Spanish
re-issue label Guerssen Records are the custodians of the great Psychedelic
Lost And Found Dept., searching in dark, dusty corners for oddities and
obscurities from long gone imprints and releasing records, lovingly repackaged,
that would otherwise remain mainly unheard. One such album is 10,001 Dreams by
Canadian musician Paul Marcano, originally a very limited cassette only release
in 1982 which gets a first time 2 x LP issue with remastered sound complete
with in-depth liner notes and previously unseen photos in collaboration with
the Got Kinda Lost imprint. The album is thematic sequel of sorts to the
Islands In Space (also re-issued by Got Kinda Lost), released under the moniker
LightDreams, which was a sci-fi Psych odyssey exploring cosmic ideology and
space travel………..mixing sometimes minimal Prog Folk and meditative guitar
workouts with Marcano edging closer lyrically to the utopian outer space
colonization he’d previously conjured while under the sway of physicist/space
activist/author Gerard K. O’Neill, 10,001 Dreams would have at the time been considered
a New Age album, more likely to have been on sale with healing crystals, Tarot
Cards and the I Ching in holistic….er…..”alternative lifestyle” shops than in
record stores. Although originally landing in the wrong decade, time has been
kind to 10,001 Dreams and as mentioned in the liner notes the album is “a perfect distillation of Paul Marcano’s
musical essence: thoughtful, psychedelic, pop-oriented music but with a deeply
progressive ear for song structure and the intuitive glow of a well-crafted
lyrical refrain” with the record’s themes still resonating today and its
psychedelic style back in vogue.
Filled with
atmospheric, lysergic creations atop a hybrid of sounds from the
Cosmic-Psych/Progressive-Folk/New Age spectrum, 10,001 Dreams has been
previously described as “a wild, lysergic-filled
journey into pan-delic Psych and guitar workouts, stretching our understanding
of Pop-Psych and bursting our tiny minds with visions of unfound landscapes. It
is thee underground psychedelic masterpiece from Canada; released 15 years too
late on a format no one cared about and relegated to absolute obscurity shortly
thereafter”. With the use of found sounds and minimal instrumentation the
album is an experimental, seriously psychedelic proto-ambient record in parts and
with an “infinite” multi-tracked sound, sections of the record has the same
feel as Steve Hillage’s Rainbow Dome Music with mellow, wickedly fuzzed,
floating layers of dreamy, treated, atmospheric electric guitar. This more
experimental edge is melded with a laid back 60s Acid Folk vibe not a million
miles away from Donovan and Tyrannosaurus Rex with both expertly blended layers
of sound and sparse solo guitar. Paul Marcano’s 10,001 Dreams is a wonderfully evocative
record and a beautifully tranquil trip with a great nod to the original British Psychedelic and Progressive eras, while maintaining a firm foot in hook-based,
melodic Psychedelic Folk’n’Pop, and is a guaranteed treasure for those
searching for unheard and otherworldly joys. Paul still makes music today and
you can find more information on the LightDreams web site here http://www.lightdreams.info/
10,001
Dreams is available as limited edition CD or 2 x vinyl LP (500 copies of each
format) with a download coupon of the 90-minute unexpurgated 1982 cassette
release, which required minor revisions to be presented as a double album. Out
NOW, you can buy the in the USA from the Got Kinda Lost online shop or from the
Guerssen web store/Bandcamp page for Europe and elsewhere. Alternatively, see if you can get your local
record store proprietor to order you a copy.
No comments:
Post a Comment