Dreamsville

Stacey Kent | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 16, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Candid Productions
• ASIN: B00004ZAYM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,558 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Strictly in terms of recognizable standards, Stacey Kent's 2001 album, Dreamsville, might be hard-pressed to measure up to her 2000 NPR smash Let Yourself Go, a snappy, swinging tribute to the great dancer-singer-actor Fred Astaire, but it's still a sterling example of the girlish charm of London's top jazz vocalist. This collection of ballads ranges from the Gershwins ("I've Got a Crush on You," the underrated "Isn't It a Pity") to Henry Mancini (the dreamy title tune) all the way to Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman ("Hushabye Mountain" from the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). That it works seamlessly is a tribute to the singer's relaxed way with a lyric, excellent support and solos from a band featuring reedman Jim Tomlinson (Kent's husband), guitarist Colin Oxley, and pianist David Newton, and solid arrangements by Kent and Tomlinson. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

...Dreamsville is a superb addition to an already highly distinguished series of albums by one of the finest intepreters of a song since Ella Fitzgerald.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as it gets, June 5, 2001

By 

Bob Shubert (Bonita Springs, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreamsville (Audio CD)

Every time Stacey Kent brings out a new album, it is, quite unbelievably, better than her last. Her string may end with this one because it just can't get any better. This album is made up of songs that friends and fans have requested and is filled with great ballads that Stacey makes all her own. The proof is the last cut, Thanks For The Memory, that she does with just the elegant piano backing of David Newton. It will probably be the first time you hear the song and don't immediately think of Bob Hope. Two other numbers demonstrate the range of possibilities in the ballad form. When You're Lover Is Gone has a drive and swing that showcases the whole group's ability while You Are There is a quiet and introspective reading that commands attention. Backing Stacey is her usual assembly. Jim Tomlinson's spare saxophone complements her phrasing most graciously. Her regulars, Colin Oxley on guitar, David Newton on Piano and Simon Thorpe on bass are joined by Jasper Kviberg on drums, are a joy to hear and the entire group makes it seem effortless. With nary a weak track on the disc, it would be hard to see how this album can be topped. But then, that's what I felt about her last one, Let Yourself Go. My only complaint is that this album has been out in England since last October and it's taken this long to cross the pond.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dreamy, March 6, 2006

By 

Allan Suchinsky (Kensington, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dreamsville (Audio CD)

The first time I heard Stacey Kent sing (Bali Hai on "In Love Again"), I said "where have I been?"

Very few singers are a consistently perfect match for their material and sing strictly within themselves. Kent's material, on disc after disc, is a perfect match for her little girl, soft-cell vocalizing. She never stretches to reach ends that are beyond her, as so many other singers often attempt to do. Plus, her back-up group, as is this set, supports and complements her, and never attempts to overshadow her with "I'm here too" type playing. In this regard, listening to Stacey Kent on this album reminds me of Karrin Allyson, another fine vocalist, whose work on "Ballads, Remembering John Coltrane" was totally overwhelmed by tenorman Bob Berg's obvious attempts to remind listeners that he was there too.

On "Dreamsville," listen to When Your Lover Has Gone, and you will know what Stacey Kent is all about. Also, her version of Polka Dots and Moonbeams is so well done, it will be easy to set aside the notion that this is a "guy" song and that only someone such as Sinatra can get away with singing this Jimmy Van Heuson gem.

For what she does, and how she does it, Stacey Kent is perfection.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As near to perfection as you can get on record, June 1, 2001

By 

Bob Sinclair (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreamsville (Audio CD)

I read a review of this album that said "Kent is a fragrant jazz chanteuse who routinely reduces hardened jazz-lovers (particularly the males) to weeping heaps of blubber...That voice is a model of the jazz singer's art, with its perfect intonation, cool poise and spine-tingling beauty. She makes these lovesome nuggets seem as timeless and malleable as the plays of Shakespeare. Who could guess that the world's most poignant vocal jazz album would be produced this late in the day" and I couldn't agree more. Monheit and Krall may have the limelight now, but try listening to Stacey and the others side by side - Stacey wins hands down everytime. She is destined to be huge.