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The Dream World of Dion McGregor (He Talks in His Sleep) ☉ Remastered ☉ FREE

by Dion McGregor

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  • Streaming + Download

    ⦿ This new digital version of the album—originally released on vinyl in 1964 by Decca—is being offered at no charge. Email address is required for downloading, but will be used for nothing other than sending infrequent announcements about new McGregor-related audio releases.
    ▶ Original LP labels and jacket, featuring cover art by Edward Gorey, are included in the download—sized for viewing onscreen, but not for printing (copyright permission via the artist's estate only).
    ▶ Bonus item: Download includes a 35% discount offer on the special CD edition of The Tubular West by Samuel Andreyev ("Un magnifique album de pop contemporaine" — Jean Daniel, Jazzology)
    Purchasable with gift card

     

  • Contributions towards the preservation of the dream tape archive and ongoing efforts to bring Dion's somniloquies to the waking world are welcome. Support can also be shown by purchasing related albums still in circulation from Tzadik and Torpor Vigil Records. Thanks!

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Dream World of Dion McGregor (He Talks in His Sleep) ☉ Remastered ☉ FREE via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD or more 

     

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about

THE DREAM WORLD OF DION MCGREGOR (HE TALKS IN HIS SLEEP)

This is the complete 1964 Decca LP, remastered in 2014 from the original tapes.*

In 1964, Decca Records released one of the most extraordinary LPs in recording history: a compilation of ten somniloquies by a loquacious sleeptalker named Dion McGregor. Despite having been a commercial flop, The Dream World of Dion McGregor (He Talks in His Sleep) has become a cult classic during the fifty years since its original appearance. Rare copies of the LP can still be obtained at considerable expense—their costliness due in part to the collectible cover art by famed illustrator Edward Gorey—but otherwise this significant album has long been unavailable.

As custodian and curator of the archive of reel-to-reel master recordings—the endowment of Michael Barr, who taped hundreds of McGregor’s slumbrous orations—I am delighted to offer this digital edition of those ten remarkable tracks, newly remastered from the original 7” spools. A half-century after their initial appearance, these vintage somniloquies emerge again to reassert their place among the most remarkable and fascinating recordings ever heard.

Steve Venright
Torpor Vigil Records
Toronto, Canada
2014

* Track 9—"Dear Uncle"—is the exception: as the original tape no longer exists, it was copied from the vinyl LP.

credits

released November 17, 2014

The Dream World of Dion McGregor (He Talks in His Sleep) ⦿ Remastered ∽ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS and NOTES

Dion McGregor: somniloquies
Michael Barr: original recordings
Milt Gabler: Decca A&R
Jules L. Green: LP liner notes
Edward Gorey: LP cover art

A note on the remastered recordings:
Track times differ slightly between the 1964 LP versions and the 2014 digital remasters, reflecting a variance in edits. For the LP, pauses in speech were sometimes shortened, and the occasional brief phrase eliminated. These minor cuts have, for the most part, been adhered to in the present version; however, some utterances eliminated in the 1964 edition have been retained. No gaps have been added between tracks.

Torpor Vigil Records thanks Phil Milstein for his ongoing research and assistance, Patrick Ramsey for his help with the final restoration of the tape archive, and Taylor Jessen for the fine quality scans of the LP jacket and labels.

All recordings (except Track 9) are from the
Torpor Vigil Records McGregor-Barr Somniloquy Tape Archive
www.torporvigil.com

Originally released as a vinyl LP from Decca Records
www.decca.com

Official store for the Edward Gorey House, which celebrates and preserves the works of the great artist:
www.goreystore.com


Other Dion McGregor releases:

Dion McGregor Dreams Again
—Tzadik, 1999
www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=7404

The Further Somniloquies of Dion McGregor (More Outrageous Recordings of the World’s Most Renowned Sleeptalker)
—Torpor Vigil Industries CD

Dreaming Like Mad with Dion McGregor (Yet More Outrageous Recordings of the World’s Most Renowned Sleeptalker)
—Torpor Vigil Records CD/DL
dionmcgregor.bandcamp.com/album/dreaming-like-mad-with-dion-mcgregor

Tedium House: www.tediumhouse.com
Revolver USA: midheaven.com

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Dion McGregor

Dion McGregor is one of the most outlandish cult figures in history—and certainly among the most unique recordings artists the world has known. His legacy is an archive of recordings featuring some of the most hilarious and bizarre stories, musings, and rants ever heard. The fact that McGregor was fast asleep when the recordings were made (by his roommate) makes them all the more astounding! ... more

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