Medicine Show back in print!
Carly Errebo | kansas | 07/16/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After the Dream Syndicate's debut album the classic "The Days Of Wine And Roses", the band signed with A&M Records and went into the studio with Blue Oyster Cult producer Sandy Pearlman. As Steve Wynn said in many an interview it was like boot camp with Sandy. "The Medicine Show" finally sees the light of day after 26 years. This album reminds me of the Clash's 2nd album they did with Pearlman.
Song highlights:
Still Holding On To You- has the original sound from the debut. But things change after this.
Daddy's Girl- Sound's like cow-punk to me. Great piano rolls by Tom Zvoncheck. Great lyrics by Wynn.
Burn- Classic! great story song.
Armed With A Empty Gun- Karl Precoda's workout. Zvoncheck great piano.
Bullet With My Name On It- sounds like late 70's Neil Young. Also has that B.O.C. feel near the end of the song, with a the guitar solo.
The Medicine Show- Classic track! Another great story song. Steve's has been doing this now for 30 years.
John Coltrane Stereo Blues- Perfect jam track. Good guitar by Precoda/ get the live CD they came out with in 1989.
Merrittville- A chilling song that goes from bad to worse as the song goes on. Has a Springsteen feel.
"This Is Not The New Dream Syndicate Album...Live!" is added on with this new re-issue great concert from Chicago,Ill. July 7th 1984. "Tell Me When It's Over" never sounded so fresh here! Every song sounds different than the studio tracks, good banter by Steve. Great musicianship by: Steve Wynn,Dennis Duck, Karl Precoda,Dave Provost and Tom Zvoncheck on the Medicine Show album. Mark Walton joined them on live album.
Some of the newer bands could learn a few things by listening to the Dream Syndicate's live EP too.
Hopefully this album will stay in print for a long time. Oh by the way the CD sounds tremendous congrats to Water Music. Thanks for reading."
Solid album from '80s "lost generation" band finally on CD
Dean Orff | 07/09/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Dream Syndicate were one of the "lost generation" of '80s bands - too Guitar-based to fit into the new-wave synth-pop mold, too Unconventional to fit into the impossibly narrow-minded boundaries of the most musically conservative decade in rock culture history. They were the forerunners of singer-songwriter-based '90s bands like the Wallflowers and Counting Crows.
......"Medicine Show" was a big change from their wild, punk-influenced 1983 debut "Days of Wine and Roses." Early fans were disappointed as the band turned more towards blues-based, Rolling Stones-ish ballads. But Steve Wynn's "average-guy" vocals and Karl Precoda's eccentric guitar style still gave the Dream Syndicate its own distinct flavor.
.... "Medicine Show" is not a masterpiece, but two of the greatest songs this 45 year-old rock DJ/programmer has Ever heard start off this album: "Still Holding On to You" - a ballad of searing heartbreak with a memorable melody and great guitar riffs, and "Daddy's Girl" - a bluesy piano-rocker that personifies rock'n'roll bravado, topped off by a guitar solo that turns all the rock guitar cliches upside down. "John Coltrane Stereo Blues" starts off teetering on the brink of hokiness, but builds into an intense 8-min. twin-guitar studio jam with some manic Steve Wynn howling that made it possibly the edgiest song released by a major record co.label in 1984. "Medicine Show" brought the Dream Syndicate out of obscurity long enough to spend 4 weeks at the bottom of Billboard's Top 200 album sales charts.
...This very Very long-awaited CD re-issue(the original CD became so rare it spent the past 10 years selling for $100 or more online)is made better a notch by the inclusion of the 5 songs from their 1984 live EP. "Armed with an Empty Gun" is more fired up live than in the studio version,and the piano-driven remake of "Tell Me When It's Over" (originally from "Days of..") is one of those unforgettable classic live rock tracks.
...A&M Records was only able to get a handful of rock stations to play the band, so the label dropped their recording contract after just this one try, and the Dream Syndicate went on to spend the rest of their existence as one of the most conventional-sounding (but still really good) "indie-rock" bands ever."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1