Having reviewed the 40th anniversary reissue of “Emergency Third Rail Power Trip” over at Americana UK last December I had rediscovered my love for all things Paisley Underground. So, the notice about this issue of “Crashing Dream” dropping into my inbox was cause for great excitement.
The arrival of “the big box of discs” had added more Steve Wynn, Dream Syndicate, Green On Red and the 1984 Rain Parade EP “Explosions in the Glass Palace” to my collection, but not Crashing Dream.
Having been playing P.U. bands on fairly heavy rotation during my recent recovery time, comparisons are inevitable. But straight from the start of “Depending on You” the growth from “Emergency Third Rail Power Trip” is obvious. A more confident sound, with bigger vocals and guitars, while keeping the blend of Americana and Psych which was the big attractor of the first album. The psychness of “Don’t Feel Bad” makes it the song which tends to get backed up and played at least twice. The 10-track original album is filled with everything that makes P.U. the true inheritor of punk. A mix of the best of earlier styles with the DIY ethic which the late 70s taught us to love. “Sad Eyes Kill” is represented here by a version from a Bucketful of Brains magazine flexidisc and is the first departure form the original running order. A live version of Crashing Dream is next. Fertile Crescent has been remixed for the reissue, and has a punchier sound compared to the original played on Bandcamp.
On release Crashing Dream attracted less than fulsome praise from the likes of Trouser Press and Creem. In 2025 it’s almost impossible to hear why. It bursts with purpose, and with the context given by the bonus material it just sounds like the next steps for the members to take whether that was collectively or on their own. “Shoot Down the Railroad Man” contains enough ideas for another three songs on its own.
That bonus material is if anything even better than the last reissue. The live in Japan “Nightshade” is all about that DIY ethos. The “8 track demos” show, as with “Emergency Third Rail Power Trip” a rougher less produced band, but the phased guitar on “My Dog’s Last Dream,” and the organ on “The Sniper” fill out the sound to make them more filler. The latter sounds almost like a proto-Jesus and Mary Chain. Most of these “demos” appeared on the 1991 release “Demolition” which was flagged at the time as an “as originally intended”) version of “Crashing Dream.” The feeling that the as released version was overproduced is given the lie by these versions which while very listenable are clearly unfinished.
Of the live songs Ain’t That Nothin’ and a BBC derived “Depending on You” are the picks. “Depending on You” is worth playing back-to-back with the studio version. It shows the true power of the band, who may have been on their last hurrah, but could still play with a power and passion many supposedly bigger, better bands lack.
If the presence of the live in Japan songs here means a full reissue of “Beyond The Sunset” isn’t happening, then that’s a shame. But that and other material is still available on Bandcamp, so all is not lost. The album ends with an unreleased version of Cream’s “White Room” recorded live in Sacramento in 1985. It’s just great.
Is “Crashing Dream” the fully realised classic that its predecessor was. Not entirely, but it is an album that deserves a place in the sun, and on your shelf.
