Customer Reviews

Dream Come True

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

While other girls in high school were paperwalling their wall with Duran Duran, I was using A Flock of Seagulls. They were my favorite band. Love the first album, love the second album and love the third album.

This CD is their 4th album. At the time I couldn't wait for the album to be released. I rushed to the store and bought it and excitedly listened to it. After that I sold the album to never check out any of their new music. It was a real disappointment. You still couldn't pay me to listen to it. The only song I like is "Whole lot of loving" and may be the only reason I will ever consider buying the CD -- used. I wouldn't pay full price for it.

A friend said she saw some interview with them about how much the better the music is without Paul Reynolds playing the guitar. If that is true, then the band is definitely wrong. I am sorry, I cannot recommend this album to anyone.

The only thing the elevated Flock Of Seagulls above the rest of the euro-80's-new wave pack was the under-rated, but brilliant, guitar work of Paul Reynolds. He left the band before this album and they didn't even bother to replace him, they just added more cheesy keyboards. The result sounds like 4th rate Thompson Twins and completely fails to capture the sound or energy of the the first 3 albums.

I remember being a high school senior back in 1985, and listening to AFOS first two albums nearly nonstop. Then "Story of A Young Heart" came out, and although I didn't (initially) regard it as highly as the previous two discs, I gradually warmed to it and gave it a spot in my musical pantheon alongside A Flock's previous albums.

So obviously, I purchased "Dream Come True" when it was released and...was stunned by just how bad it was. I mean, how could their talent have deteriorated so rapidly between albums 3 and 4? A lot of this, I think, had to do with the departure of guitarist Paul Reynolds - a very underrated player, in my opinion. At any rate, "Dream Come True" pretty much marked the end of AFOS. (Mike Score still performs - with an ever-changing lineup of musicians - as A Flock Of Seagulls, and I continue to hear rumors about a tour featuring some original members, but nothing concrete.)

Ultimately, I'm left with a question about the re-release of "Dream Come True": Why release this abomination while "Story Of A Young Heart" remains unavailable?

I bought what many consider to be The Flock's ultimate rotten egg back in 1986 on LP and cassette. I wound up loving it (except for "Love On Your Knees"). I hunted down the three different colored UK 12"s for "Who's That Girl?" and "Heartbeat Like A Drum" as well as the US DJ 12" of "Heartbeat Like A Drum". One of the best reasons to enjoy this period in the AFOS history lived on the flip side of the "Heartbeat" 12"s... a song called "Cosmos (Effect Of The Sun)". Ditching the poppy theme and efforts of the Dream Come True album , "Cosmos" was really two entirely unique songs meshed together. The first part "Cosmos", was a brooding, space-age, sci-fi instrumental which sounded like nothing AFOS had tried before. Once "Effect Of The Sun" kicks in you're treated to a stomping AFOS dance number which really captures the feel of their fist album of material, while wrapping it in a more modern blanket. It could have easily been a single.

Unfortunately, it is missing from this CD reissue.

This is the "but..." in my header. What should have been the ultimate opportunity to reissue the album, why not throw us a bone and add some remixes? "Heartbeat" has a very cool "Full Length Version" which continues the same as the album version, but about 3 minutes longer. "Who's That Girl" had an Extended Remix, a 7" Remix and an Instrumental (which is really cool)... There was even a "Hit's Medley" included on the "Who's That Girl" double UK 7" which mixes I Ran, Space Age Love Song, Wishing, Nightmares and The More You Live into a medley. Why not include THAT!
The CD is just under 40 minutes long. That's an extra 30+ unused minutes. The sound is fine. Nice to hear it at the right speed and with zero pops. The packaging rates a 5 of 10. The CD cover was obviously scanned from a cassette or LP. There are no liner notes at all and no additional artwork. It would have been really ace to have some background information from Mike Score regarding this period of his and the bands career.
I made a CDR about a year ago of this album complete with "new" artwork which included stills from the "Who's That Girl" video and scans of the singles in the US and UK. I also was able to add most of the bonus stuff I've mentioned and it fit and sounded great! Bottom line is, it's nice to finally have this on CD... thank you Almacantar. But, note to self, try adding some extra stuff!

I am amazed they reissued this without adding bonus tracks like probably their best song 'Cosmos (Effect of the Sun)' b-side to 'Heartbeat like a Drum' 12inch. HOW? I don't care since I perfectly transferred that song to CD. You truly don't know Flock without hearing Cosmos.

Sad pathetic reissue to a poor album to begin with. Outright embarrassing corny lyrics displayed here. I don't mind the attempt at a new style of sound here, I have a soft spot for 'Heartbeat like a Drum' but Mike Score truly has nothing left to say. 'Dream Come True' represents the complete end of this once brilliant band.

First, the criticism: The departure of guitar virtuoso Paul Reynolds is what really finished off The Gulls, and the release of this album sure didn't help them stay around any longer than they should have or could have. Just about all the material on Dream Come True is light-years away from the brilliance of "I Ran", "Space-Age Love Song" or "DNA". Actually it's just a continuance of the slide that began with the Flock's second album, "Listen," which was still excellent, just not on the same level as the group's debut. The Third album, "The Story Of A Young Heart" had several genuine gems (such as "Never Again," possibly their very best song), and the potential to be a stirring and emotional opus, yet didn't quite live up to the standards of the first two albums. And the void left by Reynolds' absence must have swallowed up just about whatever creativity the band had left.

