Omnivore Recordings next year will reissue a long-out-of-print 1982 live set by The Dream Syndicate that was recorded during an on-air performance at Los Angeles radio station KPFK-FM a few weeks before Steve Wynn and Co. entered the studio to cut their classic debut album The Days of Wine and Roses, released the following year.
Due out Feb. 4, Omnivore’s reissue of The Day Before Wine and Roses marks its first “proper U.S. release” and puts the album, originally released in 1995, back in print on CD for the first time in 15 years.
Of the release, Omnivore says:
The Day Before Wine and Roses documents the genesis of one of the most important pieces of the Paisley Underground puzzle. The band (Steve Wynn; guitar and vocals; Karl Precoda, guitar; Kendra Smith, bass; and Dennis Duck, drums) began its set at 2 a.m., according to Wynn’s liner notes. And that could not have been a more perfect hour for the ethereal sounds of this highly influential band.
Comprising originals that appeared on their first EP and others that would later appear on their 1983 debut, as well as covers of classics by Neil Young, Bob Dylan and Donovan, The Day Before Wine and Roses not only presents an important time in alternative music, but also defines it. Packaged with a full-color booklet, the set also features the original 1994 liner notes and a postscript from original and current reissue producer Pat Thomas.
In addition, Steve Wynn offers additional notes with recollections of the evening including a malt liquor run, the forced removal of an ex-girlfriend, and presence of R.E.M.’s Peter Buck — later his band mate in the Baseball Project — of which he was not aware until years later. He even reveals that the live wee-hours version of “Days of Wine and Roses,” included in this collection, might have been might have been superior to the studio version. You decide.
The reunited Dream Syndicate performs with The Bangles, The Three O’Clock and Rain Parade tonight in Los Angeles and Friday night in San Francisco.
A full tracklist for the reissue has not yet been released; it’s not known if it will be expanded from the original nine-song release.
This is a really good record and it’s cool to see it come back into print, but I’ll bet the liner notes will be worth the price alone. From what I’ve read, Steve is an entertaining writer. The man needs to follow Wareham, Hatfield, Mould and Summers and put out a good rock and roll memoir!