Customer Reviews

Before the Dream Faded

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hi folks! I was the bass player for the original Misunderstood, and decided to make a short posting here. I'd like to thank everyone who has written kindly of our music, and continues to hold it in high esteem. I'd also like to point out that there continues to be a tremendous amount of mis-information about us, some of which is contained in other reviews on this site.

For one thing, "I Unseen" is emphatically NOT simply our version of the Byrds "I Come and Stand at Every Door"! We wrote AND recorded it months before the Byrds ever went into the studio to do their version of the Pete Seeger song (lyrics by Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet)...and we still have the dated acetate to prove it. That may be a small point, but for those of you who are interested in the truth, there it is.

Another bit of truth has to do with the rather free use of our name after the real band collapsed due to a combination of the US draft and incredibly bad management. ANY music with the name The Misunderstood attached that was created after the songs from the London sessions (the ones on "After the Dream Faded") is emphatically NOT The Misunderstood. Rather, it's simply someone's greedy and unethical attempt to capitalize on whatever reputation we were able to establish, and includes, at most, only one band member from the original group. I'm not recommending that you not purchase it; I'm only forewarning you that the music is not of the same style (and many would say, same caliber) as what we created. It's just a name - not the essence.

Those bits of history corrected, I again thank those of you who value our music, and encourage you to purchase and enjoy it...we certainly had a great time writing/playing/recording it. And just so you won't think this is a shameless commercial plug, please know that none of us receive ANY royalties whatsoever from the sales of our CDs. That was taken away from us, just like they tried to take away the dream...but the dream lives on...with those of you who continue to listen, and in our hearts too, as we continue to create new music. Many blessings to you all!!!

P.S. Please excuse me for giving our music a 5-star rating, but I still really like it, even after all these many years.... :)

"Before the Dream Faded" may be the closest thing to the Dead Sea Scrolls for devotees of early psychedelic music and garage rock. "Before the Dream Faded" is a rare document of a marginally famous band that was at ground zero of the underground music movement. It's a shame that Amazon doesn't include "Before the Dream Faded" on their list of Essential Rock and Roll CDs. The lack of recognition the Misunderstood from rock critics with a shallow knowledge of rock and roll shows that "misunderstood" has evolved into an almost prophetic name for this great band.

The expert playing and musical finesse of the Misunderstood made the garage band label a misnomer The Misunderstood had a bluesy psychedelic sound well in front big guns of UK Sixties psychedelica, like Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and even the Yardbirds. The Misunderstood's music was a Molotov cocktail mixed with equal parts raw blues and mind bending psychedelic guitar. One need only to listen to the Misunderstood to find the point of inspiration for Jeff Beck when he'd play his ear splitting, guitar shattering "rave-ups" with the Yardbirds.

Glen Ross Campbell (not the "Witchta Lineman" dude) was an expert guitarist who doubled on steel guitar. The addition of UK guitarist Tony Hill when the Misunderstood moved to London in '66 gave the band a full throttle guitar sound. Steve Whiting on bass and Rick Moe on drums provided a muscular rhythm section that gave the Misunderstood a sound as powerful as a roundhouse punch.

I was encouraged to read the review of Steve Whiting (see Spotlight Reviews) the original bass player for the Misunderstood. I'm always amazed that musicians like Steve Whiting keep the faith after getting shafted by fast buck moguls and producers who run the business end of music. Steve is absolutely right ....any recorded material by Glen Ross Campbell under the guise of the Misunderstood is inferior to by the original band. This album, "Before the Dream Faded", contains all the tracks associated with the Misunderstood's 24 karat gold legacy.

Like others, I strongly recommend this album. The second half is decent 1965/66 era American garage rock. However, as others have noted, the best cuts on the album are the first six tracks. They were recorded in London in 1966, and represent the group's creative peak. In my opinion, those six tracks stand with the finest psychedelic rock ever created.

