When I recently asked for suggestions about what people would like to see on the blog, two visitors came up with the same idea, and that was to present 'Best Of...' albums for bands who don't have an official one. I thought this was a great idea, as most of the artists that I now love were introduced to me by a 'Best Of...' album, and so I started to trawl through my record collection to find bands and artists who deserve more recognition, but who you might be wary of investing in without some idea of what they sound like. So here is the first of what could be a long-running series, and the only restrictions I've imposed are that they must have released at least three albums, they have no official 'Best Of...', and most importantly, I like them.
Eleventh Dream Day's origins dated to 1981, when singer/guitarist Rick Rizzo met vocalist/drummer Janet Beveridge Bean at the University of Kentucky. Inspired by punk, Rizzo taught himself to play guitar with the aid of Neil Young's Zuma songbook, and Young remained the group's major inspiration throughout its career, with his incendiary aesthetic informing much of Rizzo's own raw, rootsy style. The couple soon relocated to Chicago, where they teamed up with bassist Douglas McCombs and guitarist Baird Figi, and after several years of honing their explosive live set, Eleventh Dream Day finally recorded their eponymous debut EP for the Amoeba label in 1987. Their full-length debut ,'Prairie School Freakout', was recorded in one six-hour span with a buzzing, dilapidated amplifier, and following its release in 1988, it brought the band to the attention of Atlantic Records, which signed them for 1989's assured 'Beet'. Despite critical acclaim, the record failed to find an audience, and the follow-up, 1991's 'Lived To Tell', suffered the same fate. In the middle of a tour to promote the album, Figi abruptly quit, and was replaced by Bodeco's Matthew "Wink" O'Bannon prior to 1993's superb 'El Moodio', which also failed to set the charts alight, and after three commercial strikes, Atlantic unceremoniously dropped the group.
Following a hiatus that allowed Rizzo and Bean to concentrate on raising their newborn child, Eleventh Dream Day enlisted co-producers Brad Wood and John McEntire (McCombs' partner in the post-rock supergroup Tortoise) for 1994's 'Ursa Major', released on City Slang. After another break, during which time Rizzo returned to college, Bean focused on her country side project Freakwater, and O'Bannon exited to return to Bodeco. Eleventh Dream Day then signed to the Chicago-based indie Thrill Jockey to record 1997's 'Eighth', followed by 'Stalled Parade' in 2000, but at this point they were a part-time venture at best, as Rizzo was teaching and Bean and McCombs both had other musical ventures. They continued to play live in Chicago occasionally, ably assisted by Mark Greenberg on keyboards, and in 2003 Thrill Jockey reissued the long out of print 'Prairie School Freakout', paired with the 'Wayne' EP, and Baird Figi joined the band for a one-off reunion show in November of that year. 'Zeroes And Ones', the band's first new material in six years, and the first album recorded with Greenberg, was released in 2006, but five more years would pass before they returned with 2011's 'Riot Now!', an album inspired by the apathy of American youth.
In 2013, it was revealed that Eleventh Dream Day's major-label tenure had been an even more tragic tale, as following 'Lived To Tell', the "alternative" branch of Atlantic who had signed the band moved to another label, and communication with the band basically ended, with the label in turmoil. As a result, Atlantic missed the deadline that continued the contract, and band's management informed the label that they were out of their contract, to which Atlantic agreed. So the band got together with Brad Wood and recorded their next album on their own, with the idea of shopping it around for release. The new head of Atlantic heard about this and went to Chicago in an effort to re-sign the band, and thinking that Atlantic wouldn't go to all this trouble if they didn't actually care, the group ended up re-signing with them. It was a near fatal move, as at the label's insistence, the album was re-recorded in New York, and when sales weren't what was expected the band was unceremoniously dumped, and 'El Moodio' was destined for immediate cut-out status.
Fast forward 20-plus years when a Facebook comment brought back memories of the original album sessions with Brad Wood, and the search was on for the "missing" album, and when the tapes were tracked down, the 1991 recording of 'New Moodio' was finally released on vinyl in May of 2013. In 2014, the band prepared for recording again with a series of shows at Chicago's The Hideout, adding James Elkington on second guitar to the existing four-piece band, and the resulting 'Works For Tomorrow' was released in July 2015. In 2021 they reconvened to record 'Since Grazed' at Wilco's Chicago sound studio/rehearsal space the Loft, where keyboard player Mark Greenberg worked as a studio manager. This set features some great tunes, including 'Watching the Candles Burn', which showcases the band's youthful energy, 'Sonic Reactor', featuring an extended guitar solo by Rizzo that has been praised for its intensity and craftsmanship, and 'The Lure', led by Janet Beveridge Bean's vocals, and which offers a captivating melody. Eleventh Dream Day have long been a favourite band of mine, and if you are a fan of Neil Young's guitar workouts then do yourself a favour and give 'Prairie School Freakout' a listen.
Track listing
01 Watching the Candles Burn (from 'Prairie School Freakout' 1988)
02 Bagdad's Last Ride (from 'Beet' 1989)
03 Makin' Like A Rug (from 'El Moodio' 1993)
04 Among the Pines (from 'Prairie School Freakout' 1988)
05 The Arsonist (from 'Eleventh Dream Day' EP 1987)
06 Since Grazed (from 'Since Grazed' 2021)
07 Vanishing Point (from 'Works For Tomorrow' 2015)
08 Rose of Jericho (from 'Lived To Tell' 1991)
09 History of Brokeback (from 'Ursa Major' 1994)
10 For A King (from 'Eighth' 1997)
11 Sonic Reactor (from 'Riot Now!' 2011)
12 Bomb The Mars Hotel (from 'Beet' 1989)
13 The Lure (from 'Zeroes And Ones' 2006)
14 Awake I Lie (from 'Beet' 1989)
15 Go Tell It (from 'Works For Tomorrow' 2015)
04 Among the Pines (from 'Prairie School Freakout' 1988)
05 The Arsonist (from 'Eleventh Dream Day' EP 1987)
06 Since Grazed (from 'Since Grazed' 2021)
07 Vanishing Point (from 'Works For Tomorrow' 2015)
08 Rose of Jericho (from 'Lived To Tell' 1991)
09 History of Brokeback (from 'Ursa Major' 1994)
10 For A King (from 'Eighth' 1997)
11 Sonic Reactor (from 'Riot Now!' 2011)
12 Bomb The Mars Hotel (from 'Beet' 1989)
13 The Lure (from 'Zeroes And Ones' 2006)
14 Awake I Lie (from 'Beet' 1989)
15 Go Tell It (from 'Works For Tomorrow' 2015)
