A Thousand Day Dream

22 track “Greatest Hits” compilation from the forefathers of the Champaign rock scene. Includes “Left In The Dark” which was covered by The Replacements and Uncle Tupelo back in the day and currently by Courtney Love! These scruffy rock songs still sound great today!

In the early-80s, the patron saints of the Champaign, Illinois music scene were a four-piece band named The Vertebrats, whose brand of simple, urgent, garage-rock --influenced by 70s punk and the British Invasion rock of the 60s-- defined the budding music scene. The ‘Brats were raw, dynamic and unpretentious, raised on The Clash, Rockpile, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Ramones, and Neil Young, and empowered by their peers, like The Replacements, Husker Du, and Mission of Burma. Ironically, what makes the band sound so vital today is probably the same thing that kept the ‘Brats from getting a record deal in their prime. The Vertebrats music was too tuneful to make them “punk”, too rough around the edges to qualify them as “new wave”. Despite their rave reviews in the rock press of the day, shortsighted label executives didn’t know what to make of their approach. 'The Vertebrats had written the quintessential garage rock anthem. The way they had made a contemporary-sounding garage-rock song was what made that song stand out and inspire us to try our version of it.' - Jay Farrar, Uncle Tupelo

'...the Vertebrats' version of 'Left in the Dark' is a time-honored, minimalist piece of what garage rock was all about.' - Jay Farrar, Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt

'Oh, God, that's a great song.' - Paul Westerberg of The Replacements on 'Left In The Dark'

And any friend of Paul Weterberg is a friend of mine…