Customer Reviews

Little Dreamer

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

British chanteuses mired in the past and singing the blues are more regular than buses these days, but Beth Rowley isn't just soulful, she's spiritual.
Steaming out of Bristol tousle-haired Beth has the voice to rival Adele and Duffy and the mature delivery to put them in the shade.
After a series of independent releases and the patronage of saxophonist Ben (son of Roy) Castle, her debut album is very assured.
The daughter of missionaries, she sings with gospel fervour, her big voice seeking redemption and effortlessly outshining the eager choir behind her on "Nobody's Fault But Mine", which showcases a Sixties-style soul vocal, admirable control and beautiful clarity.
Of the 11 tracks, six are rearrangements (by Rowley herself) of traditional melodies, and/or cover versions. The remaining five tracks showcase Rowley's own promising songwriting talents, which she does justice to with her easy, silky voice.
Furthermore, her reworked versions of traditional folk songs actually bring something fresh and original to the tracks.
When she tries to update her sound, however, the west country girl confuses contemporary pop with bloodless Middle-Of-the-Road.
Both "So Sublime" and "Sweet Hour" reduce her to just a pleasant, Karen Carpenterish diversion, and her bunny-boiler routine during "You Never Called Me" comes with all the menace of a kitten.
The real trouble lies, as it so often does, with the production. Too often this album plays it safe, lacking real punch. A track like "So Sublime" is so lightweight, floating close to the danger area marked 'Eva Cassidy', that it virtually floats off the CD.
Yet, the bulk of the material - a poppy blues jazz amalgam - is actually fine, being mostly co-written by Ben Castle; placing her in a more mainstream Jamie Cullum mould. And she handles covers extremely well.
Her take on "Nobody's Fault But Mine" is affecting, though perhaps her reggae version of Dylan's "I Shall Be Released is a little too happy for the song's sentiments.
Another borrowed song is Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground", a duet with Duke Special, beautifully set with Hammond organ, lap steel, dobro and saxes.
"Beautiful Tomorrow" closes the album on a such a powerful rush of gospel-like harmonising that it's hard not to leap from your seat clapping and bellowing.
This is a sparse country and smoky jazz affair and the stylish understatement in Beth's pure, appealingly lazy voice is perhaps the quality which most endears her on this debut.
Highlights: "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "I Shall Be Released".

19
Rockferry

Beth Rowley's voice isn't as distinctive as the voices of her nearest British pop `rivals', Amy Winehouse and Duffy, that's not necessarily a bad thing but it does mean that some of her songs, such as "So sublime", can seem a bit bland.

What singles her out from her contemporaries is that as well as singing pop and 'reconstituted 60s soul' she also sings `da blues'. However, she's no Susan Tedeschi and I find that her take on Blind Willie Johnson's "Nobody's fault but mine" is a bit dull. Similarly, her producer has taken British blues singer Jim Crawford's "When the rains came" - which Jim recorded with just his guitar and voice - added a full band with Hammond organ, slide guitar and gospel backing singers to turn a masterpiece of understatement into overblown mediocrity. She's not exactly ruined a great song (that would be perfect for a cover by Joe Cocker) but she's missed all the subtleties of the song and its original performance. I also find the modern blues "One cloud" to be pretty average.

I think that when she leaves the blues behind she's a lot better, "Sweet hours" and "Oh my life" both work perfectly as modern pop/soul, as do the gospel-influenced "Almost persuaded" and the reggae version of Dylan's "I shall be released". The real revelation for me was her duet with Duke Special on Willie Nelson's "Angel flying too close to the ground" where her voice is thoughtful and vulnerable, and which for me was one of her best vocal performances.

It's commendable that Beth and her producers have tried to include different types of music into the mix of her debut CD but I feel that for much of the blues-based material her voice can't really carry the songs and their arrangements.

Though born in Peru, Beth Rowley is of British stock and has lived in Britain since her parents returned home when she was two. Beth grew up listening to many different styles of music thanks to her parents' eclectic musical tastes and this is reflected in her music. As a singer-songwriter, Beth has co-written five of the songs here, often with the help of Ben Castle. Ben (son of Roy Castle) is a jazz saxophonist who has worked with Jamie Cullum. The other six songs are covers but Beth has chosen them well. I'd be very surprised if you've heard more than about four of them by other artists at the very most.

The set opens with a traditional song (Nobody's fault but mine). Beth's bluesy voice is perfectly matched to this bluesy song that sets a high standard for the rest of the album, which maintains that high standard throughout.

The next two tracks (Sweet hours, So sublime) are among the original songs, with the latter being the second single from the album, released just a week before the album itself. The release of the first single (Oh my life, which is track 7 here) preceded the album by a full three months but failed to chart.

