If the debacles surrounding the release of 1995's magical
Ejector Seat Reservation
weren't enough, the process of getting this fine follow-up to the public likely gave
Swervedriver
enough headaches to outnumber their effects pedals.
99th Dream
was set to be launched on
Geffen
in early 1997, with advance copies sent to press and radio. Not to be outdone by
A&M
and
Creation
-- the two labels to previously junk the Oxford band like a fungus-ridden shower shoe -- the label fired the band's A&R representative and unceremoniously dropped the band, leaving the record in unreleased limbo. Along came New York independent
Zero Hour
to save the day, who bought the rights to the record and released it nearly a year later. Though the weakest of
's four long-players of the '90s,
still shimmers and sizzles like the work of shamefully few bands of the time. Another trademark opening one-two punch is offered in
"99th Dream"
"Up From the Sea,"
showing a continuation of the band falling prey to its
pop
instincts. Slowly but surely,
have morphed from a runaway locomotive informed by
the Stooges
Dinosaur Jr.
to a classic sports car fueled by
Love
the Beatles
, without losing their ferocious purr along the way.
has its less than superb moments;
"Electric 77"
"Stellar Caprice"
lumber along enough to challenge the attention of the diehard, and
"In My Time"
would have gathered dust on the cutting room floor had it been committed during
Mezcal Head
or
Ejector
. Also, the version of
"These Times"
that appears on the
version is inferior to the one found on the
advance. The latter version plods along, marring the sprightly pace of the original; oddly enough, the original sounds a hell of a lot like
Oasis
.
Adam Franklin
even attains the nasal whine of
Liam Gallagher
without grating. One could wager a shoebox of
Beatles
45s that it was for these reasons that a tamer version appears here. Full of rich harmonies and graceful instrumental passages,
closes with
"Maybe the People Would Be the Times..."
--
"Behind the Scenes of the Sounds & the Times,"
that is! Though reading like a song off
's
Forever Changes
,
"Behind the Scenes"
is a dynamic seven-minute trip of charging, psychedelic ebb and flow. ~ Andy Kellman