2017 - September 6 - Glide

Friday is quite the day... First and foremost, Motorpsycho's new album, The Tower, is released. Then there is Neil Young's album Hitch Hiker, with early acoustic versions of some great songs. And finally... There is The Dream Syndicate, who have reunited and almost 30 years after their last studio album (Ghost Stories from 1988) are releasing a new album called How Did I Find Myself Here? I started following Steve Wynn in the time after the demise of The Dream Syndicate, and for a long time I had to make do with a compilation album and a live album, as their CDs were either out of print or hard to get. I have tracked them all down, and I am very excited for the new album, especially after hearing the title track and today's song, Glide, which is a song with a singer/songwriter structure drenched in feedback and loud guitar, just what I ordered...

August 30 - The Medicine Show

I am sensing a theme forming around opening lines - or even verses - this week. I have always thought that the key to drawing an audience in is a strong opening line, and today's is quite possibly my all-time favorite lines because we really don't know exactly what's going on - but my imagination is surely going...

When Dream Syndicate started to percolate and bubble more and more, they decided it was time for a bigger record company. They went to A&M, and they hired in Sandy Pearlman to produce the album. He had worked with Blue Oyster Cult on their megahit (Don't Fear) The Reaper, and he had worked with latter day The Clash, so his pedigree was well established. Dream Syndicate was still led by Steve Wynn, with Paul Cutler on lead guitar and Dennis Duck on drums, but Dave Provost had taken over the bass duties from Kendra Smith - and what these four went on to record is in my book the ultimate Dream Syndicate album: The Medicine Show.

I've already played John Coltrane Stereo Blues, which found its way on to the album, and there is great storytelling in the songs Burn and Merrittville, but nothing tops the opening lines of the title track:

"I've got a page one story buried in my yard
I've got a troubled mind"

I can't think of more menacing sounding lines - and the delivery is very fitting. The rest of the lyrics are unfortunately not quite up to that standard, although he comes close with a couple of lines (he being Steve Wynn, who wrote most of the music and lyrics). I have had the pleasure of seeing Steve Wynn perform The Medicine Show with his on band and solo acoustic, and I am blown away every single time I hear the shuffle start.

August 11 - Let It Rain

I discovered Dream Syndicate somewhat by chance. I was working at Radio Ung, and the Steve Wynn debut album, Kerosene Man, was one of the albums peddled by Sonet, which was the record company most desperate to get their music to as many people as possible, so they sent us pretty much every album they released or distributed in Norway. I had listened to the album a couple of times, so when I had a chance to see him live at Skansen on December 23 (referred to as "little Christmas eve" in Norway - and of great significance, as that is the evening we decorate our trees so they are ready for our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve), 1989, I went without hesitation. I believe I was going with two good friends: Vegard and Leif Roger.

A couple of things stood out about the gig even before it started: It was just Steve Wynn with his acoustic guitar. That is very demanding of any artist - but he really pulled it off. And the venue, Skansen, was both the venue for my first concert ever (TNT in 1985) and the place where my parents met for the first time. The details surrounding their first meeting are a little sketchy to me, but they've been together ever since, so it was indeed the start of something pretty darn good (they will have been married for 45 years on September 11 - quite impressive).

That evening in 1989 proved to be a perfect way to start the holiday. He delivered the goods - both songs from his first solo album (Under the Weather and Kerosene Man were standouts) and songs from his time in Dream Syndicate (the two I specifically remember are The Medicine Show and Boston), which at that time had come to its end just the year before. I really liked Dream Syndicate, but it was difficult to find their music, so when I found Tell Me When It's Over: The Best of Dream Syndicate 1982 - 1988 at a record store sometime in the early 90s (it was at Innova at the Moholt Center, I think), I was ecstatic. While it had both of the aforementioned songs - and yes, I almost wore the cd out listening to both of them - it also had surprises, and one of them was the Eric Clapton song Let It Rain, culled from his first solo album. I have since listened to Clapton's version as well, but I have to admit that I really prefer the energy that Dream Syndicate brings to it. You can always look up the Clapton version, but here it is with Dream Syndicate from the album Out Of The Grey from 1986.

Match 22 - John Coltrane Stereo Blues

It's hard to decide on a song for today. After yesterday's roller coaster with surgery and hospitals and doctors' visits, I don't quite know what to play. Or what I want to hear. Yesterday's song was more appropriate than I wanted to be given the days' chaotic nature, so today I need something equally appropriate - but I am stuck.

Or rather I was stuck. Once again, a song starter materializing. Mirroring the monotony of a hospital with its single chord as well as the chaos going on in a day with appointments and surgeries, The Dream Syndicate's John Coltrane Stereo Blues is the perfect companion to a night at the hospital. This song is from the fantastic The Medicine Show from 1984, and it's a song that bandleader and songwriter Steve Wynn keeps taking out on long and meandering excursions when he plays it live. To me it's a masterpiece - but to others it's an acquired taste...

Boston

The year was 1996, and the place was the basement of Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration. The biennial student festival Uken was underway, and it was a cold, snowy winter night. On stage was Steve Wynn Quintet with most of the band Come and Dennis Duck from Steve's old band Dream Syndicate on drums. It was a memorable concert for many reasons, for instance the spectacular performance of John Coltrane Stereo Blues (but more about that song in a later blog, I believe) - and I got to meet Steve backstage before the concert. I was scheduled to interview him, but he was delayed coming in due to bad weather on the mountain passes between Oslo and Bergen, and the local TV-station got first dibs on the interview. As a result, I had a little bit of sound (of poor quality) from the TV interview and then I asked a couple of questions - and I believe I was asking about Johnette Napolitano (formerly of Concrete Blonde), who was someone he had collaborated with before. 

However, for me, the concert ended up being all about the song Boston. It is a classic Dream Syndicate song, and it quotes Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl (Do you remember when - we used to sing Sha la la la...). The classic Em-G-D-Em chord progression is the foundation for the song, yet it has a raw power to it that really comes out at the bridge (And the winners stand confused, they don't want to be misused. And the losers that came before say "I don't wanna be here anymore"). 

The band was on fire, and it must have gotten too hot in the basement, because about halfway through the song, the stage went dark, the sound disappeared, and the emergency lighting was the only source of light as Steve Wynn tried singing over the fire alarm. Yup, the fire alarm was ringing, but the audience was not going anywhere. I have been to many a concert where there is an audience participation component or a singalong, but here the audience participated out of necessity. It became a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and while we were all singing the Sha la la's I clearly remember thinking that if there really was a fire, I would die a happy man.

Thinking back on it today, it was probably not a smart thing to do - but there was no indication of any fire (no smoke and no excessive heat). Regardless, it did become one of my most memorable concert experiences. 

I have found two versions of Boston on YouTube - the first is by Dream Syndicate, from their video (now also released on DVD) Weathered and Torn. The second one is accoustic from Steve's 2008 tour - and I believe the second guitar player is Robert Lloyd.

The second one is accoustic from Steve's 2008 tour - and I believe the second guitar player is Robert Lloyd.