Other highlights include two raucous tracks with Come- "Shelley's Blues, Pt 2" and "Why"- the pounding, atmospheric "Death Valley Rain", and the somber, Lennon-like balladry of "What Comes After".Īs with most collections there are sins of omission and inclusion (personally I would've chosen the Byrdsian jangle of Dazzling Display 's "Tuesday" over "Conspiracy of the Night", which features a typically overbearing cameo by the infernal Johnette Napolitano) but What I Did After My Band Broke Up should not only serve as a valuable introduction for latecomers but also as evidence that Wynn's near future may very well prove as valuable as his recent past. From there the album moves unceremoniously from strength to strength without regard for chronology (or continuity, for that matter). This opening track is a near-perfect collision of primal VU thump and serrated, Ragged Glory guitar, and should be ranked alongside the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner" as an ideal soundtrack for a long distance driving. So it should come as no surprise that this collection is wisely weighted in favor of Wynn's more recent material, as it steers the listener immediately into the buzz saw of "Amphetamine", from 2003's Static Transmission. This was a beginning of a fruitful alliance with Brokaw that extended through Wynn's landmark 2001 double album Here Come the Miracles. But in 1996, his career took a revitalizing turn with the release of Melting in the Dark, a collaboration with Boston's Come, whose Thalia Zedek and Chris Brokaw provided Wynn a much-welcomed injection of raw punk energy. A gifted tunesmith and raconteur, like his heroes Wynn has always made the most of his rather unremarkable vocal range, and his best songs are frequently detail-packed narratives which chart as close to prose as to poetry.īy his own admission in this set's liner notes, Wynn was left somewhat adrift in the immediate aftermath of Dream Syndicate's breakup, and the middling nature of glossy albums like Kerosene Man and Dazzling Display reflected this uncertainty. Throughout his career, Wynn has done little to disguise his ardor for the Bob Dylan/Lou Reed/Neil Young pantheon.
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