In some respects, the Misunderstood could be considered an American version of the Yardbirds. Like that innovative British group, the Misunderstood mixed blues, raga, the Middle East and rave-ups. However, they were louder and crazier than the Yardbirds on the whole. The guitar work often went into territory unexplored within rock (or any) context, and this was due largely to Glenn Ross Campbell's unique usage of the steel guitar. He was able to produce unheard-of-for-the-time tones, including distortion, noise and feedback with an unusual method of guitar playing. His playing was revolutionary, unlike anything heard before or since.

The group also recorded pretty early in the psychedelic era. Even though Children of the Sun was released as late as 1969, the London tracks were recorded in mid/late 1966, before Hendrix waxed his initial late 1966 recordings. This renders the Misunderstood's performances and guitar work as groundbreaking. The Misunderstood may indeed have been the loudest group of their era, if only for a short time. At the time of their recording, arguably only the Yardbirds and the Who had seriously experimented with feedback and guitar noise. The Misunderstood pushed the envelope and took those innovations to greater heights. Indeed, they had a cosmic and otherworldly quality in their music, as well as their lyrics.

The group's interpretation of 'Who Do You Love' was quite interesting, a psychedelic update of the Bo Diddley classic. To the Misunderstood's credit, they matched the demented lyrics of the song with a mind-blowing band performance. 'I Unseen' was an excellent rendition of Hikmet's poem, and arguably superior to the Byrds' later attempt. I argue this because mind-melting guitar noise and feedback are perhaps more effective in conveying the emotional words, which represent a protest against nuclear warfare. They also used an eerie harmonica for this track.

The lyrics in some of the original songs perhaps had some protest that could be detected, about either a lack of spiritual fulfillment in this world, or a feeling of disappointment with others not willing to go along with their spiritual explorations. This was most apparent in 'I Can Take You to the Sun,' where the singer intones ''I can take you to the sun, but you don't want to go.'' This sentiment may also be in line with the band's actual history, as several external forces (among them the US Draft board) would serve to break this version of the band up. For this reason, Before the Dream Faded is aptly titled.

The peak the Misunderstood had did not last long, but fortunately it has been captured for all to hear. If you're looking for a great lost psychedelic band of the 60's, look no further.

i'm into the psychedelic era from the 60's because that music or genre was as a great way to explore many sounds that really changed an era!!, and right now i'm discovering so many bands that really never got justice, the misunderstood was a good band, and every time i have the chance to recomend good music to any one they're always on top of my list, also how cool is to read a review from a former member!!!! that was a nice surprise!!! It's important for rock fans in general ( especially classic rock fans) to keep discovering great bands like this one!!!! keep rockin'

The Misunderstood - Before The Dream Faded

1981

Cherry Red

Review: OK first things first - GET THIS ALBUM... no matter how much you have to pay for this compilation of the Misunderstood, you MUST MUST MUST get it...I would recommend it just for the first half of the CD/LP...a fantastic session taped in 1967/8 when the band came to England for a short spell with John Peel...and promptly blew the lid off Psychedelia as we know it...

The key to their sound I personally feel is the squawking and screeching of Glenn Campbell's fuzzed up steel guitar...this takes the songs to new directions...there are plenty of amazing reverb washed tracks which blend into subtle acoustic numbers of great beauty.

The liner notes suggest the Misunderstood were best appreciated at their few gigs in London, I have read that many big acts stole lighting/effects ideas from the Misunderstood's live sets to use in their own...Sadly no live recorded material is said to exist...

The second side is made up of an early 1965/6 acetate of bluesy material...not quite as startling as the first side, but this is blues with a psychedelic feel to it, Glenn Campbell is just beginning to stamp his lap steel sound on the songs.

Overall, a really good set, the first 6 songs make it worth the purchase price alone...I understand 'Golden Glass' is also a compilation worth getting hold of, the band after this formed Juicy Lucy, who had a harder rockier edge.

