(Sorry about my english)
Back in 1984 Steve Wynn and his band, THE DREAM SYNDICATE, was one of the "next big things" of rock'n'roll, the one many looked upon with hope and fiery passion: they seemed to be born from the ashes of the Velvet Underground but you could also feel some vibes of 60's psychedelics in their strings (as you could with most of the bands of the so-called Paisley Underground like Rain Parade, Long Ryders, and so on). Thei 1982 debut, The days of wine and roses had largely been influenced by the first and second VU LPs, while their 1984 release, Medicine show, was something quite different: while some tracks like Still holding on to you and Merritville were more roots/americana(we would say these days)-oriented, and the names of Bruce Springsteen (a Steve Wynn idol, by the way) and Neil Young come to mind, there are song like John Coltrane Stereo Blues and the title-track whose electric reverberations remind us of Eight miles high-era Byrds and the fury of some free jazzer (obviously Coltrane).
Still this record was a comercial flop. The band released two more studio albums in the followings years with a different line-up (without the etherodox guitarist Karl Precoda), and then split.
Medicine show was their last stuggle to enter the rock'n'r roll history. They lost but they somehow made it: this LP, so dark and unglamourous, so full of angst, is a hell of a record, one able to "kick joy out of darkness" Kerouac would say.
Here you can find the full album (and the extra live tracks that were avaible on the CD release as well), that is still -alas, and because of a certain major company...- out of catalogue.
3 comments:
Se 79 è la tua data di nascita mi stupisce che tu conosca così bene il paisley undeground...complimenti e continua così!
I would love to have this. Can you please repost? Thank you!
Please count me among those who would love to see this post (including the bonus tracks) re-uploaded.
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