubtedly one of the group’s most eclectic, buoyant and best-produced collections.
With Mulcahy and Neal backed by latter-years bassist Dave McCaffrey and drummer Scott Boutier (who also joined Mulcahy in Polaris and played with Frank Black’s The Catholics subsequently) and a floating ensemble of guest players and backing singers, the record revels in being put to tape on Miracle Legion’s own creative terms. Fans of Mulcahy’s more diverse ensemble-crafted solo wares – especially 2005’s In Pursuit Of Your Happiness – will immediately spot some continuity here but Portrait Of A Damaged Family is also a strong testament to Neal as his versatile yet intelligent guitar-slinging songwriting partner.
The swooning opener of “You’re My Blessing” sets the LP’s stall-up solidly with fluid jangling, a stomping rhythm section, call-and-response gang vocals, baroque string interludes and Mulcahy’s trademark acrobatic tones gelling charmingly. Gears shift sideways for the ensuing fairground organ-driven purring of the soaring “Screamin’” before going into a happy reversal for the lovely acoustic lament of “Homer”, which revisits the more rustic duo sounds of 1989’s Me And Mr. Ray. After such a strong inaugurating triumvirate, the album continues to twirl and spin through a warming range of settings and styles to give the Miracle Legion legacy a solid showcasing platter.
Hence, things glide through exuberant Peter Buck-meets-Johnny Marr folk-rock reveries (“Say I Had A Lovely Time” and “Madison Park”); joyously infectious theatrical swinging (“I Wish I Was Danny Kaye”), balmy art-funk (on “The Depot”, a previously unreleased cut added to this edition in place of three other songs that are now download-only bonus tracks); prowling Exile On Main Street gospel-meets-blues-rock (“Accidently On Purpose”); flute-infused pastoral psych-pop (“KKM”); somewhat unhinged garage-rock (“Good For Her”); and dark plaintiveness foretelling Mulcahy’s 1999 solo debut Fathering (“Gone To Bed At 21”).