Despite her having been dropped from Asylum Records, Judee Sill started recording Dreams Come True in 1974 at ex-Monkee Michael Nesmith’s studio with Emitt Rhodes engineering. But what would have been her third studio album was shelved after she died of a drug overdose on November 23rd, 1979 at the age of 35. Three decades later, Jim O’Rourke finished the mixes for a 2004 release that reveals Sill was hitting her stride as a songwriter and recording musician (while hitting the bottom of her life). The first 11 songs are the ones she was working on for Dreams Come True — the opening “That’s the Spirit” shows a sunnier side of Sill’s craft sounding more lively and optimistic than her first two albums. “The Living End” moves with a groovy shuffle under some of Sill’s best harmonies ever. The second volume of songs comprises her home demos and rarities, including “Dead Time Bummer Blues,” where she was backed by psychedelic garage band the Leaves. One of Sill’s earliest songs, she wrote it to reflect the time that she spent in jail.
Disc 1
Disc 2
More By Judee Sill
- 1971
- Bridget St. John
- Van Dyke Parks
- Linda Perhacs