| Alvin Dahn (rhymes with "man") is a former college custodial engineer and mausoleum crypt salesman. In the early 1990s, convinced that pop stardom beckoned, he quit his job, forked over a wad of borrowed cash and, with top-notch session players, recorded an album at a Buffalo, NY studio.
Claiming to be self-taught on 50 instruments and imbued with a "determination and desire to make a mark in the music industry," Dahn genre-surfed from country to ballads to disco in a voice that'll never be mistaken for Mel Tormé, but with arrangements that revealed a stunning sophistication. He wrote all the music and lyrics, and directed the highly paid session musicians -- including a chamber ensemble.
By the time the album was finished, so were his finances. Alvin couldn't pay the balance of the studio bill, and the engineer held the tapes until the debt was paid. Even with the tapes, Alvin could not afford to put together a proper album. Consequently, the songs remained unreleased.
Until the age of Digital Distribution. Here you have it -- for the first time ever! Alvin wants it heard. Give it a listen, will ya?
Alvin Dahn is something of a musical outsider, and as such, it's easy to underestimate the nature of his artistic achievement. One engineer who worked with Alvin on the album wrote: "He was pretty confident that he was the next John Lennon, and his music was gonna top the charts. I don't think I've met a less musical person in my life, but he was convinced that he was 'the bomb.' At first it was torture working on the project, but after a while I began to realize just how special these performances were." Afterwards, bootleg tapes circulated and Alvin unwittingly achieved cult status.
Alvin's head-banging rocker, "You're Driving Me Mad," was included on Songs in the Key of Z, Vol. 2. Erupting like "Dahn Halen," the tune was composed while Alvin was seething over his ex-wife and his boss. (There are two different mixes on this album.)
"Don't Throw Your Dreams Away" points to a more reflective and gentle Alvin, with a brilliant string accompaniment arranged by the composer. This song is a landmark, and if Alvin's earnest singing is less than flawless, it doesn't detract from what is a gorgeous composition. This song deserves to be covered by other singers.
Dahn no longer writes or plays music, due to arthritis and money woes, but he did compose the theme to a local religious cable TV show. "I prayed," said Alvin, "and the Lord gave me a song."
Alvin lives with his wife, Rose, in upstate New York. While understandably discouraged about his experiences in -- or rather, outside of -- the music business, he is a gentleman with a firm understanding of what's really important in life. He is a man with perspective. And this is reflected in his music. |
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