Dreams So Real finally gets the digital treatment

Years ago, high-school Josh was obsessed with music from Athens and Atlanta—R.E.M., Guadalcanal Diary, Drivin' & Cryin', the Indigo Girls. One of cassettes (hey, I said years ago) I listened to more than any other was a 1988 album called Rough Night in Jericho by Dreams So Real. It was a perfect gateway for classic-rock-loving junior-high-school Josh to start listening to college radio with gruff, earnest vocals over chime-y guitars.

As labels came to town gobbling up anything sounding anything like R.E.M., Dreams So Real signed to Arista, put out the less adventurous follow-up Gloryline, self-released the unfortunately named Nocturnal Omissions (a collection of rarities) and eventually disbanded. Years later, their old label did too, and the music was stuck in the physical world. But Sony BMG apparently now controls the Arista catalog, and the music has just been made available on most digital sites like iTunes, Amazon and Rhapsody. I just downloaded Rough Night in Jericho and am listening as I type.

"Though it's really a somewhat modest development, since the music has been out of print now for many years," says bassist Trent Allen, who now owns a design firm in Athens, "we're happy to have finally bridged the gap between vinyl, CD and cassette to the digital distribution age of digital service providers such as iTunes. The music is now available again to a new generation of potential fans."

If you like bands like The BoDeans and The Smithereens, they're definitely worth checking out. To get a taste, check out the video for "Bearing Witness" on YouTube. The band has also made two Christmas songs available between now and Dec. 25:

Dreams So Real - "Red Lights (Merry Christmas)" mp3
Dreams So Real - "Just for Christmas" mp3