Eleventh Dream Day: 1987 - 1994

 

The band was founded by guitarists Rick Rizzo and Janet Beveridge Bean, who met at a place

fondly known as 1069. This was a house/practice space/hang out in Louisville where at the time, Beveridge Bean was practicing with the band she was in with Tara Key and Tim Harris: the Zoo Directors. After moving to Chicago, Bean and Rizzo joined with guitarist Baird Figi and bassist Doug McCombs; Bean soon switched over to drums.
                  

The career of the noisy guitar unit Eleventh Dream Day, one of the most resilient and criminally

underappreciated bands to rise from the Midwestern underground community, was a textbook study in alt rock endurance; despite a nightmarish major-label tenure, ill-timed roster changes, and commercial indifference, the group persevered, ultimately emerging as elder statesmen of the flourishing Chicago independent scene of the mid-'90s.
              

Their first self-titled EP in 1987 introduced the hallmarks of EDD’s sound: Neil Young-inspired electric

guitar workouts mixed with punk energy. The band’s full-length follow-up, Prairie School Freakout (1988), won critical praise and the attention of major labels. The full-length Prairie School Freakout, recorded in one six-hour span with a buzzing, dilapidated amplifier, followed in 1988, and brought Eleventh Dream Day to the attention of Atlantic Records, which signed the group for 1989's assured Beet.
                        

Beet (1989) and Lived to Tell (1991) won more strong reviews but did not sell many copies; Figi left during the Lived to Tell tour and was replaced by Matthew “Wink” O’Bannon. In 2013, it was revealed

that EDD's major-label tenure had been an even more tragic tale. Following Lived to Tell, the "alternative" branch of Atlantic (who had signed the band) moved to another label and communication with the band basically ended with the label in turmoil. As a result, Atlantic missed a deadline that continued the contract. Band management informed the label that they were out of their contract and Atlantic agreed.
                       

The band made a stab for commercial success with 1993’s El Moodio, but the effort was unsuccessful

and Eleventh Dream Day was dropped from Atlantic’s roster. O’Bannon left after recording 1994’s “Ursa Major” and the band ceased to be a full-time entity; Rizzo went back to college to earn a degree in education, while Bean and McCombs concentrated on their other musical projects, Freakwater and Tortoise respectively.
                          

Eleventh Dream Day has since recorded new albums every few years, starting with 1997’s Eighth.

Recent albums have balanced the band’s Young-influenced approach with an interest in ambient sound, likely influenced by McCombs’s work with Tortoise. EDD released Stalled Parade in 2000, playing a handful of shows after the album’s release with Mark Greenberg of (The Coctails) assisting on keyboards and other instruments. Zeroes and Ones was released on April 25, 2006, on Thrill Jockey Records. Riot Now! was released on March 15, 2011, on Thrill Jockey Records.
               

New Moodio, a forgotten alternate version of El Moodio recorded in 1991 with Brad Wood at Idful Studios, was released for the first time two decades after the fact by Comedy Minus One in May 2013.

MEMBERS           

Rick Rizzo - guitar, vocals (1983-)
Janet Beveridge Bean - drums, vocals, guitar (1983-)
Shu Shubat - bass (1983-1985)
Baird Figi - guitar (1985-1992)
Doug McCombs - bass (1985-)
Matthew "Wink" O'Bannon - guitar (1992-1994)
Mark Greenberg - keyboards, drums (2000-)
Jim Elkington - guitar, keyboards (2012-)

01.  ELEVENTH DREAM DAY (Amoeba Records, 1987)

                         

Their first self-titled EP in 1987 introduced the hallmarks of EDD's sound: Neil Young-inspired electric

guitar workouts mixed with punk energy. Eleventh Dream Day was a not-so-telling sonic precursor to their forthcoming albums like Beet, rather a slightly milder beast, packing a liberal dose of twang.

Eleventh Dream Day – Eleventh Dream Day
Label: Fan Club – FC 056 CD
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue 1989
Country: France
Released: 1987
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock

TRACKS

                  

01. Walking Through The Barrel Of A Gun    4:08
02. Vein Of Gold    3:17
03. Not The Ballad Of A Girl    5:13
04. Liz Beth    3:57
05. The Arsonist    3:02
06. Cascade    4:38

NOTES

There is a wrong tracklist printed on the back sleeve:
Track 1 is erroneously divided in two tracks (1. Walking Through The Barrel, 2. Of A Gun).

