RAIN PARADE | Emergency Third Rail Power Trip : deluxe 2xLP reissue of acclaimed 1983 debut album out 26.04.24 + on tour in June 2024
RAIN PARADE
EMERGENCY THIRD RAIL POWER TRIP
deluxe 2xLP reissue
out 26.04.24
(Label 51 Recordings)
CLASSIC DEBUT ALBUM REISSUE WITH BONUS LP
Rain Parade are proud to present a deluxe edition 2xLP reissue of their classic 1983 debut album, ‘Emergency Third Rail Power Trip'. This seminal record went on to influence many of the best known guitar-based UK acts of the 1980s and 1990s, including Stone Roses, The Charlatans and much of the Creation stable, with Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine and Ride all declaring themselves massive fans. Andy Bell of Ride recalls that “Rain Parade was the one that changed me like an explosion in my mind. I saw them perform on TV and it was like, ‘Here is something I can fully get behind.’ It’s just incredible, and I have to say would have been pretty influential on the early Ride sound for sure.” Their reputation has continued to grow ever since, while their songs have been covered by the disparate likes of The Bluetones, Buffalo Tom, This Mortal Coil and The Bangles.
‘Emergency Third Rail Power Trip’ was the sound of California, both north (all the Fillmore West & Haight-Ashbury bands) and south (The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds and the Sunset Strip). Rain Parade took all of that, filtered it through the English psychedelia of the Beatles and Pink Floyd, then sprinkled in some Television and other assorted punk/new wave influences. They recall Syd Barrett’s combo, the Steve Winwood with Dave Mason era of Traffic, post-‘Rubber Soul’ Fab Four and the Beach Boys with beards (before they became an oldies act). Live, Rain Parade also do not disappoint, with band co-founder Matt Piucci’s guitar a lush yet vibrant soundscape - like Neil Young’s sinewy lead guitar bumping into a Mellotron helmed by Brian Eno - while Steven Roback’s dreamy vocals are a warm blanket enveloping the brain like a hit of Benzodiazepine.
This deluxe edition features the original classic ten song album on LP1 plus a bonus LP of demos and live recordings with the following tracklistings:
ORIGINAL ALBUM
Side 1 Talking In My Sleep | This Can’t Be Today | I Look Around | 1 Hour 1/2 Ago | Carolyn’s Song Side 2 What’s She Done To Your Mind | Look At Merri | Saturday’s Asylum | Kaleidoscope | Look Both Ways
BONUS LP
Side 1 What She’s Done To Your Mind (original single) | This Can’t Be Today (4 track) | I Look Around (4 track) | Look Both Ways (4 track) | Saturday’s Asylum (live) | First of September (live) Side 2 What You’ve Done (demo) | Look At Merri (demo) | Paper Girl (live) | Speedway (live) | No Good Trying (live) | Unexpected (live) | Time Machine (demo)
‘Emergency Third Rail Power Trip’ was internationally recognised as a unique psychedelic album upon its original release, with seven of its ten songs sung by band mainstays Matt Piucci and Steven Roback. A follow-up mini-LP, ‘Explosions In The Glass Palace’ (1984), garnered similar acclaim, their status as a leading light of the Paisley Underground scene growing ever since.
A long-awaited brand new album by the band entitled ‘Last Rays Of A Dying Sun’ (featuring Matt, Steven and John Thoman, who joined in 1984) was released in 2023. Their first studio record in 38 years, it sounds like a lost classic and the groundbreaking work of a new artist as they continue to evolve and surprise.
“There’s little rain on their new parade ****”
MOJO
“Loyal to psychedelic tropes and muscular melodies. An unexpected afterglow”
UNCUT
“Full of what made you love them in the first place ****”
SHINDIG!
“The most influential and certainly most psychedelic of the paisley underground cohort stunningly reappear *****”
RNR
Rain Parade will tour the UK and mainland European in June 2024 on what will be their first visit to this side of the pond since 1985. The trip will culminate with an appearance at the Azkena Festival (near Bilbao), their first ever show in Spain.
The full list of dates is:
06.06.24 OSLO (NO) Blå tickets
07.06.24 STOCKHOLM (SE) Kafé Himlavalvet tickets
08.06.24 MALMO (SE) Medley tickets
09.06.24 COPENHAGEN (DK) Loppen tickets
11.06.24 HAMBURG (DE) Nochtspeicher tickets
12.06.24 AMSTERDAM (NL) Paradiso Zonnehuis tickets
13.06.24 ANTWERP (BE) Djingel Djangel tickets
14.06.24 BRISTOL Strange Brew tickets
15.06.24 LEEDS Brudenell Social Club tickets
16.06.24 MANCHESTER Night & Day tickets
18.06.24 NOTTINGHAM Metronome tickets
19.06.24 LONDON 229 tickets
21.06.24 VITORIA-GASTEIZ (ES) Azkena Festival tickets
BIOGRAPHY
Founded in 1981, Rain Parade quickly gained attention as a leading light of the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles. Their signature sound has always combined hypnotic, melodic songwriting and ‘60s psych-inspired instrumentation (chiming guitars, eastern-inflected motifs, multi-part vocal harmonies) with ‘70s punk influences and a darker lyrical approach fully informed by late 20th (and early 21st) century themes.
Their debut album, ‘Emergency Third Rail Power Trip’ (1983), featured the songwriting, vocal and instrumental talents of founding members Matt Piucci, Steven Roback and David Roback in equal measure and is widely recognised as a masterpiece. Its follow-up, the ‘Explosions In The Glass Palace’ EP (1984), was recorded after David Roback’s departure (prior to forming Opal and Mazzy Star) and received similar high praise. Sid Griffin of contemporaries The Long Ryders states that “‘Explosions In The Glass Palace’ is and will forever be the BEST recording from a Paisley Underground band, be it us, The Dream Syndicate, The Bangles, The Three O’Clock or whoever.”
Guitarist John Thoman joined Piucci and Steven Roback in 1984 to record the album ‘Crashing Dream’ and Japanese live set ‘Beyond The Sunset’ (both released on Island in 1985) before Rain Parade broke up the following year. Their reputation and diehard following has continued to grow ever since and their songs have been covered by The Bluetones, Buffalo Tom, Bangles and a host of others not beginning with ‘B’. They eventually reunited for a handful of one-off shows in their home territory and recorded three new songs for the ‘3x4’ compilation (Yep Roc, 2018) along with their friends The Bangles, The Dream Syndicate and The Three O’Clock.
This has led to ‘Last Rays Of A Dying Sun’ (2023). Wrapping sweet nuggets of pop confection in swirling clouds of interstellar psychedelia, it is a record at once eminently engaging and delightfully ornate. Everything old is new again, and it’s easy to see the line that runs from Jangle Pop to the Summer of Love, through to the Paisley Underground of which Rain Parade was a pivotal component, on to the late-’90s Elephant 6 Collective and the neo-psych indie rock of the present day.
'Last Rays Of A Dying Sun' features Piucci, Roback and Thoman alongside guitarist Derek See (The Gentle Cycle, Dean & Britta [Galaxie 500], Chocolate Watchband), drummer Stephan Junca (The Hellenes, Billy Talbot, boatclub), with guest vocals by Debbi and Vicki Peterson (both of The Bangles). Last Rays Of A Dying Sun is out on Flatiron Recordings/Label 51.
