Dion McGregor - Dreaming Like Mad with Dion McGregor

Dion McGregor

Dreaming Like Mad with Dion McGregor
Torpor Vigil Records

3.7 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

I think most of us are aware of at one person who talks in their sleep. But I’m willing to bet that more often than not it might be the utterance of a single word that gets repeated. In the case of Dion McGregor talking in his sleep seemed to be an inner dialogue that was transcribed verbatim into spoken word. 

Fifty years ago, Decca Records released an LP called The Dream World of Dion McGregor. Most recently Torpor Vigil Records celebrated the anniversary with a new compilation of recordings entitled Dreaming Like Mad with Dion McGregor. 

In order to prep for this recording I would grab your favorite beverage, find a comfy seat and have your attention focused because as bizarre and absurd as these recordings are they are often laugh out loud funny. The most engaging aspect about these recordings is how dynamic and articulate McGregor is throughout. He doesn't mumble or trail off his words; he speaks confidently and with conviction.

The recordings are cut up into different topics, narratives and ambiguous ramblings that explore the sleeping mind of Dion McGregor. McGregor sometimes takes on the personality of an instructor. One of my favorites was the hilarious “The Head Game” (keep in mind you need to have a dark sense of humor for this one). McGregor is instructing people on how to play the head game. He explains how you have to catch the head with your fingers and not with your hand. He eventually gets to a moment where they start playing the game and oh my god is it funny. The other recording where he is an instructor is “Strenching” in which seems be teaching a yoga class of sorts. The last thirty seconds are pure comedy. 

Another one of my favorites was “Air Raid.” It’s short at only seventeen seconds long but again hilarious as McGregor sounds like a maniacal laughing lunatic. Other tracks like “New York Times” are a psychedelic theater of the absurd type narrative where he rambles about being trapped in a newspaper. He has plenty of non-sequiturs and random thoughts on this one. My favorite line is “Of course I rather be eaten up by the Times than the Tribune any day.”

There are a lot of other recordings on here that will have you engaged, busting a gut, or leaving you with more questions than when you started. Dreaming Like Mad with Dion McGregor is great entertainment and I recommend you listen to it from beginning to end. 

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