Between playing in popular jangly rock trio
the Vanguards and the launch of what became a lifelong solo jazz career, Norwegian guitarist
Terje Rypdal was briefly involved with a psychedelic band called the Dream. Active from 1967 until 1969, the Dream recorded a sole full-length,
Get Dreamy, a cornucopia of various trippy delights ranging from
Cream-like blues rockers to pseudo-Baroque arrangements, and greatly influenced by
Jimi Hendrix's guitar wizardry and overall swagger. The band was so indebted to
Hendrix that not only did
Get Dreamy include a strange, psyched-out dirge titled "Hey Jimi," but
Rypdal went so far as to send
Hendrix an autographed copy of the album upon its release. While easily dated as a product of its "Turn on, tune in, drop out " times,
Get Dreamy is also a top-notch album, excitedly bouncing between revved-up acid rock and sunny, soulful jangle pop. Experimental jams like "Ain't No Use" employ a familiar bag of psychedelic tricks, backwards drums, creepy spoken word voice-overs, and, as ever,
Hendrix-inspired spaceship guitar sounds. Drummer Tom Karlsen adds a soulful touch to warm ballads and mellow reflections like "Driftin'" and "Emptiness Gone." While a lot of the songwriting, playing, and even production is directly derivative of other better-known acts of the day,
Get Dreamy is a solid record with its own character, and even feels charming in its naive exuberance. The band sounds enamored, not just with
Hendrix, but with the very concept of being a psychedelic group and with applying their own experiences to this strange, newly forming breed of sound. While the Dream would be a memory less than two years after the release of their only album, the fresh-faced enthusiasm of
Get Dreamy is infectious and enduring. ~ Fred Thomas