icarus syndrome-Trempeleau

I know this blog is getting to be a bit of an homage to all things Andy Herald, but hell, who's arguing with that? Anyways, this here is another topper on my all-time favorite albums list. If I recall correctly, I was handed this double CD-R on my first visit to the 7th Street Space in 2004. I had seen an early incarnation of the infamous Oracles (then under the guise of "The Icarus Syndrome Band" I think). I listened to the CD's all the way back to Chicago at a very early hour of the morning when I should not have been driving. "Wake Up" came through the speakers and I felt as if this album had been recorded specifically for my drive that evening/morning. I've probably listened to this album more times since then than any other that I own. It is completely and utterly timeless to me and is always something I come back to time and time again. It is a recording fit for all seasons. This album has been by my side through the hardest of times, break-ups, and bullshit as well the brightest and most memorable moments of love in my life. If icarus syndrome ever had a White Album, this would be it. I remember playing this a lot in a record store I worked at in Colorado some years ago. My manager described the sound of this album as the feeling one has when they're aware of being in between a deep dream and waking up, something he had always wanted to achieve in music.

Upon further research of the numerous incarnations of "Trempeleau," I realized this had been put out as a double CD (at least two different versions/track arrangements) as well as a condensed version on cassette. The more I conversed with others who had copies of Trempeleau, the more I came to know that there were also different versions of some of these songs that made it on some releases but not on others. I've collected here, to the best of my ability, the album in its original 2 disc format (as I received it in 2004, at least) as well as a handful of alternate takes/mixes of some of the tracks. This album is mixed so heavily around segues that on the more recent CD version I acquired, there were slight differences in the mixing and overlapping of said segues. I've only included 2 of these ("Do You Know" and "Oklahoma Kid") as most proved to be only slightly different. If any of you out there have other versions or takes of these tunes, let me know and I'll post them here. Due to the condition of the original CD's when they were finally ripped for the first time, they are some slight imperfections in a couple spots but nothing too major. Thanks to Bob Aspatore, Paul Kim, and Andy for helping nail down some of these songs. Outtakes.