Clay Allison (Opal)

After hearing Kendra Smith's vocals on the songToo Little Too Late from the debut Dream Syndicate album, I became a fan of her Nico-ish delivery style when combined with her lovely vocal tone.


Yes, I was a bit disappointed when she left the Syndicate soon after that record was released in 1982, the earliest opportunity I had to see them came in May 1983 when they scuppered a couple of club dates to open for U2 at the Paramount.


The release, in 1984, of the Clay Allison EP Fell From The Sun, with David Roback from the Rain Parade and Keith Mitchell from Green On Red, was the perfect renewal to her musical ideas, a bit more on the somber/psychedelic side than what the Dream Syndicate offered (or indeed what they were about to become.)


Clay Allison soon became known as Opal, with Roback and Smith the main musical forces behind the band. This collaboration resulted in more music, specifically the classic 1987 album on SST Happy Nightmare Baby as well as an album of songs from the period between the two recording outfits.


Once again though, Smith departed a band soon after the record had been released, and Opal became Mazzy Star, and while Hope Sandoval has her moments, I don't rate her as much as I did Smith.



A couple of more reasons I became a fan of Smith's was when the Rainy Day album was released, a cover album of favourite songs of members from the Dream Syndicate, Green On Red, Rain Parade, Bangles, etc (not gonna use the term P****** U**********). The album is a bit uneven in terms of quality, but Smith sounds wonderful on Neil Young's Flying On The Ground Is Wrong and Big Star's Holocaust.


Following the dissolution of Opal, I lost track once again of Smith, for I have never been able to find a copy of her next musical project, a 10" record entitled GUILD OF TEMPORAL ADVENTURERS, which came out in 1992. Luckily, the good people at 4AD were smart enough to release Smith's first official solo album in 1995, Five Ways of Disappearing . Unfortunately it's the last record that she's put out, having grown tired of both the music business and living in an urban setting. There was an article in Option magazine when the album was released about Smith living in the woods in Northern California by herself, where she apparently remains to this day, happy to be divorced from the rat-race that consumes the energy and attention of the rest of us. Good for her.



Anyway, the Clay Allison track Fell From The Sun was playing in my head today, so I was glad that a kind soul had very recently added a video on YouTube for the track Hear The Wind Blow , though sadly the video is no longer available. Still a classic album though.