iSound

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...