The Dream Syndicate - Medicine Show (1984)

You can call it laziness. I call it all in due time. I have been waiting to put this album up for a long time. It was to be my June post, but when I found out the reissue was coming out, I decided to save it until I found a new copy.

I found it particularly fitting that I tracked it down on my birthday yesterday. I thought about how many copies I bought of this album/cassette/compact disc. The total is nine copies. I wore out a couple lps, found cheap tape copies and wore out two of those in car stereos, and have three cd copies of the album. That should say it all.

I used to be able to play guitar to the entire album, and I am confident that it would not take much to get that back. If there was an iTunes "Most Played" playlist that dated back in time, Medicine Show would probably be in the top slot.

This album reminds me of people. Trish Curtin, who bought it because of the cover. Dave Brigham, because it connected us enough to form our own band. Dave and I then saw the Syndicate at the Channel in Boston on the Out Of The Grey tour in 1986.

Hell... I haven't even yet begun to put specifics down about the music, and I am overwhelmed by the many things that this album brings to mind.

Needless to say, it is easily one of the albums I would call a masterpiece.

Fuck it. Just go buy it. While you are at it, buy some Steve Wynn albums. All his stuff is brilliant. Check out The Baseball Project's music also (Steve Wynn/Linda Pitmon/Peter Buck/Scott McCaughey). Download their month by month song project - the article can be found here.