I Dreamed A Dream

Inspirational and breathtaking, "I Dreamed a Dream" is the highly anticipated album from a global phenomenon whose dream has become reality.

She captured the hearts of millions and became a worldwide YouTube phenomenon with over 300 million hits. An inspiration for those who have a dream, the talented Susan Boyle presents her stunning debut album. Susan surprised the world with her powerful, heart stopping voice when she walked onto the Britain's Got Talent stage. Now with a beautiful and diverse album she will, once again, defy preconceptions. I Dreamed a Dream, the album, crafted by world acclaimed producer Steve Mac, demonstrates Susan Boyle's extensive musical ability. Featuring her signature songs, `I Dreamed a Dream' & `Cry me a River' the album also includes a haunting rendition of Rolling Stones "Wild Horses", Madonna's `You'll See, The Monkees `Daydream Believer' and "Who I Was Born To Be" an original recording written specially for Susan. Susan enthused; "It was my greatest ambition to release an album and I have finally achieved it. This amazing journey has helped me find my own identity and fulfill my wish. There is happiness out there for everyone who dares to dream."

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Dreaming Those Dreams by Gregor von Kallahann
The mini-dustup over Elaine Paige's "virus" remarks about Susan Boyle (supposedly taken out of context--but what's the CONTEXT??) are no doubt reflective of what a lot of show biz types feel deep down about "overnight sensations" like Susan. What for most people is an inspiring story about dreaming a dream is--at least for some--another troublesome of case of someone rising to the top without ever having paid any real dues.



There's another way to view it, though. There are all KINDS of dues. Yes, there are the trials and tribulations and very real SACRIFICES that people who devote themselves to their art have to go through for years on end, with no guarantee of any recognition or reward in the end. That's very real. But from what we know about Susan Boyle's life (or other "ugly duckling" late-in-life discoveries like Paul Potts), we have to acknowledge that there were crushing psychic blows, bitter disappointments and many, many hurdles to overcome, some musical, of course, but mainly we're talking personal demons here. And painful life circumstances.



Even though it's not Susan's preferred musical genre, those of us who are more steeped in rock'n'roll know something about the DYI ethic. Inspired amateurs sometimes give the lie to the long cherished (in some corners) notion that there is a huge gulf between the talented beginner and the true artiste. It doesn't detract from the achievements of the Elaine Pages of the world to say that late bloomers like Susan Boyle have their place too.



Having said all that, I'm somewhat disappointed in Susan's debut. I'm not sure what I expected in terms of arrangements and song selection, but it probably wasn't much different from what we actually ended up with. I'm impressed that she or Simon or someone in management dug up a classic Stones ballad, to say nothing of a somewhat well-known Patty Griffin tune that really does deserve a broader audience. very positive thing she seemed to bring to the table--at least in her TV performances--was a robust, mature delivery and a voice that was certainly sweet enough, but richer than those of the current crop of ingenues (the ones who can actually SING, I mean).



But nearly every vocal on this record sounds "sweetened" to my untrained ears. The emotion that she demonstrated on BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT seems needlessly reined in. (I say "needlessly" since she really was not a singer prone to overkill to begin with). It sounds as if her producers set out to make her sound like a 20 year old, not a woman closing in on 50. The breathy voice employed on "Wild Horses" may demonstrate "another side" of Susan Boyle, but unfortunately, it's a little too anonymous. YouTube faves "I Dreamed A Dream" and "Cry Me A River" fare better, but the former is more reined in than it needs to be. I'm not so sure that in Ms. Boyle's case, less really IS more. The cabaret style of "Cry..." is very nice, however.



"How Great Thou Art" has Susan channeling Enya, which is probably better than trying to evoke Mahalia, say (let the choir do that). The fact that some of the tunes, while certainly pleasant, are not all that vocally demanding ("Daydream Believer" and "You'll See"), adds to the subdued mood. She certainly gives Madonna a run for her money on "You'll See," and I'm sure the tune has a somewhat different meaning for her than for its composer. In her personal commentary to "Daydream Believer," Susan cites the altered lyrics "the hours of yesterday don't mean a thing" as being personally significant. I don't think there'd be anything wrong, necessarily, with a female singer singing original "the shaving razor's cold and it stings," since women shave too, but to each her own. The conversion of "Sleepy Gene" into "Sleepy Jean" in this version is more or less complete, but why is the narrator still "a white knight on a steed" still? Maybe it's a Joan of Arc thing.



Patty Griffin's "Up To The Mountain" was written as a tribute to Martin Luther King, and while it would have been nice to have that acknowledged, the version here is nonetheless a credible one. Here the restraint works--as it did in Griffin's original. "Amazing Grace" gets gospelly, but again that's the chorus's shtick. Susan stays on a more ethereal plain throughout the song. That's a valid interpretation, but you gotta wonder if Susan wasn't a little jealous of the way her back up gets to cut loose a little.



It's been pointed out that every song has some personal meaning for Susan, and her own liner notes clue you in as to what that is. For the old chestnut, "End of the World," she's careful to say that that's NOT true, "it's only just beginning." We know that, Susan. It's just a song, after all. But the relatively bleak lyrics give her vocal a little more edge than we encounter elsewhere. Sorta like how on the televised versions of "I Dreamed A Dreamed," she pulled out the stops on "this hell I'm living" line. She doesn't do that on the recorded version. And I kinda miss it.