Back in the late 80's, there was a period when the vinyl record format was in decline and CD's were still the new technology, so I bought lots of pre-recorded cassettes. Up to this time I mainly used blank cassettes to tape LP's from friends and my own collection to enable me to listen to my music in my car and on a portable player...the Walkman! I wasn't convinced the CD would replace record albums, but I quickly found many albums were only released on CD or cassette. The first CD I bought was The Squirrels, What Gives? released in 1990 (because it was ONLY available on CD), which pre-dated my actual purchase of a CD player, so I got a friend to dub it to cassette.
One of my best cassette purchases was The Dream Syndicate's, Live At Raji's which was a limited edition, (long out of print) live album which captured the band at height of their career. Actually, Live At Raji's was released in 1989 after the band had broken up, but was recorded before their last studio record, Ghost Stories was recorded. What struck me the most by this live album was it's sound. It was crisp sounding, without overdubs and over production, in my opinion, the ultimate live album. Definitely one of the best sounding live albums I've heard. These live versions easily outshine the studio versions with an energy and passion felt only at a live show. I have their earlier live official release, This Is Not The New Dream Syndicate Album....Live! which pales in comparison both in sound and performance. The original release of Raji's was an edited version of the show, but thankfully the re-release is the complete concert. My cassette was sounding a little ragged, so this upgrade is very welcome! If you're a fan of the Dream Syndicate, this is a must-listen and if you've never heard the band or have a passing interest, this is a good place to start!
Enjoy!
THE DREAM SYNDICATE
(The Complete) Live At Raji's (1989 and 2004)
01. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean.
02. Still Holding On To You.
03. Forest For The Trees.
04. Until Lately.
05. That's What You Always Say.
06. When You Smile.
07. Burn.
08. All Along The Watchtower.
09. Tell Me When It's Over.
10. Merritville.
11. The Days of Wine and Roses.
12. The Medicine Show.
13. Halloween.
14. Boston.
15. John Coltrane Stereo Blues.
THE DREAM SYNDICATE- The Complete Live At Raji's (disc 1). rar
THE DREAM SYNDICATE- The Complete Live At Raji's (disc 2). rar
I use to go to this club when I lived in LA. It had a great selection of beer! You could get a big ass cup of New Castle for three bucks! I think it was 20 ounces er some shit... You can hear people smashing their bottles in the trash cans, nice drunkin' memories! It was basically a hotel lobby, a real shit-hole. I remember the bathroom toilets use to overflow, and flood the club. Gross! The 1994 earthquake did it in, had to be condemned! Anyway... Thanks for the download! Most enjoyable!
ReplyDeleteHands down one of the best live albums anywhere. Excellent post!
ReplyDeletebeen looking for the Squirrels "What Gives" everywhere, can't even buy it! perhaps a future download? hint hint hint?
ReplyDeleteGood idea!! I've got the CD (the first CD I ever bought!!) and I've been considering posting it for a while. As long as it hard to find and unavailable, I'll see what I can do!
ReplyDeletei have looked for any place to buy mp3 downloads of "what gives" but come up with nothing. amazon has some used copies running from $10 to $92 (!) dollars.
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy! I'll try to post "What Gives" this week, I promise! Keep watching (and reading).
ReplyDeleteLove The Dream Syndicate. I saw them live in Montreal in I believe the summer of 1984. They were opening for REM and touring in support of Medicine Show. The show was in a large club and it was amazing. Could you possible re-up these somewhere as the second half is gone. Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteNot sure why this is gone. I'll try to re-seed, I'll let you know when it's back up.
ReplyDeletethanks!
Ok, looks like the links are working now. Thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteIt's Anonymous again. Got the second part. Thanks. It will be interesting to hear what the songs from the first two albums sound like without Karl Precoda on guitar.
ReplyDeleteIt's anonymous, yet again! Just got back from listening to this on a run. In short... Fantastic! Paul B. Cutler does a great job on guitar. Sure it's not Precoda teetering on the fine edge of out of control feedback, but he nails the job without trying to imitate. This is also a great collection of songs. It sounds like it was a good night from them and the recording is excellent. I especially like the good seperation between the two guitars.
ReplyDeleteTry it again, the links should be working now.
ReplyDeletegreat turn on pal...just became an instant fan...
ReplyDeleteHey man, thanks for posting this great live album by the fabulous...Dream Syndicate!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. Bought the original release on tape in 1990; then the expanded CD release in 2005. Had a sudden urge to hear this today and went looking for it in my iTunes and... it's not there! Why I didn't upload it is a complete mystery to me and the CD is buried somewhere deep in the back of the cellar; maybe? So I'm extremely grateful to you for uploading it. Happy days.
ReplyDelete