What does it sound like?:
What happens when underground darlings attempt to join the mainstream? In this case, it all went badly wrong in every respect except the music…
This is the Dream Syndicate’s second album. Recording started a mere 18 months after their first rehearsal as a band. The eight tracks on the original album took six months of 12 hour days, seven days a week and $0.5m of A&M’s money (in 1983!) to lay down with Sandy Pearlman at the helm. The band basically fell apart in the process and a few short months after its release, split. What they left us with is an album like no other: a mixture of production gloss, feral guitars and songs that deal with death, arson, lust, child abuse and… Well, mostly death if I’m honest.
So what do we have a year too late for this 40th anniversary boxed set? A remixed version of the original album, sounding better than ever; the complete set of a slot supporting R.E.M. released in truncated form as This Is Not The New Dream Syndicate Album back in the day; some rehearsals; live performances; and two complete sets from gigs at CBGBs and a club in Philadelphia. It’s the latter two where the real meat of this collection lies. We are talking properly psychedelic “wandering around Alexandra Palace after the 24 Hour Technicolour Dream hugging trees that light up when you touch them” stuff. The early versions of the songs on Medicine Show here are faster and punkier; the jams looser and longer. There’s a 20 minute version of Suzie Q and a quick bash through Don’t Fear The Reaper. It’s terrific stuff, the version of John Coltrane Stereo Blues from the CBGBs set being the highlight.
Sound quality wise, the additional material rarely rises above that of a soundboard recording and can descend to bootleg levels, but when feedback is your bag does that really matter?
What does it all *mean*?
In the words of Steve Wynn: “I still don’t understand how Karl got a guitar to make those noises.”
Goes well with…
Things I don’t indulge in anymore.
Release Date:
15 October 2025.
Might suit people who like…
A mixture of psychedelia, jazz, punk and John Cale era VU.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.