MP3 @ 320 Size: 60 MB
Flac  Size: 150 MB

02.  PRAIRIE SCHOOL FREAKOUT + WAYNE (EP 1989) (Amoeba Records, 1988)

                               

Although they had released an EP prior to this, Prairie School Freakout really marked the arrival of Eleventh Dream Day. Somewhat disappointed with their first effort, EDD decided to basically cut this

album live, and what you hear is the sound of a young band letting it all hang out. Things get off to a blistering start with "Watching Candles Burn," and the energy hardly lets up at all throughout the set. With a great batch of tunes and the guitars turned up to 11, the bandmembers tears into these songs as though their lives depended on it, and flat out deliver. Neil Young & Crazy Horse (music-wise) are an obvious point of comparison, as are Dream Syndicate and maybe X, but EDD are all Midwesterners, and maybe that's what helps make their sound distinctive. Janet Beveridge Bean and Douglas McCombs are a solid rhythm section, and Rick Rizzo and Baird Figi make a glorious racket when it's

time to solo, especially on the epic-length "Tenth Leaving Train" (from the Wayne EP). "Beach Miner" drops a Richard Lloyd guitar figure over a Crazy Horse chord progression for a tune that'll stick in your head for days. Then there's the odd narrative of "Among the Pines," where a man splits his head open slipping in the shower, and the tale of killer "Albert C. Samson." No wonder Atlantic took notice. Eleventh Dream Day went on to construct better overall albums, but they never rocked harder than on Prairie School Freakout. This album smokes.

Eleventh Dream Day – Prairie School Freakout + Wayne EP
Label: Thrill Jockey – THRILL131
Format:    CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 2003
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock

TRAXS

01. Watching The Candles Burn   4:01
Written-By – Figi
02. Sweet Smell   4:37
Written-By – Bean
03. Coercion   3:47
Written-By – Bean
04. Driving Song   4:09
Written-By – Fig
05. Tarantula   5:37
Written-By – Rizzo
06. Among The Pines   6:24
Written-By – Rizzo
07. Through My Mouth   4:57
Written-By – McCombs
08. Beach Miner   3:43
Lyrics By – Rizzo
Music By – Bean
09. Death Of Albert C. Sampson   4:45
Written-By – Bean
10. Life On A String   5:05
Written-By – Rizzo
11. Tenth Leaving Train   11:19
Written-By [Uncredited] – Rick Rizzo
12. Southern Pacific   5:04
Written-By [Uncredited] – Neil Young
13. Go   4:50
Lyrics By [Uncredited] – Rick Rizzo
Music By [Uncredited] – Janet Beveridge Bean

LINE - UP

Bass – Douglas McCombs
Drums, Vocals – Janet Beveridge Bean
Guitar, Slide Guitar [Slide] – Baird Figi
Guitar, Vocals – Rick Rizzo

NOTES

The CD compiles the album Prairie School Freakout (Tracks CD-1 to CD-10) originally released in 1988 and its companion piece, Wayne EP (Tracks CD-11 to CD-13).originally released in 1989.

MP3 @ 320 Size: 162 MB
Flac  Size: 462 MB

03.  BEET (Atlantic Records, 1989)

                               

Quite how Eleventh Dream Day got onto a full-fledged major in the pre-Nirvana days is still a bit of a mystery. Not that the band ever sounded like Nirvana per se, it's just that their own rough-and-ready

take on fine and fiery rock stuck out like a sore thumb on most of Atlantic's roster at the time (just take a look at all the hair metal they signed then and try not to seize up in bewilderment). More than a decade on, Beet is still a grand listen, as good a showcase for the wider world of the killer Rizzo/Beveridge Bean vocal duo and the band's overall kick and inspired songs as could have been hoped for. Comparisons can range from Neil Young to a more guitar-tinged Tom Waits, but one thing Eleventh Dream Day never forgets is a sense of the immediate instead of the overly reverent. Whether it's a hint of down-home motorik here or psych-sprawling rave-ups there -- or all of that at once, as the brilliant "Bagdad's Last Ride" shows -- Beet sparkles with life. A worthy storytelling air to many of its songs (besides "Bagdad's Last Ride," try the character sketch "Michael Dunne" or "Teenage Pin

Queen") is a welcome bonus, but the real reason to listen is the music all around. If Gary Waleik's production sounds like it's holding back once or twice -- the more explosive parts still sound restrained in comparison to much that would come later -- it's perhaps an understandable trade-off in terms of getting the band out there to the wider world. When the band does let loose, as on the righteous instrumental break of "Testify" or the fried, on-the-edge jam that concludes "Road That Never Winds," the results are well-worth the wait.