Reviewed by James Bin - October 2001

Recorded in 1966,but not released until umteen years later(or so it appears).Great garage / psych piece of work from another short-lived;1963-1969, yet under appreciated band. Most impressive tracks were "Children Of The Sun","My Mind",the semi-trippy "I Can Take You To The Sun" and "Who's Been Talking".Line-up:Tony Hill(of High Tide)-guitar&vocals,Rick Brown-harmonica&vocals,Glen Ross Campbell-steel guitar,Steve Whitway-bass and Rick Moe-drums.Should appeal to fans of The Creation,Pretty Things,Chocolate Watchband,The Seeds,Count Five and The Move.An absolute should-have.

The Misunderstood - Before The Dream Faded

Review: OK first things first - GET THIS ALBUM... no matter how much you have to pay for this compilation of the Misunderstood, you MUST MUST MUST get it...I would recommend it just for the first half of the CD/LP...a fantastic session taped in 1967/8 when the band came to England for a short spell with John Peel...and promptly blew the lid off Psychedelia as we know it...

The key to their sound I personally feel is the squawking and screeching of Glenn Campbell's fuzzed up steel guitar...this takes the songs to new directions...there are plenty of amazing reverb washed tracks which blend into subtle acoustic numbers of great beauty.

...The second side is made up of an early 1965/6 acetate of bluesy material...not quite as startling as the first side, but this is blues with a psychedelic feel to it, Glenn Campbell is just beginning to stamp his lap steel sound on the songs.

Overall, a really good set, the first 6 songs make it worth the purchase price alone...I understand 'Golden Glass' is also a compilation worth getting hold of, the band after this formed Juicy Lucy, who had a harder rockier edge.

Reviewed by James the Bin - October 2001

There's not much more that I can add that hasn't already been written about this highly-regarded band. Although this CD is expensive considering that it contains only a dozen or so 2-4 minute tracks, it's worth the purchase. Their sound is a blend of Jeff Beck-era Yardbirds with Sid Barrett's Pink Floyd. Considering that they were together for an extremely brief period of time, the Misunderstood could have enjoyed similar success to some of rock's greatest bands. If there is another group out there that sounds anything like the Misunderstood, I'd buy their music in a heartbeat.

There's a story about the Misunderstood is more apocryphal than anything. They had a press conference where they played a song and asked the press in the audience to listen carefully and then write down what the song made them think of. After playing, someone said "I thought of an apple orchard" and someone else mentioned "applesauce" and someone else still mentioned apples. The Misunderstood smiled and opened up a piece of paper on which was printed the word "Apple."

The Misunderstood were a highly powerful and extraordinarily talented and doomed band. They moved overseas to hit their big break with John Peel and instead found themselves the victims of bureaucratic foul-ups, deportations, and the Vietnam draft. But the time they spent together produced this finer than fine masterpiece of pure and easy, hard and rough rock and roll....

psychedelic rock and roll, even.

Everything on this album will blow your speakers out and your mind to boot. Highlights include "Children of the Sun" "Find a Hidden Door" and "I Unseen," possibly the finest song written from the point of view of a dead child victim of Hiroshima. At times haunting, at times enlightening, at all times excitement made music incarnate.

After this, the Misunderstood vanished. Their only other album "Golden Glass" is a poor companion filled with standard slogging blues riffs and lyrics to boot. So stick with a classic, stick with the best, pick up the Misunderstood and make the world shudder at your feet.

To quote Record Collector Magazine, July 1999

"The Misunderstood were a band of immense talent. They were technically American, although Tony Hill, the rhythm guitarist on their best 45s, was British and the bulk of their material was recorded in England. At the end of 1966 their debut single, "I Can Take You to the Sun," was unveiled that December -- the same month as Hendrix's "Hey Joe," and a good two before "Strawberry Fields Forever." Without apologies, the Misunderstood single stands alongside both these classics as one of the most powerful and best psychedelic singles ever released."---Record Collector Magazine, July 1999