Reissue of Dream Syndicate Classic with New Bonuses

The Dream Syndicate’s full-length debut represents a spectacularly quick climb to prominence. The band’s first EP (on Wynn’s own Down There label) certainly hinted at what was to come (not least of which for its inclusion of early versions of “That’s What You Always Say” and “When You Smile”), but the album, recorded only seven months after the band’s first public show, was something else again. In retrospect, the EP was the warmup, and the album was the full-on performance. When released in the Fall of 1982, the album was part of a banner year for L.A. bands, including discs from the Salvation Army, Three O’Clock, Bangles and Rain Parade. Though lumped together under the Paisley Underground banner, each band drew from overlapping but ultimately unique sets of influences.

Dream Syndicate’s roots in Dylan, the Velvet Underground, Crazy Horse and Television provided the obvious surface, but the band aimed for influence and homage, rather than slavish stylistic nostalgia, and grounded their sound in the new decade. The feedback laden guitar solos of this debut, particularly on the extended length title track, had the confrontational theatricality of punk rock, but the record’s expansiveness didn’t adhere to the two-minute ethos. Comparing the album to the contemporaneous live set The Day Before Wine and Roses, it’s clear that the group’s chemistry was that of a band that played together and fed off one another. Dennis Duck and Kendra Smith locked together as a rhythm section, providing a hypnotic backing for the penetrating, strangulated tone of Karl Precoda’s guitar.

Standing in front, pushed by the rhythm section and speared by the guitar, vocalist Steve Wynn sounded desperately engaged. His monotone was seasoned by the spittle of punk rock, and supplemented by slight, but highly effective melodic diversions that occupy their own seat in the house of Lou Reed. Early ‘80s college radio listeners are apt to remember “Tell Me When It’s Over,” “When You Smile” and “The Days of Wine and Roses,” but the rest of the album connects the dots with music that’s filled with dark, savage energy. “Definitely Clean” and “Then She Remembers” charge from the gate and never relent on their driving tempos, and the title track’s extended instrumental middle adds a harrowing new entry to the pantheon of guitar duets.

Omnivore’s reissue reconfigures Rhino’s 2001 reissue, dropping the pre-LP EP, early rehearsal tracks and a pre-Dream Syndicate single by 10 Seconds, in lieu of newly discovered vault entries. Heard here for the first time are the lengthy instrumental “Outside the Dream Syndicate” and forgotten title “Like Mary” from early 1982, the short jam “Is it Rolling, Bob?” and the complete song “A Reason,” from December 1982, and early rehearsals of Medicine Show’s “Still Holding On to You” and “Armed With an Empty Gun,” with Kendra Smith on bass. The latter two, recorded only a few months after the album, suggest what Medicine Show might have sounded like had the band not spent months recording in San Francisco for a major label with producer Sandy Pearlman.

The newly excavated tracks provide bookends to the album, showing off both the band’s primordial roots and a glimpse at an alternate future they might have lived out. Fans who have collected all of the official releases and reissues will appreciate this newly discovered ground, particularly the Medicine Show titles. As rehearsals, the production quality doesn’t match that of the album, but the unguarded nature of these performances provides a fascinating glimpse into the band’s development. Those new to the Dream Syndicate will also want to also track down a copy of Rhino’s earlier release for the EP and pre-Dream Syndicate tracks. Omnivore’s 80-minute CD is accompanied by a 12-page booklet that includes testimonials from Bucketfull of Brains’ Nigel Cross, the Rain Parade’s Matt Piucci, the Long Ryders’ Tom Stevens, Green on Red’s Dan Stuart, Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley, Rhino Records’ Gary Stewart and several friends of the band. [©2015 Hyperbolium]