Eleventh Dream Day – Beet
Label: Atlantic – 7 82053-2, Atlantic – 82053-2
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1989
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock

TRAXS

                 

01. Between Here And There    4:49
Written-By – Figi, Rizzo
02. Testify   4:05
Written-By – Rizzo
03. Bagdad's Last Ride   4:07
Written-By – Bean
04. Awake I Lie   5:21
Written-By – Rizzo
05. Road That Never Winds   3:25
Written-By – Rizzo
06. Axle   3:44
Written-By – Rizzo
07. Michael Dunne   3:29
Written-By – Figi, Rizzo
08. Bomb The Mars Hotel   3:35
Written-By – Figi
09. Teenage Pin Queen   3:59
Written-By – Rizzo
10. Love To Hate To Love   3:32
Written-By – Rizzo
11. Go (Slight Return)   4:10
Written-By – Bean, Rizzo
12. Seiche   3:07
Written-By – Figi

LINE - UP

Bass – Douglas McCombs
Drums, Piano, Vocals – Janet Beveridge Bean
Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar – Baird Figi
Guitar, Vocals – Rick Rizzo

MP3 @ 320 Size: 114 MB
Flac  Size: 302 MB

04.  LIVED TO TELL (Atlantic Records, 1991)

                             

Recorded, as the credits state and a photo in the album artwork confirms, "in a tobacco barn on the Niland's farm in Cub Run, Kentucky." Whether that provided the air of ripping, fiery country-goes-to-hell guitar work that permeates Lived to Tell may not be known, but clearly the setting didn't hurt the

band any. Whatever pressure from Atlantic came down to record something user friendly, Eleventh Dream Day stuck to its guns with fine results on its second major-label effort. Rizzo and Beveridge Bean make a fantastic pair of front singers, strong without being overbearing, on joint harmonies hitting something not far off from the brilliant combination of X's John Doe and Exene Cervenka. "I Could Be Lost" isn't merely a great example of that but one of the album's best songs, leading into a blasting instrumental break and brilliant guitar solo while the band raves it up behind. When Beveridge Bean takes over lead, as on "You Know What It Is," nothing about the intensity or ability differs -- Freakwater's frontwoman had already proved herself times over before that band had issued a note.

Figi's electrified lapsteel, as noted, adds fierce explosive power to songs like "Dream of a Sleeping Sheep." Together, he and Rizzo kick out the jams so righteously it almost hurts -- the rise of grunge in public eyes may have made people think then of Neil Young, but it's clear he already had two solid disciples. Even slower numbers like "Frozen Mile" crackle with a sharp energy. A few guest performances don't hurt at all -- some tenor sax on "There's This Thing" and both calliope and cello on the waltz-time "Daedalus" -- but mostly this is Eleventh Dream Day ripping through a set of smart songs with all the wired passion one could ever want.

Eleventh Dream Day – Lived To Tell
Label: Atlantic – 7 82179-2, Atlantic – 82179-2
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1991
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock

TRAXS

                       

01. Rose Of Jericho   3:42
Words By, Music By – J.B. Bean
02. Dream Of A Sleeping Sheep   3:15
Music By, Words By – R. Rizzo
03. I Could Be Lost   3:38
Music By – B. Figi
Words By – R. Rizzo
04. It's Not My World   4:58
Music By, Words By – R. Rizzo
05. You Know What It Is   3:41
Music By, Words By – J.B. Bean
06. Frozen Mile   4:22
Music By, Words By – D. McCombs
07. Strung Up And/Or Out   3:14
Music By, Words By – R. Rizzo
08. North Of Wasteland   3:16
Music By, Words By – R. Rizzo
09. It's All A Game   4:32
Music By – R. Rizzo
Words By – J.B. Bean
10. Trouble   2:41
Music By, Words By – B. Figi
11. There's This Thing   4:00
Music By, Words By – J.B. Bean
Tenor Saxophone – Marshall Bradley Wood III
12. Daedalus   3:41
Cello, Organ [Calliope] – David Foster
Music By, Words By – J.B. Bean
13. Angels Spread Your Wings   2:54
Music By, Words By – R. Rizzo

LINE - UP

Bass – Douglas McCombs
Guitar, Slide Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar [Lapsteel] – Baird Figi
Vocals, Drums, Photography By [All Other Photos] – Janet Beveridge Bean
Vocals, Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica – Rick Rizzo

