Medicine Show is the second album by The Dream Syndicate (members of the early 80s Paisley Underground

Paisley Underground

Paisley Underground is an early genre of alternative rock, based primarily in Los Angeles, California, which was at its most popular in the mid-1980s.- History :...

 movement) released in 1984

1984 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's...

.

The Dream Syndicate, one of the pioneers of American indie rock, left Slash Records

Slash Records

Slash Records is a record label in Los Angeles, originally specializing in local and punk rock bands.The label was formed in 1978 by Bob Biggs as an outgrowth of the Los Angeles-based fanzine, Slash. Biggs, a painter, initiated the label with a seven-inch single from The Germs in 1978. A full album...

, small company that released the band's popular and highly influential first album The Days of Wine and Roses

The Days of Wine and Roses

The Days of Wine and Roses was the second album and the debut full-length album by American alternative rock band Dream Syndicate. Produced by Chris D. , it was recorded in Los Angeles in September 1982 and released later that year on Chris D.'s Ruby Records, which was a division of Slash Records...

(1982) and signed new contract with major publisher A&M. That decision stirred controversy among fans. They were further alienated by starklingly different sound of the long awaited follow up album, "Medicine Show", produced by famed producer Sandy Pearlman

Sandy Pearlman

Sandy Pearlman is an American music producer, artist manager, professor, poet, songwriter, and once was a record company executive...

 (Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...

, The Clash

The Clash

The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...

). The album was the right step forward for the band and a genuine rock classic in its own right - with maturing songwriting skills of singer/guitarist Steve Wynn

Steve Wynn (songwriter)

Steve Wynn is a songwriter based in New York . He led the band the Dream Syndicate from 1981 to 1989 and afterward began a solo career.- Career in bands :...

and great songs such as Burn, Merrittville and the title track - but flopped commercially. The failure of "Medicine Show" was the beginning of the end for the band, and contributed towards its temporary breakup.

Medicine Show is now considered as a classic Dream Syndicate album.

Track listing

1. Still Holding on to You
2. Daddy's Girl
3. Burn
4. Armed with an Empty Gun
5. Bullet with My Name on It
6. The Medicine Show
7. John Coltrane Stereo Blues
8. Merritville