Back in the early 60’s, would-be songwriter and “inveterate freeloader”, Dion McGregor, was a permanent fixture on the Manhattan East-side apartment couch of aspiring gay porn director, Peter de Rome. During his stay, it became apparent to de Rome, and McGregor’s songwriting buddy Michael Barr, that McGregor had a “talent” for talking in this sleep…While other people might mumble a few vaguely comprehensible phrases while meandering through somnolescent dream states, McGregor launched into loud, clear recitations of surreal narratives while firmly ensconced in deep REM sleep.
Being an obsessive field recorder, Barr immediately set out to capture McGregor’s nocturnal utterances on tape. The highlights of Barr’s efforts were initially released by Decca back in 1954. In 1999, Tzadik revisited Barr’s tapes with an album called Dion McGregor Dreams Again. (The provided Amazon link features a selection of streaming links) Now, another volume of McGregor’s sleep-talking, The Further Somniloquies of Dion McGregor, has come out on Torpor Vigil Industries. On this CD, McGregor launches into rambles about nonsensical treasure hunts for Welsh shoelaces and Valentino’s hubcap; “Russian roulette” games involving poisoned éclairs; and the following monologue (downloadable mp3) on the subject of revisiting the past which starts off poignantly enough but eventually degenerates into frantic horror. The CD can be purchased through Aquarius Records.
Posted by Warren at December 3, 2004 10:24 PM | Dream Music