Walk With Me

 

Do yourselves a favour and head over to Save Your Face for an extensive look at the early live days ('82-'83) of the Dream Syndicate, expertly and lovingly compiled by Matthew Specktor. Wild guitar duels and unexpected covers a specialty, even when they don't know all the words and their souls are possessed by Jackson Browne. The stuff of legend.

The Dream Syndicate - Folsom Prison Blues (live '83)
The Dream Syndicate - Morning Dew (live '83)

All That's Left

Trippy cover, trippy sounds. The days of wine and roses may be long behind them, but the revived Dream Syndicate soldiers on with an album of five extended heavy jams. Not everything works, but here and there Steve Wynn & co still manage to light the sparks. An uncharacteristic record this, which just may grow on you.

The Dream Syndicate - The Longing

First One's Always Free

"We're catching bullets in our teeth, it's hard to do but they're so sweet..." Presenting yet another six pack for your listening pleasure, with explosive artwork by Tinca. Number one with a silver bullet, baby, and it's got your name on it.

Observer All Stars & King Tubby - Silver Bullet
Tom Waits - The Right Bullets
The Dream Syndicate - Bullet With My Name On It
Cosmic Psychos - Bullet
Tunng - Bullets
Calexico - Bullets & Rocks

Smiley Smile

"Give me your smile for the while,
May it guide us through the dark..."

A six pack to while away the time until the Smile Sessions come out. :-)

Sibylle Baier - Give Me A Smile MP3

The Dream Syndicate - When You Smile MP3

Operation Ivy - Smiling MP3

Faust - Giggy Smile MP3

John Prine - Illegal Smile MP3

Dexter Gordon - Smile MP3

Wild Weekend Vol. 66

It's another Wild Weekend, edition 66 to be precise. A six pack filled with soul, jazzy tropicália, brand new garage rock, rocksteady, and flamenco. And a rather rare Dylan cover by Steve Wynn's Dream Syndicate. Wild scenes inside the goldmine then so.

I'd like to start this issue with a birthday song, as the missus celebrated hers a couple days ago. Many happy returns, my dear. Especially for you, here's Kathy Young, with a soulful lament from 1961, so way before you were even born. A while back, I wrote something in these pages about that great Brazilian piece of tropicália called Cravo E Canela as performed originally by Milton Nascimento, which was succesfully covered later by the combination of Bonnie Prince Billy and Tortoise. And I promised you all another version, by Dom Um Romão, the famous jazz drummer from Rio, to promptly forget all about it. But since it's never too late, here you go. It's called Cinnamon Flower now... check out that wicked guitar, amigos.

Kathy Young & The Innocents - Happy Birthday Blues MP3

Dom Um Romão - Cinnamon Flower MP3

Exciting new sounds alert: presenting Pet Scenes, from Limehouse, London. Their three track debut ep Funk is out now, filled to the brim with intense garage rock & roll. Have these guys been worshiping at the shrine of the holy Birthday Party? Have a bleedin' guess, mate. Meanwhile, we continue with a classic cut by Derrick Morgan, rocksteady producer supreme. In the period between ska and reggae, Morgan just knew he was the ruler, always the ruler. Find it, together with many more of his killer productions, on a boss Pressure Sounds compilation called Red Bumb Ball, Rare And Unreleased Rocksteady '66-'68.

Pet Scenes - Dell Sez MP3

Derrick Morgan - I'm The Ruler MP3

Here's some more classic flamenco I picked up while visiting my beloved Barcelona recently. Singer José Salazar Molina (1924-1977), better known as Porrinas De Badajoz, was no gypsy, but he sure sounded like one. Dude, that's one hotblooded song. And we go out with a question. Ever wondered what would happen if the Dream Syndicate covered Dylan's majestic eighties masterpiece Blind Willie McTell? Here's your chance. "Power and greed and corruptible seed..." Not bad, huh? Not bad at all. Have a wild one!

Porrinas De Badajoz - Vengo De Mi Extremadura MP3

The Dream Syndicate - Blind Willie McTell MP3