Search - Dream Academy :: Somewhere in the Sun

In Places On The Run

amidar@cableinet.co.uk | London England | 03/21/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"My first impression is of slight disapointment. The packaging of the disc is good but could be better - lyrics appear to be accurate and clear, photos are also good, but a band history etc could have been added.It appears that the tracks have not been selected by the band but by a Japanese WB employee of some kind, and the track order is just not right. How could you include Johnny (new light) and In Places On The Run, and not have them running into each other as they appeared on the first album?I was glad to find Please Please Please... but somehow prefer the instrumental version, sadly not included.The biggest sins are omission of Gaby Says and Moving On, the latter being one of the best tracks on any album.But here is where the root of the problem lies. The first album was so full of excellent tracks that not to include virtually all of them would be an error - but this is simply not possible and the 'Best of' must contain representative tracks from each album.If I had been tasked with this compilation I would certainly have given it more thought and time but if this is your first glimpse of DA then enjoy the tracks but ensure you get the first album which is much close to perfection.Nigel Blunkell"

A compilation is great, but missing some rare gems

fontvrault | Houston, TX USA | 05/10/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you're mildly interested in The Dream Academy, view this CD as a "greatest hits" -- and not a reworking of the Dream Academy's music. If you like their music, start off with their debut self-titled album that is out of print in the US but can still be found in Europe and Asia.I was disappointed in the song selection (as well as the order of tracks) because there are some B-side rarities, originally on the single 45s released in the mid- to late-80s, that are missing on this compilation. The best of these rare tracks, missing from the CD, is "Immaculate Heartache," (never released on any album) that I would have loved to have seen finally mastered onto CD. These other rare gems include "Test Tape #3," "Heaven," and "Girl in a Million (for Edie Sedgwick)".On a positive note, the extended version of "Life in a Northern Town" is an amazing mix that in my opinion, surpasses the radio (shorter) version of the original."

If you're a die-hard Dream Academy fan...

Timothy Karlberg | Minneapolis, MN | 02/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not here to review this CD. I just wanted to let any serious fans of the Dream Academy know about two other projects that might be of interest, if only for the sake of trivia.The first is "The Invisible Circus" film soundtrack--still available used here at Amazon. This was released around 2000, and the instrumental score (about 7-10 tracks) was composed by Nick Laird-Clowes. A few other Laird-Clowes originals are included under the guise of his recent band, Trashmonk. While the instrumental score tracks are fondly reminescent of the Dream Academy's folkish melodies, the Trashmonk songs are decidedly less relaxed (and didn't appeal much to me personally).The other CD I wanted to note here is by a producer/DJ who goes by the name of Dario G. His CD, "Sunmachine," which is also available here at Amazon, is best described as pre-millennium electric anthems. It sounds a little like the music from Chicane's "Behind the Sun," only less trance-inflected. At any rate, the first track on "Sunmachine," is Sunchyme. This is only relevant on account of the song's base melody which derives heavily from Dream Academy's Life in a Northern Town, right down to the genuine inclusion of the chorus "Hey-oh-ma-ma-ma's." The original DA song isn't sampled quite enough for this to be a remix, but at the same time, Sunchyme contains so many elements of Life in a Northern Town, that it can't really be considered an altogether separate song. Anyone who might have heard this featured on a TV commercial for contact lenses a few years ago can now exhale. I, for one, am sleeping better now that I've found its source. The rest of Dario G's CD isn't bad either...given its age.I hope this encourages someone out there."