The Dream Syndicate - Weathered And Torn (1987)

The Dream Syndicate were one of the first, and undoubtedly one of the best, of the short-lived Paisley Underground movement of the early 80's. Along with Rain Parade, Green On Red, The Bangles and The Three O'Clock they blended their love of 60's psychedelic music with a healthy dose of Americana to come up with a new genre - neo-psyche. The Dream Syndicate were formed when Steve Wynn met Karl Precoda in Los Angeles and the two formed a new group, with Wynn's friend from the University of California Kendra Smith on bass, and a drummer that she brought with her, Dennis Duck. Duck suggested the name 'the Dream Syndicate' in reference to Tony Conrad's early 1960's New York experimental ensemble (better known as the Theatre of Eternal Music), whose members included John Cale, and on February 23, 1982, the newly-named Dream Syndicate performed their first show at Club Lingerie in Hollywood. A four-song EP was recorded at the home of Tom Mehren in Pasadena and released on Wynn's Down There label, and the band quickly achieved local attention for their often aggressively long, feedback-soaked improvisations. The band signed to Slash Records, whose subsidiary Ruby Records released their debut album, 'The Days of Wine and Roses', in 1982. This album sent shockwaves through the American underground in the early 1980's, and remains one of my all-time favourite records. 
Following it's release, Smith left the band and joined David Roback (formerly of Rain Parade) to form Opal, and she was replaced on bass by David Provost. 'Medicine Show' was recorded in 1984 in San Francisco with producer Sandy Pearlman and released that year by A&M Records, and was a worthy follow-up to 'Days....', and between opening for bands such as R.E.M. and U2, they released the five-song live EP, 'This Is Not The New Dream Syndicate Album... Live!'. This was the last record to feature Precoda on guitar, as he left soon afterward to pursue a career in screenwriting, and he was replaced by Mark Walton. The EP's commercial failure contributed to the group's temporary breakup, and the band was dropped by A&M after the label rejected its demo for 'Slide Away', later released on the semi-official 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' compilation. After a brief hiatus Wynn, Duck and Walton joined forces with Paul B. Cutler (who had produced the group's first EP) to form the next version of the Dream Syndicate, and in 1986 they released the more mainstream rock of 'Out of the Grey'. The following year they wrote and recorded a number of songs for a proposed new album, but it was never released, and so this is The Dream Syndicate's lost album, recorded in Los Angeles between their third and fourth official releases, and featuring Chris Cacavas of Green on Red. It's the missing link between their later Americana sound and the Velvets spirit of 'The Days of Wine and Roses', and only the title track has since turned up on an official album, appearing on 'Ghost Stories' in 1988. If you're a fan of the band then this is a must-hear record, and they're still releasing superb albums today, with the latest 'These Times' sounding just as fresh as when they started.   

Track listing

01 Here On Earth As Well (recorded in Hollywood, April 1985)
02 Blood Money (recorded in Hollywood, April 1985)
03 It Hits You Again (recorded in Hollywood, August 1985)
04 I Ain't Living Long Like This (recorded at Lyceum Studios, August 1987)
05 Killing Time (recorded at Lyceum Studios, August 1987)
06 Lucky (recorded at Lyceum Studios, August 1987)
07 Weathered And Torn (recorded at Lyceum Studios, August 1987)
08 The Best Years Of My Life (recorded at Lyceum Studios, August 1987)
09 Running From The Memory (recorded at Lyceum Studios, August 1987)