Swervedriver - "99th Dream"
(DGC Records, 1996 [unreleased] / Zero Hour Records [U.S.], Cortex [Australia], 1998)
I wrote most of this in September, during California Month, so I couldn't post it then. I recently revived and expanded it, and then yesterday I learned the astounding news that the Swervies will be playing on the Jimmy Fallon show tonight. Yes, go back and read that sentence again. A cult band from England that hasn't recorded any new music in ~15 years will be playing on the Jimmy Fallon show tonight. Unfortunately, the Swervies live up to the "shoegaze" stereotype of being quite uncharismatic live (ever since losing charismatic bassist Adi Vines in the early 90s), so I'd recommend closing your eyes and turning up the volume. They truly are all talent and no image; Adam Franklin even shaved his trademark dreads.
Yes, this was recorded in 1996, for Geffen / DGC Records, and a promo CD was sent out in '97. But li'l Dave Geffen dropped the band and the album was shelved and the promos were probably ordered destroyed. It ultimately came out on indie Zero Hour in early '98, with a different mix of "These Times". (Those who have heard both versions say the original DGC mix of that song was superior.) Just another installment in of the Swervies' legendary record label-related woes...
"Architecture, nature, alcohol / Space travel, rock and roll." Any questions? "I'm dreaming number 99 / Get me to the world on time." This is the song that should've finally catapulted them to arena headlining status, after deafening audiences in arenas for the previous 7 or so years as the opening act for alterna-stars like Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Monster Magnet, and the Smashing Pumpkins. (I should've gone to the Pumpkins show in late '93; Swervedriver and Shudder To Think, two bands I had never even heard of at that time, were the opening acts). The very Beatles/Oasis-esque "These Times" also had major chart potential, obviously.
Here is the back cover of the super-rare '97 DGC promo CD; even the photo itself is so rare that hardly anyone has ever seen it:
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| 1998 Zero Hour promo CD single (edited down by 2 minutes) showing the band's new "satellite" logo |
The opening surf rock lick is mighty nice, but I wish it had continued throughout the song. Dick Dale would be proud. Adam had learned to sing by this album, bringing a lot more nuance and tenderness to his delivery, and this song is a great example of it. This album, also titled 99th Dream, is generally viewed as being the least great of their four LPs, but it has some impressive moments. I personally rank it ahead of Ejector Seat Reservation, but way behind the essential one-two punch of Mezcal Head and Raise.
My obsession with Swervedriver began when I read about Mezcal Head in Alternative Press in '95, then listened to it in '96 at Plan 9 in Richmond, VA, then finally bought it in '97 at the Mushroom in NOLA. Then I saw them in March '98 opening for Hum, which was an incredible show of course, and still one of the loudest and most amazing I've ever seen. Then I got their debut album Raise late that year, an album that, like Mezcal Head, is simply chock-full of songs that should've stormed the airwaves. The band broke up the following year, making the upcoming millennium look even more grim. In early 2003 I won a lot of four Swervie 12"s on eBay for a shockingly low price (I pretty much got them free and just had to pay shipping), and then gradually acquired most of their singles. For example, I have "Never Lose That Feeling" on 7", 12", white-sleeve promo 12", and CD single. Yes, it's that mind-blowing of a song, and is probably the one song that most encapsulates everything that this site stands for:
Here is an entire set they did on March 16, 1998 in Oklahoma City, which was five days after I saw them at the House Of Blues in New Orleans. I actually would recommend not watching that unless you saw them live in the '90s, because it doesn't do justice to how stunningly loud and tight they were.
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| Not mentioned on the ticket was an incredible local band called The Universal Chrome (formerly known as Flux), who played first |
Like The Sound and The Comsat Angels in the '80s, Catherine Wheel and Plexi in the '90s, and Film School in the '00s, Swervedriver's failure to reach ultramegastardom will never cease to baffle myself and other enthusiasts of this kind of music. Luckily they became pretty big in Australia, where Stooges-influenced rock always finds eager ears.
"99th Dream" live in '98 on the Aussie Saturday morning(!) TV show Recovery; the flashing polka-dot background is apparently based on the promo CD's cover art shown above:
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| Logo I drew freehand in '06 in about a minute; tried to improvise some sort of vaguely "Asian" script style |
Yesterday I signed onto AOL for the first time in almost 3 months. There's stuff to talk about from the past week pertaining to two concerts (Alcest, Tineke Postma), and the spring Record Raid at Tulane, but no room or desire right now.
Last night's episode of Finding Your Roots, featuring Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, was so interesting that I was inspired to dig out my family's genealogy book. Some tidbits: There was a guy named Kermit who married a lady named Starlie Joy, and they had daughters named Starmary and Rosemary. About my great-grandfather Per, who emigrated from Sweden in 1903: "Changed surname [from Stadig to Rame, then to Ramee] in the Swedish army. Counted Eisenhower, Marshall and Patton among his pupils at the military academy in Kansas City, where he taught for 10 years after being pensioned. He was a good friend of Pres. Harry S. Truman." And "Occasionally Pop [Per] was summoned to fill in at the President's poker table." Um, what? He trained and partied with some fuckers who later helped to defeat the Nazis and hence save the world? I suddenly feel pretty lame in comparison...
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Planets with similar climates: Catherine Wheel - "Black Metallic" (1991), Hum - "Little Dipper" (1995), The Bevis Frond - "Coming Round" (1992), Talk Talk - "Life's What You Make It" (1986), Plexi - "Forest Ranger" (1996).
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