Customer Reviews

Dreamies

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Reviewer: gigidunnit (Reading, UK) - See all my reviews

It shouldn't have worked. Hell, it shouldn't even have happened. This was 1973. Psychedelia was dead. William Holt was a 30-year-old man in a suit and tie working for a Fortune 500 company with a wife and child. Whatever made him drop out in 1973 -- and he claims in the liner notes it was the communist victories in Vietnam -- he ripped off his tie, bought himself an Ovation acoustic guitar, a Moog SonicSix and a TEAC 4-track reel to reel recorder, disappeared into his basement and recorded "Dreamies", two 25-minute psychedelic masterpieces in a self-produced album cover he modelled on a box of Total Cereal.

What is the album title? Does it have one? Is it called "Dreamies"? Is it called "Auralgraphic Entertainment"? Is it called, as Holt mentions, "Program Ten And Program Eleven"? Whatever, the cereal packet shouting on the cover tells you all you need to know: "100% recommended for a beautiful electric journey into your imagination!" it cries. "Dreamies provide you with a new form of personal entertainment -- a splendid time is guaranteed for all." You're encouraged to experience it in headphones. Chemical stimulation is implied. It screams exploitation, despite the missed-the-boat-by-six-years release date. But don't worry, this isn't another The Deep. This is as magnificent a psychedelic trip as you could hope for.

Obviously we're talking maverick vision here. A Philadelphia version of Magical Power Mako, maybe. The drifting mix of languid acoustic songs, bizarre synthesizer noise and a constant bewildering montage of noises taped off the TV and radio sounded singular enough at the time, and would continue to dwindle into outsider art status was it not for the brilliance that was The Olivia Tremor Control, the greatest band of the 1990s, who lifted huge passages of atmosphere and vibe from this Dreamies album. All those languid, drifting OTC passages...they're straight from here. That wistful, whispering style of singing in "Dusk At Cubist Castle"? Here's the inspiration. And, though I always hate retrospective links, there's no denying it this time. If you're an Olivia Tremor Control fan, or The Apples In Stereo, or any of the other Elephant Six bands, you will love this album.

A founding trip, then. And let's not forget what a great shape psychedelia was actually in, long after it had been kicked out of the pop charts. In 1972 Todd Rundgren had his acid revelation which led to "A Wizard, A True Star". Fripp and Eno recorded "The Heavenly Music Corporation". Man played "Spunk Rock" at the Greasy Truckers Party. 1973 was the year of Gong's "Flying Teapot", the year the Cosmic Jokers recorded that post-Leary brain-frazzled trip in Berlin which came out over four albums the following year, the year one of those Jokers, Klaus Schulze, released "Cyborg". Psychedelia didn't die, it just moved into the hands of committed (and should-be-committed) experimenters like William Holt.

This is a truly great album, a magnificent sonic adventure and a wonderfully effective acid soundtrack. Buy it, love it, treasure it, get bewildered by it, play it a hundred times a week and still be dazzled. Side one is the heart-breaking side, the sheer beauty of the "Sunday Morning Song" refrain will haunt you forever. Side two descends inexorably into a stunning electronic wilderness everything the equal of those German experimenters, say, or Daevid Allen's 1963 "The Switch Doctor". This is a masterpiece. Only neophobics can fail to be turned on.

I am just amazed at the fact that this music has been made available on CD. The Vinyl album is very rare and hard to get. This production is clearer than any previous version; I am hearing all kinds of sounds that I never heard before.

Dreamies sounds like an early lost John Lennon album. The story behind the composer is fascinating in the sense that he was purely an amateur and did the whole thing by himself.

The album is both sad and beautiful at the same time. It truly captures an era and should be taken seriously, especially at this turbulent time that we live in. It has had a profound effect on me and I know that it would have a similar effect on most others if they were to take the time to listen to it.

Such an important record, this man led the way. Check out the history of this album for the story of a driven man. Glorious