Tom Verlaine
Dreamtime

Artist: Tom Verlaine
Title: Dreamtime
Release Year: 1981
Pressing Year: 1981
Pressing By: Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Jacksonville
Label: Warner Bros Records
Catalog Number: BSK-3539
Run-Out Etching: BSK-1-3539-JW2
Run-Out Stamping: STERLING 0
Format: 33 RPM • 12” Album • Stereo
UPC: none

Tom Verlaine's second album as a solo artist after disbanding Television is not groundbreaking or innovative as much as it is consistent. What is distinctive about this recording, aside from its thick guitar fortifications, firm stance, and unwillingness to modify a sound he believed in, are the issues surrounding the making of these recordings.

The first session was marred by the usage of poor quality reel-to-reel tapes, barely yielding only half an album. Other songs had to be re-recorded with different players, due to the original band's unavailability. There's also a strong connection with Patti Smith, who Verlaine toured with when leading Television. First session bassist Fred Smith, also from the original Television group, keyboardist Bruce Brody, and drummer Jay Dee Daugherty, are major contributors to the uniform texture of the tunes.

It's hard to pin down a single highlight, but several rank as distinctive. Perhaps the most advanced track, A Future in Noise, epitomizes the disarmed CBGB's vibe with slightly built intensity, resolutely controlled. Not so much a set of tidy, trimmed concepts when one listens closely, as it is a vision of an artist laying it all out from the bottom of his heart. Many would easily admit that this album is Tom Verlaine’s shining hour.

Personnel: Tom Verlaine (guitar, vocals, bass); Ritchie Fliegler (guitar); Donald Nossov, Fred Smith (bass); Rich Teter, Jay Dee Daughtery (drums); Bruce Brody (piano).

VINYL GRADE: VG+
Notes: Minimal surface noise. A good cleaning is all this one needs. No warping.

LABEL GRADE: VG+
Notes: No spindle wear, tape, ring wear, or writing. Standard Warner Bros rainbow shield logo on beige. Text is black on beige.

SLEEVE GRADE: VG
Notes: Original plain black paper. No tape, no writing, no rips, no stains. Some crinkles. Complete lyrics (white text on black) on one side; liner notes (white text on black) on the other. Three-inch split at center of bottom edge. Cut-out slice at the bottom left corner corresponds to cut-out slice in cover. (Nothing obscured.)

JACKET GRADE: VG
Notes: Very light ring wear, light crinkling, no splits, no tape, no writing. Edges, spine (readable), corners are lightly worn. A few dings. Cut-out slice at the bottom left corner of cover. (The image shown is my own original scan.)

Shipping is $4.00. NOTE: I will NOT be responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail.

Payments managed by eBay.

Combined shipping: I will be happy to combine multiple items. If you buy more than one item from me, the shipping cost will be the highest original shipping fee plus $1 per additional item.

This is not a record-club issue or a cut-out. It is the original release.

Note: I haven't cleaned this 42-year-old record because everybody seems to prefer their own methods. I'll leave the cleaning up to the buyer. Also, I'm not a professional vinyl seller or buyer. It comes from my own collection. Bought at Books, Strings & Things, downtown Blacksburg VA.

Enjoy the auction -- and good luck!