The Complete Live At Raji's [Expanded]
The Dream Syndicate's sterling reputation at college radio (in the halcyon indie-rock days before the "alt" prefix was co-opted as corporate marketing gimmick) made them one of the '80s most respected and influential young American rock bands. This new, double-disc edition of the band's live statement (now restored to its original length and running order) recorded gloriously direct-to-two-track DAT at the venerable Hollywood Blvd. dive Raji's, sheds new light on a project that's long been misinterpreted as the band's swan song due to faulty labeling on the original release (it was recorded in Jan. of '88, prior toGhost Stories). Indeed, fueled by Paul Cutler's careening, aggro-psych-out guitar and songwriter/frontman Steve Wynn's fervent, nasal-shred vocals, it's about as elegiac as a frayed high tension wire. The set list leans wisely on material from the band's rough-hewn jewel of a debut,The Days of Wine and Roses, and its follow-up,Medicine Show, in a riveting performance that pays ample tribute to the manic, ever-evolving sonic inspiration of the Velvet Underground and Crazy Horse. But as the hypnotic abandon of its Dylan-meets-Hendrix cover of "All Along the Watchtower" segues nervously into "Tell Me When Its Over," it's clear this is also a garage band powerhouse whose roots go considerably deeper--and whose legacy still resonates with every ringing, feedback drenched explosion of guitar captured here.--Jerry McCulley