Live at Raji's

Live at Raji's
Live album by The Dream Syndicate
Released	1989
Recorded	31 January 1988
Genre	Alternative rock
Label	Enigma Records Demon Records (2004 re-release)
Producer	Elliot Mazer
The Dream Syndicate chronology
Ghost Stories 1988 Live at Raji's 1989

Live at Raji's is a live album and final release by Los Angeles band The Dream Syndicate.

Background

Containing songs from throughout the band's career, it is the last album released before the band broke up, and came out as a double album on the heels of their last studio album, Ghost Stories. The album was incorrectly reported to have been recorded after Ghost Stories;^[1] in fact, the recordings were made (straight to digital 2-track) on 31 January 1988, before Ghost Stories was recorded.^[2] The show took place at Raji's, a Los Angeles club, "in front of a delirious hometown audience".^[3]

The album was produced by Elliot Mazer,^[4] and was re-released in an expanded edition, with the original running order, in 2004. This re-release was reviewed in No Depression, the reviewer praising "Cutler's jagged, eight-legged leads" and compared the album to Neil Young's Live Rust and Warren Zevon's Stand in the Fire; "Raji's is the Syndicate's Television-meets-the-Velvet-Underground sound pushed as far as it would go. It was also the end of an era."^[5]

Track listing

Original 1989 edition

1. "Still Holding on to You" (Steve Wynn) - 4:15
2. "Forest for the Trees" (Steve Wynn) - 4:25
3. "Until Lately" (Steve Wynn) - 7:09
4. "That's What You Always Say" (Steve Wynn) - 4:47
5. "Burn" (Steve Wynn) - 5:52
6. "Merrittville" (Steve Wynn) - 7:46
7. "The Days of Wine and Roses" (Steve Wynn) - 8:22
8. "The Medicine Show" (Steve Wynn) - 8:51
9. ""Halloween" (Karl Precoda) - 6:55
10. "Boston" (Steve Wynn) - 7:35
11. "John Coltrane Stereo Blues" (Karl Precoda, David Provost, Kendra Smith, Steve Wynn) - 12:11

2004 edition

Disc 1

1. "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" (Blind Lemon Jefferson) - 4:53
2. "Still Holding on to You" (Steve Wynn) - 4:15
3. "Forest for the Trees" (Steve Wynn) - 4:25
4. "Until Lately" (Steve Wynn) - 7:09
5. "That's What You Always Say" (Steve Wynn) - 4:47
6. "When You Smile" (Steve Wynn) - 3:44
7. "Burn" (Steve Wynn) - 5:52
8. "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan) - 2:39
9. "Tell Me When It's Over" (Steve Wynn) - 3:52

Disc 2

1. "Merrittville" (Steve Wynn) - 7:46
2. "The Days of Wine and Roses" (Steve Wynn) - 8:22
3. "The Medicine Show" (Steve Wynn) - 8:51
4. "Halloween" (Karl Precoda) - 6:55
5. "Boston" (Steve Wynn) - 7:35
6. "John Coltrane Stereo Blues" (Karl Precoda, David Provost, Kendra Smith, Steve Wynn) - 12:11

Personnel

• Steve Wynn - vocals, guitar
• Paul B. Cutler - lead guitar
• Mark Walton - bass
• Derrick Dunn - drums
• Peter Case - harmonica and noise ("John Coltrane Stereo Blues")

Production

• Elliot Mazer - production
• Steve McDonald - production assistant
• Carlo Nuccio - house engineer
• Debbie Ashby - house assistant
• Pat Thomas - reissue production
• Jeff Lipton - reissue mastering

References

1. Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 320. ISBN 9781843531050. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
2. Thomas, Pat (2004). The Complete Live at Raji's (Media notes). The Dream Syndicate. Restless. 73787.
3. Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative rock. Hal Leonard. p. 340. ISBN 9780879306076. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
4. Hochman, Steve (30 July 1989). "Old Timers, New Beginnings". Los Angeles Times. p. 73.
5. Torn, Luke (September–October 2004). "Rev. of Dream Syndicate, Ghost Stories and The Complete Live at Raji's". No Depression. p. 134.