Customer Reviews

Dream Cafe

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here's a miracle: the best damn song cycle about love since Blood On The Tracks, without a trace of sentimentality; soul-baring without being confessional or embarassing. But then, Greg Brown fans must be getting used to miracles. Greg's songs about old love, the ups and downs of marriages, and the vagaries of romance are shot full of self-deprecating humour, insights and beautiful images (I can't get that old couple 'burning their love letters so their children won't be shocked' in Spring Wind out of my head). This is the least precious, most life-affirming 'folk' record you'll ever hear.

Dream Cafe has to be one of Greg's best works. With tunes like Spring Wind, Dream Cafe, and I Don't Know That Guy how could it not? I have to say this, you haven't really heard Greg until you hear him live. Especially live with Bo. The two mesh so well it is almost scary. The tunes are different every time you hear them with a little improv by both artists mixed in throughout. I highly recommend this album.

If you are familiar with Greg Brown, you probably are familiar with this release. If you don't have it, get it and treat yourself to an experience that take you on a journey of loves lost and loves to come. For those who are curious about Greg's work, this is an excellent place to start. There is not a bad cut here, and in particular, "Dream Cafe", "Spring Wind" and "Laughing River" are a trio of songs that somehow work some sort of magic into allowing me to see into life a bit deeper for a period of time. Two other releases that go along well with this are "Further In" and "The Poet Game."

Very simply, this is Brown's greatest cd. And one of Folk's milestones in the 90's. So, if you have any interrest in this guy start here.

Many of us think this is Greg Brown's best album. Reasonable minds can differ, of course, but they have to get around the extraordinary imagery of the title cut, the plaintive story sketched in "Laughing River" and the deceptively simple melody line of "Spring Wind."

Yesterday I had a vision, under the tree where we first talked
Of an old couple burning their love letters
So their children won't be shocked.

Songs of love and disappointment, hope and loss, as well as the messy business of life. Never self-pitying, brutally honest, with melodies that can sear the lyrics into your mind.

I came down with a sickness; I thought you were the cure
But passion seems to promise more
Than friendship can endure.

Greg Brown doesn't have any bad albums. But some are a little better than the rest. And this is simply the cream of the crop. My very highest recommendation.

Ah, I love this guy! Brown's voice can go from back-of-the-bar room gravely to plaintative soprano... The music goes from folky to country to bluesy and is always great. The imagery in his songs are fantastic too -- some creepy rural themes, like the soundtrack to an Andrew Wyeth painting (ie. "Sleeper".) The song "Dream Cafe" makes me feel like I'm in an open air restaurant in Arizona... Which is odd because I've never been to Arizona... Case in point, this guy can do imagery...

Greg Brown is unafraid to tackle the important issues of our day - baseball, fishing, a laughing river and the wind, along with the timeless theme of L-O-V-E. It all goes down might fine thanks to Brown's froggy vocals, spare but never dull guitar work, and the well-observed details of his lyrics. And while so many singer/songerwriters concentrate so much on the lyrics that they forget that you might want to tap your toes, not so Brown, who adds colour to his songs with a number of sidemen, various percussive instruments, and a variety of rhythms. "I Don't Know That Guy" and "Dream Cafe", with a lilting spanish/latin feel, are standouts.

This album is a small masterpiece -- small because of its self-mocking, life-downsizing,minutia-examining and confessional subject matter; masterpiece because Smith is a superb tunesmith and the music is perfectly suited to the subject in each instance. Brown's carefully modulated vocal performance is brilliant. A moving, hilarious and musically satisfying tour de force.

Greg Brown is a national treasure,and this album is the perfect example why.Dream Cafe and Spring Wind are simply two of the best songs I have ever heard.Greg is as usual accompianied by great backup,including Bo Ramsey.Buy this record!!!

Greg Brown writes great songs, is comfortable with many musical styles, and always surrounds himself with musicians who contribute well to the mood he creates. I have heard 3 of his albums and like every one. Unlike many singer/songwriters, Greg never seems to get into a stylistic rut. I also strongly recommend you see/hear him perform live. Even when accompanied only by a percussionist, he does a great show (plus he only plays relatively intimate venues). Some comments for Amazon.com... (I don't know of any better way to provide feedback other than submitting a review) I like your website, could spend hours browsing and getting ideas for new (to me) music to buy. I wish you would include the date the recordings were first made, rather than just the release date of the CD, which to me is nearly meaningless, since most artists I like have been recording since the the days of vinyl. Anyway, keep up the good work.