{1986 demo (previously titled "Heavenly Dreams He Had"), transferred from 4-track cassette, restored and edited. Initially mixed and mastered in 2018. Remixed and mastered for the Daily Living Is a Herculean Art LP in 2020. 48k-24bit resolution.}
After The Pale's initial demo sessions in fall of 1985, drummer Tim Payton Earick left to follow previous commitments and was replaced with Jeff Keating, formerly of Dayton new wave favorites Dates XXX. Keating would remain in the lineup until mid-1987 and contribute to The Pleasures Pale! LP, as well as a handful of additional demo recordings in early 1986. Among those demos was a hypnotic swing-time composition titled "Heavenly Dreams He Had." The short song was included in early live sets, but soon gave way to new, more fleshed out material. Here, more than 30 years later is a restored, edited and fully realized version retitled "How I Dreamt of You."
This swirling, neo-psychedelic rendition finds singer Bright transfixed in a soft-focus fantasy, at the mercy of passive desires. For all the song's lustiness, the astute listener might suspect the distance between imagination and reality is well beyond reach — begging the question: Is this a seduction song or lonely heart's desperate plea? Either way, Swann's signature arpeggiated style, Lerma's rolling bass line and Keating's steady cymbal tattoo provide the piece with undeniable locomotion toward a gauzy dream of erotic possibilities.
lyrics
Wonderstruck was I
Here lies an impulsive man
It’s frightening
Indeed how indulgence can
Helpless and relaxed
Listless and in fact
Too weak to object to you
(If I wanted to)
Uncontested time
Your eyes sublime
Remain molested, pleased
And brutally too kind
In a room light by the moon
Life’s trials consumed
And I could not object to you
(If I wanted to)
Take that staircase into heaven
Gently lie down
Your body...
Your body and beauty collide
And in a room light by the moon
Life’s trials consumed
And I could not object to you
And I could not object to you
And I could not object to you
(If I wanted to)
Oh, I wanted to
Oh, I wanted to
And I could not object to you
And I could not object to you
credits
released December 26, 2020
voice – jeffrey bright
guitar – mitchell swann
bass guitar – luis lerma
drums – jeff keating
keyboard – jeffrey bright
additional sounds – jeffrey bright
words – bright
music – swann & lerma
initial recording:
marcella house
dayton, ohio
1986
tape transfer, restoration, editing,
additional recording, mixing and mastering:
JABMA
studio la casa
san francisco, california
2017-2021
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