Q (10/01, p.144) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Monomaniacly devoted to a brand of tense, wired rock'n'roll that obviously echoed their inspirations..."
Uncut (p.92) - "Nailed in three nights, THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES was the kind of record that shook you loose. Revelling in the elemental thrill of a screeching Telecaster, Wynn's songs seemed to spring from a simpler age."
Uncut (9/01, p.104) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...Faultless through 40 minutes of Velvets-y rockers, machine-gun Stooges squall, MC5 blow-outs and stoned psychedelia..."-
Alternative Press (10/01, p.106) - "...Stands as the 'Paisley Underground' movement's finest recorded hour..."
Mojo (Publisher) (10/01, p.136) - "...Moody, garagey, frenetic and influential."
Dream Syndicate includes: Steve Wynn (vocals, guitar); Kendra Smith (vocals, bass); Karl Precoda (guitar); Dennis Duck (drums); Carolyn O'Rourke, Erik Landers.
Recorded at Quad Teck Studio, Los Angeles, California in September 1982.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
This Davis, California quartet's full-length debut stands alongside such classics as R.E.M.'s CHRONIC TOWN and the Replacements' HOOTENANNY in proving there was more to early '80s music than MTV-ready synthpop. Regularly compared to the first Velvet Underground album on its release, the only points of similarity between the two are in guitarist Karl Precoda's liberal use of feedback, and bassist Kendra Smith's deadpan Nico-like vocal on the coolly dismissive "Too Little Too Late."
Lou Reed has never sounded anywhere near as crazed as Steve Wynn does on the manic title track, and the sneering opener "Tell Me When It's Over" owes more to Dylan's "Positively Fourth Street" than it does to "Heroin." This is one of the classic American pop albums of the '80s.