Now, the good: Dream Come True isn't a total disaster. And, if you're reading this, you must either be a new fan of the group or already own this album on vinyl or cassette. So, I do believe I can recommend this disc for any Seagulls fan without guilt or remorse. It's like that one bad album that just about any group or artist records. As a fan, you want to have it, and listening to it once in a while helps you appreciate just how great the previous (or later) releases are.

After reevaluating the album as a whole, I've come to agree with most fans that "Hot Tonight" is the best song here. That in itself wouldn't be saying much, but it is really a good song, worthy of being on their second or third albums had it been written during those times. It's a solid, bass-heavy rocker, with some surprisingly good vocals throughout, especially at the end.

I've always questioned why "Who's That Girl" was the single from the LP, it just doesn't do anything for me. "How Could You Ever Leave Me" is far superior, with some fat guitar work that's (slightly) reminiscent of Paul Reynolds. That should have been the single. "Whole Lot of Loving" follows to close out the album, and it's a nice little ballad. Not quite as good as, say, "Transfer Affection" from "Listen" but a good song nonetheless. I can't say much about the other songs, except to mention "Love On Your Knees." Most fans would agree this is the Flock's worst song ever, but again after re-listening to it, it made me think, if Prince had wrote this song (and he could have, given the sexual innuendo) no one would say one bad thing about it. I say that "Heartbeat Like A Drum" and "Cry Like A Baby" are just plain awful, and should have never seen the light of day.

Conclusion: if you know these songs and like them, (or are just a loyal fan), get the disc. The remastering does sound good. There are no extras here, though. No b-sides or rare demos, nada. Not even lyrics or commentary. Makes you wonder why sometimes record companies can't go that extra step and give the customer a little more value for their money.

I do not like this CD much. Any other CD they have done EVER is better than this one. I am happy it is seeing the light of day but if you want to get into the flock try anything else. My favorite is "story of the young heart'

In an alternate universe, AFOSG are as big as Depeche Mode...and they deserve it.

With a strong debut and follow-up, their 3rd album (the concept record) "Story of a Young Heart" failed to make an impression on major listening audiences. AFOSG had one more chance...and they were under TONS of pressure.

The original line-up changed with the departure of their guitarist, and AFOSG recorded "Dream Come True." It was received even worse by fans and critics...cementing AFOSG as a "joke band" and a "one-hit wonder" (which are ridiculous claims.)

Realistically, this is the band trying out a tad musical departure from their previous albums - but its not like Mike Score was rapping. The band was in a difficult position seeing their dreams in fact not coming true, and watching their counterparts - Duran Duran, Culture Club, Pet Shop Boys become international celebrities.

Mike Score still had it in him, proof positive is the following AFOSG album "The Light at the End of the World" - which is arguably better than AFOSG's first album and "Listen."

All in all, if you're new to AFOSG - don't start here. Although you shouldn't be afraid of this album...in fact the worst thing about this album isn't the music...its that god-awful album cover


If you want to check out more awesome New Wave, check out "Icicle Works" here Best of

If you're into something a little heavier, check out these Cyber-Punk Revolutionaries THE S1ND1CATE. (Especially their cover of Oingo Boingo's "DEAD MANS PARTY") - Check out RELOADED here - Reloaded

It's not just that Paul Reynolds quit the band. I am not sure AFOS could have survived Reynolds departure as he was the man with the chops. The problem was the Score brothers and Frank Maudsley were no longer a band. The Scores were living in the U.S. and Frank was back in Liverpool, and Mike Score got his way with the project. Mike said over and over again how he was going to shed the band's sci-fi image. The problem was not that he lost the hair-do and Ridley Scott-style videos, but he lost producers Mike Howlett and Conny Plank. I wished for a return to the dark and haunting synth-rock of "Listen," but Mike gave me DCT, a hokey stab R&B pop with salacious lyrics and studio work stitched together with too many session musicians and crummy backing vocalists. When you were as intrigued with "Wishing" and its accompanying video as I was, "Love on Your Knees" and "Say So Much" were like getting obscene phone calls from Dr. Dave Bowman. Talk about creepy! "A Whole Lot of Loving" sounds like big budget version of the Shaggs!

This fourth Flock of Seagulls album stiffed completely upon its release. For fans, the departure of guitarist Paul Reynolds is a major blow to the group. But that doesn't explain why Mike Score decided to switch gears so drastically lyrically--eschewing the sci-fi themes of the first three albums to standard top 40 love lyrics here. Still, the two singles, 'Heartbeat Like A Drum' and 'Who's That Girl? (She's Got it!)' are actually incredibly catchy in a guilty-pleasure kind of way. Both tracks feature melodic and quintessential '80s slickly-produced electronic dance pop that is throughly addictive. Beyond those two highlights, there is mainly 'Hot Tonight,' the one track that actually conjures up some artiness, drama and atmosphere. The opener, 'Better & Better' is OK. So that means the first half of this album is pretty decent, but once you land at 'Cry Like a Baby,' you may as well switch to something else, because the rest of the album is really weak.
As far as the CD issue goes, it took almost 20 years for it to see a CD release. BMG unloaded the task onto some minor label who did a lacklustre job on it. You know something is a low-priority when the front insert is a single sheet of paper (not even a gatefold). And, there are no bonus tracks, which is a shame, since both singles exist in extended 12" single form and there is a fascinating non-LP B-side, "Cosmos." Looking back, this is a weird and depressing time for the group, but a few good tracks came out of it.