Dreams – Debut Album 1970
In 1971 I was a High School sophomore. Like many students, I was also an avid music listener, and regularly sought out all manner of new things to listen to. Early that year, my friend Al Biffarelli (Biff) gave me a copy of an album by a new group named Dreams, and asked me to give it an extended listen. Biff certainly liked it, and we did, at times, have similar tastes, so home I went to check out the new sounds.
Well, as things turned out, I enjoyed the album thoroughly. For much of the prior year I listened to Bitches Brew and In a Silent Way on a more than regular basis. The music of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Chicago as well, but was feeling considerably less satisfied with the canned and somewhat prefabricated style of those groups. In December of that year, Soft Machine’s THIRD made it onto my turntable as well. Dreams was a different and welcomed addition.
To keep perspective, let me say the debut Dreams LP did not break ground in the same way or to the same degree as the then current Miles Davis and Soft Machine recordings did, and it was never the group’s intention to break such ground. Dreams had a different idea altogether, simpler and more straightforward, and I believe it worked well. The horn arrangements on that recording caught my attention because they were clearly less structured and left significant amount of room for what I have long called “the creative noodle”, which simply means they had space to express themselves. After a while, I knew the album almost note for note, and truly enjoyed the many small musical nuances appearing in the background of many of the tunes. If you get the opportunity, listen to The Maryanne and Holli Be Home with this in mind, and feel free to send me a note with your opinion if you wish.
For all of the listening I did over the years, Dreams is one album which always appeared in my collection. I still have an LP copy on my shelf that was purchased in the early ‘80’s, the original being sold in 1978 with the entirety of that original LP collection. (Cash required for travel…’nuff said.)
When compact discs reached the market in the early ‘80’s, I began to keep my eye open for a reissue of the album. For a long time, nothing appeared, and like many others looking for particular LP’s to make their way to CD, I simply waited. Dreams was one of many recordings I was looking to acquire in the new format.
Then one day in the early ‘90’s, I noticed Tower Records on 4th and Broadway was having a 3 for $25 sale during an especially cold winter weekend. Seemingly out of nowhere, that debut Dreams CD was now facing me on an eye level display right near the upstairs register. I delightedly scooped it up. Released on the Columbia Contemporary Masters imprint, it happened to contain, unexpectedly, seriously good liner notes penned by Bill Milkowski of down beat magazine.
Happy to have the new purchase ensconced in my collection, there it remains. It now plays the role of an old friend who comes to visit a few times a year, bringing with her some of the goodies only friends can share.
In late 2002, with much time on my hands, I did a search on Amazon.com to see if it was available and in print. Sure enough, it was, and the version for sale on my screen had no customer reviews attached to it. This was a bit surprising and a little sad as well, at least to my mind. I decided to write one then and there, where it remains to this day. Here is a link to that review, written under my Jazzmanblue moniker:
http://www.amazon.com/Dreams/dp/B000005MQK/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1301798041&sr=1-3
At J&R Records in early 2010, I noticed the album was released once again as part of a 2 CD Set on BGO Records. It was coupled with their second release, titled Imagine My Surprise. Not having a copy of the 2nd album on CD, I decided to purchase a copy and listen to both, in toto, that evening.
While reading the accompanying booklet, I could not have been more surprised than to suddenly find myself reading the review I posted on the Amazon website in 2002. But there it was, in the midst of the liner notes.
It seems someone at the record label was a bit lazy in their research for the liner notes of the reissue. While I have little doubt the rest of the booklet includes material copied from other sources in addition to my own review, this is something I have yet to verify. Still, I admit to being mildly flattered by the inclusion of my hastily scribbled review. As I read the liner notes again, they claim to be copyrighted.
(Pause for laughter…)
Placing these other matters aside, the album has a uniquely important place in the history of jazz/rock, and deserves a listen from those interested in researching the genre, as well as those who know and appreciate the musicians in the group. Billy Cobham, John Abercrombie and the Brecker Brothers all started here.
1970 was a great year for music, and this album is just one example of the treasures released that year. Happy listening!
New York City May 12, 2011
Contact:
mingus@jazzmanblue.com