MP3 @ 320 Size: 118 MB
Flac  Size: 319 MB

05.  EL MOODIO (Atlantic Records, 1993)

                   

Beveridge-Bean gets to lead off the album with the wonderful "Makin' Like a Rug," delivering her vocal with side-of-the-mouth twang and sass -- it's not quite like a rural Pixies, but the combination of

restrained verses and Rizzo-accompanied explosive choruses gives it the same good feeling. Sometimes the lyrics get a bit lost in the din, but close attention proves rewarding -- the cryptic, tense scenario of "Murder" details what might be a romantic breakdown, or what might be something more, with sharp detail. Rizzo and O'Bannon both continue the tradition of kick-butt riffs and solos; producer Jim Rondinelli lets them explode forth just the way they should, with enveloping blasts and razor-sharp whines. The McCombs/Beveridge-Bean rhythm section keep up the rear with equally inspired vim and skilled playing, both able to convey restraint (consider the gentle moodout into lovely zone of "Figure It

Out") with just as much passion as raging rush. More calmer moments surface here than on Lived to Tell, but far from seeming like a toning down songs like the power poppy "After This Time Has Gone" and the lengthy, beautifully melancholy rumination "Honeyslide" just seem to be a new way for the band's abilities to shine. As for the concluding "Rubberband," the group's love of Neil Young reaches new and impressive heights, which the fantastic solo confirms. Otherwise, as before, all Eleventh Dream Day needs to create their fantastic work are their own considerable talents.

Eleventh Dream Day – El Moodio
Label: Atlantic – 7 82480-2, Atlantic – 82480-2
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1993
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock

TRAXS

                    

01. Makin' Like A Rug   3:41
Written-By – Bean, Rizzo
02. Figure It Out   5:10
Written-By – Rizzo
03. After This Time Is Gone   3:36
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Jim Rondinelli
Written-By – Bean, Rick Rizzo
04. Murder   3:53
Written-By – O'Bannon
05. Honeyslide   8:04
Written-By – Rizzo
06. That's The Point    3:44
Drums – Ric Menck
Written-By – Rizzo
07. Motherland   4:30
Written-By – Rizzo
08. The Raft   6:43
Guitar – Tara Key
Written-By – Rizzo
09. Bend Bridge   3:21
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Jim Rondinelli
Written-By – Rizzo
10. Rubberband   5:21
Written-By – Rizzo

LINE - UP

Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Janet Beveridge Bean
Guitar, Vocals – Rick Rizzo
Tambourine [Wherever You Hear It] – Jim Rondinelli
Vocals, Bass – Douglas McCombs
Vocals, Guitar – Matthew O Bannon

MP3 @ 320 Size: 117 MB
Flac  Size: 297 MB

06.  URSA MAJOR

                       

Ursa Major starts out in a wonderfully strange way, with the offbeat instrumental "History of

Brokeback" cascading through the airwaves like a jalopy on stilts. The rest of the album finds "Orange Moon" as the pulsating centerpiece, and "Taking Leave" a slow-paced, dreamy follow-up. With that foundation, Eleventh Dream Day has constructed an artistic album that makes more than a blip on the radar. Now recording for an indie label, guitarist Wink O'Bannon quit before the recording of Ursa

Major, and Janet Bean was also consumed with her excellent side band Freakwater, but this record was winner number three. A tad more experimental (and some would argue less accessible, though not me) than earlier records, Ursa Major is still loaded with supple, pretty melodies and intense, rampaging guitars.

Eleventh Dream Day – Ursa Major
Label: City Slang – EFA 04943-2, Atavistic – ALP13
Format: CD, Album
Country: Germany
Released: 1994
Genre: Rock
Style: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock

TRAXS

                  

01. History Of Brokeback    4:22
02. Occupation Or Not    5:31
03. Flutter    3:48
04. Orange Moon    5:25
05. Taking Leave (Recorded By, Mixed By – Casey Rice, J. McEntire)   6:36
06. Bearish On High    3:25
07. Nova Zembla    2:11
08. The Blindside    6:20
09. Exit Right    5:50

LINE - UP

Bass, Guitar – D. McCombs
Cello – P. Brandes
Drums, Percussion, Synthesizer [Putney] – J. McEntire
Drums, Vocals, Guitar, Percussion – J. B. Bean
Guitar – B. K. Brown, J. B. Bean, M. O'Bannon
Guitar, Vocals – R. Rizzo
    
MP3 @ 320 Size: 104 MB
Flac  Size: 270 MB