Search - Anne Murray :: Where Do You Go/Hottest Night

Two early eighties albums from Anne

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 03/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These albums did not produce any blockbusting hits like Snowbird or You needed me, but there is still much to commend them.The first album, from 1981 and titled Where do you go when you dream, spawned two big country hits in Blessed are the believers and Another sleepless night. Also included is a wonderful cover of Bitter they are harder they fall. This Larry Gatlin song has been covered by several singers, including Elvis Presley, and my guess is that his version is the best-known. Other great songs include the title track and We don't have to hold out.The second album, Hottest night of the year, is just as mellow as Anne's other albums despite its title. The big hit from this album is Somebody's always saying goodbye. Great though it is, the standout track here is Song for the Mira - it is actually one of my two or three favorite Anne Murray recordings (and that's saying something as I have nearly all her music). The other tracks are lovely, including a cover of Bruce Channel's Hey baby.Song for the Mira is one of those songs that conjure up rural images - it is the kind of song you might associate with John Denver at his best, except that the Mira is a river in Nova Scotia, Anne's home province. I don't think it was released as a single, but I can't think why - you don't need to know Nova Scotia to love the song. I've never been there, but I'm sure this song will have persuaded many people to visit that wouldn't otherwise have done so."

Anne into the 80's!

S. Sarabia | Portland, ME, USA | 10/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After a MONSTER hit in 1980 with the wedding song (and love theme from the movie "Urban Cowboy,") Anne lands her first #1 hit single of the 80's with "Blessed Are the Believers" from "Where Do You Go When You Dream." How this album failed to be nominated or win for a Best Album Cover, I don't know. It's absolutely perfect (and adorable.) On the vinyl version, when you flip the album over, it's Anne dressed in red pictured in what looks like Hell with a little "she" devil sitting beside her! Musically, it's Anne as she always is; delivering the usual warm mix of uptempo covers of yesteryear and light Country/Pop offerings that have made her famous for decades. On "The Hottest Night of the Year," we begin to see the introduction of synthesizers into her music; this is not a bad thing and it is certainly indicative of what music was to come from 1983-1987. Here we have much of the same...warm ballads and uptempos. The funny thing about these two albums is that they came quietly and went quietly, yet both had hits. "Another Sleepless Night" from "Where Do You Go" was big, as was "Hey Baby" from "The Hottest Night." It's just that these two singles didn't make as BIG a boom as the singles culled from "Let's Keep It That Way," "New Kind of Feeling" or "I'll Always Love You." "Hey Baby," the first single from "Hottest Night," was a Top Five Country hit and "Sleepless Night" was, Top Five (if not #1) as well. "Song for the Mira," harks back to "Please Don't Sell Nova Scotia" from her 1974 gem, "Highly Prized Possession." Both albums were and still are awesome parts of Anne's impressive body of work and are very much worth checking out. These albums would also find her in a transitional kind of place musically which would end up preceding two more albums ("A Little Good News" and "Heart Over Mind.")of even BIGGER hits on the Country charts in '83 & '84 ( when she would deliver the smash hit singles, "A Little Good News," "Just Another Woman in Love," "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" and "Time Don't Run Out on Me.""