The Rain Parade
Crashing Dream (Deluxe)
Label 51 Recordings
Interesting and Intriguing Re-Release of Influential West Coast Psychedelic 80’s Sophomore Album
Originally released 40 years ago in 1985, “Crashing Dream” found a band caught in flux and lost in the Island Records machine – fast forward to the present day and the band’s sophomore release has been dusted down, spruced up and packaged with a host of rarities and unreleased goodies.
The first CD of two is largely a remastered version of the original release, with the addition of a live version of “Nightshade” and a live take on the album’s title track – which wasn’t on the original release. Compared to the original, there’s a more spacious sound – the stereo field appearing to be wider and there’s a greater separation between the instruments allowing for richer dynamics.
“Mystic Green” is a good example of this, where the song really spreads its wings and is allowed to breathe.
A personal favourite on the remasters is the sparkly and percussive ”Shoot Down the Railroad Man” as there’s more bottom end overall too, gluing the sound together.
Remastering was done sympathetically by the band’s long-time producer Jim Hill and a good job he’s done too – although he’s resisted the temptation to develop a more contemporary drum sound – they’re still lovingly in the 80s.
Disc 2 is where the deep dive begins – there’s a bunch of 8 track demos, live cuts and a BBC session track. “My Dog’s Last Dream”, is an 8 track demo featuring a phased vocal and trippy guitar starting things off, before the demo of the album’s ‘Invisible People” reveals a stronger “8 miles High” guitar influence than the original released version ever did.
Despite being a four track demo (as opposed to the 8 tracks elsewhere) “Tranquility Base” has quite a rich eastern drone influenced sound and is closer in intention to the album remasters.
There’s weird reversed vocal sampling on “The Sniper” – I could imagine extreme religious types getting their knickers in a twist looking for demonic messages!
“Novocaine” continues the feel, with a more prominent lead vocal, hinting at being a live scorcher. The extra edge of live performance is captured splendidly on “Ain’t That Nothing”, recorded in Japan – the other live tracks continue this extra edginess too.
The one BBC session track “Depending On You” feels more like the original album’s production in style and the demo “Every Morning Does” is the most demo-like of the demos on offer, but a worthwhile listen all the same.
“Eyes Closed” is a laid back live gem and “White Room” is a raucous slice of Nuggets-type garage-psych to end the second disc.
Given the current mini-wave of psych bands – acts like The Crystal Teardrop and Scott Hepple & The Sun Band owe a great deal to the likes of trailblazers like the Rain Parade – this is a perfect time for the band to deliver this interesting, intriguing and worthwhile new edition of an album that deserved more attention than it got back at the time of its release.
Review by Nick Barber
https://rainparadeofficial.com/
Released 30th May 2025
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https://www.piccadillyrecords.com/160392/Rain-Parade-Crashing-Dream-Deluxe-Edition-Flatiron
https://rainparadeofficial.com/discog
