One of Norway’s most famous musicians, guitarist Terje Rypdal started his recording career in the early sixties with the ‘Norwegian Shadows’. The trend for instrumental guitar groups with glassy lead tones was a worldwide phenomena and The Vanguards were the Norwegian version. England had Hank Marvin but Norway had Terje Rypdal and although Rypdal is latterly known in Jazz circles having made over thirty albums as a solo artist or collaborator on the ECM label, his bridge between the slick early sixties and the heady days of the late sixties was secured when he formed The Dream with other musicians in the local scene that were also looking to open their minds to the new music. Rypdal joined organist Christian Reim from Rhythm & Blues band, Public Enemies, drummer Tom Karlsen from Mod/Soul band, The Sapphires and bassist Hans Marius Stormoen to make one legendary album, Get Dreamy in 1967.

The Dream were a cross over Psychedelic beat group – the artwork gives it away, but what’s fascinating is how you can hear their past struggling to be silenced as they attempt to embrace the zeitgeist and leave their most recent histories behind them. The album features some chaotic guitar, backwards, forwards, upside down and inside out and at times they manage to completely disown their past and almost sound like they mean it. Interestingly, if you are familiar with Rypdal’s later material you can recognise his unique playing lurking in the incense mists and hidden in the recently purchased floral shirts, a later metamorphosis occurred as he settled into a unique sounding Nordic Jazz.

The album was recorded in Stockholm and produced by Svein Erik Børja. There’s some soulful songs, some flowery Psychedelic tunes and some excitable guitar frenzies along with sixties organ and some passable singing (vocals are shared between Reim, Rypdal and Karlsen). But it’s an artefact and a historical gem for Rypdal aficionados or those that might enjoy guitar, organ instrumental battles in songs with titles like Night Of The Lonely Organist And His Mysterious Pals. The songs do tend to jump from colourful to comical, but it’s a criticism that one might also direct towards The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and in their case you take the twee with the trip.

Prepare to pay a lot of money for it if you find an original copy on Polydor, you might find a bootleg Italian reissue or possibly the Green Things from Outer Space still have a copy in their spaceship from their last visit to Norway in the sixties. “I tried to look for you in outer space, no one there had ever seen my race”. Somehow, somewhere long forgotten, I picked up a vinyl reissue of the album from 1976 on Karusell with different cover art, black and white possibly attempting to cater for a public about to witness the birth of Punk. Which makes one wonder should one change with the times or should the times be changed by you?

SIDE A

1.- Green things (from outer space)
2.- Emptiness gone
3.- Ain’t no use
4.- Driftin’

SIDE B

1.- I’m counting on you
2.- Night of the lonely organist and his mysterious pals
3.- You
4.- You’re right about me
5.- Hey Jimi
6.- Do you dream

Vocals – Christian Reim (tracks: A2,B4), Terje Rypdal (tracks: A3,A4,), Tom Karlsen (tracks: A1,B1,B3,B5)

Note that the link to The Dream page is in Norwegian.

https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terje_Rypdal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terje_Rypdal_discography