Formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1989, MERCURY REV quick grew to become leading figures in left field alternative rock. Earlier albums veered towards experimental, off-kilter psychedelia but by the end of the decade, the band had developed their own brand of serene, piano-based Americana with the acclaimed, best-selling LP Deserter’s Songs (1998). Originally issued in January 2005, THE SECRET MIGRATION was the sixth album by Mercury Rev and followed All Is Dream (2001) – which has already been reissued as a deluxe edition and more recently a double vinyl set by Cherry Red. In the UK, where the band were signed to V2, the album spawned two singles, ‘In A Funny Way’ and ‘Across Yer Ocean’. Cherry Red Records are proud to unveil a deluxe 5-CD edition of this sometimes overlooked album, compiled by Jonathan Donaghue & Sean ‘Grasshopper’ Mackowiak. Joining the original album are a second disc of B-sides and previously unissued outtakes, a third disc wholly devoted to hitherto unheard demos and a fourth disc of in-concert material culled from shows around the globe (again, previously unreleased). For good measure, Disc 5 revisits the band’s subsequent soundtrack album, Hello Blackbird. Among the bonus tracks are Rev-esque versions of Bobby Charles' Catskill Mountains inspired masterpiece 'Tennessee Blues', the plaintive modern spiritual 'Afraid' originally recorded by Nico, two Paul Westerberg penned gems 'Androgynous' and 'Good Day', Daniel Johnston's ode to healing 'Blue Clouds' as well as a sublime Rev duet featuring Bonnie Anthony on their version of 'I Never Had It So Good' (a song the Rev chose from Kris and Rita's 1973 LP “Full Moon”. This expanded edition of THE SECRET MIGRATION is presented as a plush, hardbook book containing original album lyrics, lots of visuals and new sleeve-notes by acclaimed author and journalist Barney Hoskyns