Medicine Show (album)

Medicine Show is the second studio album by The Dream Syndicate. It was released in 1984.

Medicine Show
Studio album by The Dream Syndicate
Released	1984 (1984)
Recorded	San Francisco
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	45:08
Label	A&M
Producer	Sandy Pearlman
The Dream Syndicate chronology
The Days of Wine and Roses (1982) Medicine Show (1984) Out of the Grey (1986)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Mojo	[2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	5/10[3]
Uncut	[4]
The Village Voice	B−[5]

The Dream Syndicate left Slash Records, a small label that released the band's first album The Days of Wine and Roses (1982), and signed with the A&M label. Medicine Show was produced by Sandy Pearlman; Pearlman had previously worked with Blue Öyster Cult and The Clash.

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Wynn except where noted.

1. "Still Holding on to You" – 3:39
2. "Daddy's Girl" – 3:02
3. "Burn" – 5:34
4. "Armed with an Empty Gun" – 3:56
5. "Bullet with My Name on It" (Karl Precoda) – 6:20
6. "The Medicine Show" – 6:29
7. "John Coltrane Stereo Blues" – 8:48
8. "Merrittville" – 7:20

Personnel

• Steve Wynn – guitar, vocals
• Karl Precoda – lead, rhythm guitars
• Dennis Duck – drums
• Dave Provost – bass

Additional musicians:

• Tom Zvoncheck – piano, Hammond B3 organ
• Sid Griffin – background vocals
• Stephen McCarthy – background vocals
• Paul Mandl – background vocals
• Gavin Blair – background vocals

References

1. Deming, Mark. "Medicine Show – The Dream Syndicate". AllMusic. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
2. "The Dream Syndicate: Medicine Show". Mojo: 118. Pearlman transformed them into a wired, manic hard-drilled rock machine, turning Wynn's dark outlaw tales into epic journeys of cinematic voiolence... Oddly powerful...
3. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
4. "The Dream Syndicate: Medicine Show". Uncut: 91. Medicine Show -- dense with songs of violence, paranoia, lurking evil, and Karl Precoda's uncanny guitar -- is a punk/noir magnum opus...
5. Christgau, Robert (July 24, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 31, 2018.