Dream Syndicate

The Dream Syndicate came together in the early '80s at the initiative of a talented songwriter named Steve Wynn, who brought together his university classmate Kendra Smith (bass, and a chanteuse of remarkable charm in the footsteps of Velvet-era Nico), Dennis Duck on drums, a few years older than the rest of the band and already a veteran of the L.A. alternative scene, and Karl Precoda on guitar (a player thoroughly devoted to the acid-psychedelic stylings that had dominated California a decade earlier). From the early '80s and for much of the decade, the Dream Syndicate were the flagship band of the Paisley Underground (a scene based mainly in Los Angeles), that cluster of bands - Green On Red, Giant Sand, Concrete Blonde, True West, Long Ryders, Rain Parade and others - who made a rereading of American folk and country roots through the lens of new wave and punk their artistic creed.

"Medicine Show" is their second album, arriving after a self-titled mini-LP and a full-length debut ("The Days Of Wine And Roses") that had earned them the esteem and praise of critics across the board, but very little in the way of sales, despite a touring schedule unmatched by any other band of the era. Still, signing to a major label like A&M seemed to herald the arrival of worldwide success. Sandy Pearlman - who many will remember for having "steered" the Clash's second album - was brought in to produce, and he sharpened the band's technique, trimmed away the Young- and Velvets-derived feedback heaviness that had defined their sound up to that point, filled it out with piano lines reminiscent of Nicky Hopkins, and shifted the focus onto Precoda's guitar and his acid-toned style. The sessions, however, moved slowly, not least because tensions had crept in between Wynn and Smith, which would culminate in her departure (she would go on to form Opal with Dave Robback of Rain Parade, later releasing a couple of fine solo albums for 4AD as well as accompanying X's Exene Cervenka on many of her readings). Taking her place was Dave Provost, another veteran of the local scene who had long paid his dues with the Droogs.

"Medicine Show" is their masterpiece, one of those records capable of altering the course of rock music, defining a genre and mapping out its future, on a par with the Velvet Underground's Banana, the Beatles' Sergeant, Led Zeppelin II, S.F. Sorrow, the debut by the New York Dolls, and "Nevermind" - in short, one of those records that will sell poorly but that will make everyone who buys it want to start a band just to cover it...

The sound has already been discussed; the songs all deserve a mention. The opening "Still Holding On To You" is a classic mid-tempo number. "Daddy's Girl" flaunts a rock'n'roll beat and a guitar line paying homage to the genius of John Cipollina. "Burn" is the album's first high point: a desert-dry electric ballad with Neil Young in its strings and William Faulkner in its voice. "Armed With An Empty Gun" is a lascivious blues, sick with psychedelia. "Bullet With My Name On It" must have been a major influence on the poetics of Nick Cave. The title track once again draws on blues stylings and the lessons of bands like Canned Heat and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

One of the album's peaks is "John Coltrane Stereo Blues", Wynn's tribute to the acid California of the Sixties. In truth it's just a fragment of a long jam the band had used to close their shows since the very beginning, only slightly "tamed" here. The title says it all about the song's mood... "Merrittville", on the other hand, is a long, conclusive electric ballad whose lyrics seem to have been written by Jim Thompson, with music that splits the difference between Young, Dylan and Jerry Garcia.

It's hard for any band to keep up that level of output. Add to that the commercial failure that has always dogged this kind of out-of-time, out-of-place music, plus the band members' exhaustion from endless, grueling tours, and the outcome is a foregone conclusion: Dream Syndicate implode. Speeding up the process were the tensions that arose between Precoda, well aware of being the backbone of the band's sound, and Wynn, its principal author, over the future direction of Dream Syndicate's music. Precoda wanted to steer things toward hard rock, a solution that left Wynn rather unconvinced. In any case, Precoda leaves (in the following years he'll turn to film criticism and rarely pick up a guitar again), Provost, tired of life on the road with Dream Syndicate, prefers to return to his original band, the Droogs, and Wynn's creative streak seems to dry up. It will take another two years for Wynn to regain confidence in himself and his abilities as a leader and reform the band, releasing the decent "Out Of The Grey". But that's another part of their story.

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29/10/2006