The fourth track (I shall be released) might be the most familiar song that Beth covered for this album, it being one of Bob Dylan's classic songs. Beth opted to give it an upbeat reggae treatment that may be slightly at odds with the lyrics but nevertheless works well.

The next three tracks feature two more brilliant original songs (Only one cloud, Oh my life) sandwiching a cover of When the rains came, written and originally recorded by British blues singer Jim Crawford. I confess that I've never heard of him before but if all his songs are this good, one wonders why he isn't better known.

The next two tracks, both covers, are what attracted my attention when I first saw the album and looked at the track listing in my local store. I am familiar with a Willie Nelson song titled Angel flying too close to the ground. I really didn't believe that somebody could come up with a different song with that title. Seeing another familiar country song title (Almost persuaded) as the following title reinforced this belief. I did some research and confirmed that these songs were indeed covers of the songs that I was familiar with and after listening to some of the other songs (but not these two) on MySpace, I knew that I had to buy this album.

Beth chose to bring in guest vocalist Duke Special on Angel flying too close to the ground. It's a long way removed from Willie Nelson's original version, but if the great man hears it, I think he would approve. Almost persuaded (originally recorded by David Houston, who has long since faded into obscurity) has generated a variety of covers including very distinctive versions by Etta James and Hank Williams Junior. Both of those covers are very different from the original and from each other. Tammy Wynette is among those singers who recorded faithful covers of the song. Beth has stamped her own identity on the song so her version is different again from the others I've heard.

Next comes the last of the five excellent original songs here, You never even called me tonight. The final track (Beautiful tomorrow), like the opening track, is a traditional song, but this one is a gospel song that Beth may have learned from Mahalia Jackson's version.

Musically, this is hard to classify but it has elements of pop, jazz, blues and soul in it. Despite including two covers of country songs, I don't detect any country influences in the actual music. Not that I mind, because this is a truly brilliant debut album by a singer who will hopefully be around for a long time.

I was captivated by Beth Rowley's haunting "Nobody's Fault But My Own" on my way home from work (she was featured on NPR), and knew that I had to have more of her smokey, gospel blues-tinged debut Little Dreamer. Roughly half of the album has that hand-waving church vibe that makes you want to sway in place with your eyes closed, caught up in the power of the music. "Only One Cloud" is a moody song that sounds like a field spiritual. Jim Crawford's "When the Rains Came" is fronted by a haunting Dobro with a driving bass that sounds like a Native American dance. "Almost Persuaded" tells the tale of "temptation flowing like wine." The chorus of "You Never Called Me Tonight" has production values that sound like it could have come out of some lost Motown vault, with a sassy, almost funeral-like pounding piano knelling the death of the doomed relationship.

But Little Dreamer is multifaceted, and includes covers of Bob Dylan (I Shall Be Released) and Willie Nelson (Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground), along with some upbeat pop. The sweet, slow piano intro to "Sweet Hours" almost sounds like a lost Norah Jones gem as bass and snare step in to pick up the beat, while "So Sublime" flirts with hints of 1960s folk and pop. I wasn't as crazy about "Angel"; Beth's voice wasn't as complementary to the song as on the stronger gospel-influenced tracks.

Overall, this is a very promising debut of another undeniably talented British singer-songwriter in the vein of Corinne Bailey Rae, Back to Black and 19 who truly inhabits the smoky, gospel-tinged blues tunes and makes them her own.

Beth Rowley's "Little Dreamer" is a varied set, distinct because of her lovely vocals. The traditional opener "Nobody's Fault But Mine" is a bluesy dirge that works well. Bob Dylan's classic "I Shall Be Released" is given a reggae beat with Rowley's vocals seeming wistful. "Only One Cloud" hangs on a simple refrain, "The weather man said it could change, but it looks like the dark cloud is here to stay." "Oh My Life" is an original melody with Ben Castle's sax teasing throughout. The set concludes with gospel traditional tune "Beautiful Tomorrow." Rowley's first set is varied and works well. She's certainly got an excellent set of pipes, which makes this a pleasure. Enjoy!

I recently rented the movie "An Education" and ordered the CD. As I was listening to the samples, Beth Rowley really stood out. I am usually pretty savvy on singers but had never heard of her. She is wonderful. This is an excellent CD.

I bought this album upon the recommendation of a former student, and boy, it did NOT disappoint. I think this girl can take Norah Jones out for a spin at the park and come out ahead.

I've really enjoyed this album over the 5 or 6 weeks that I have owned it. This is not a pop or R&B album. What it is, is a beautifully written and performed vocally driven blues/jazz/folk/pop with some definite gospal tones album. I highly recommend it.

One of the best voices of jazz-pop nowadays. I specially recommend "Oh My Life", "Almost Persuaded" and the beautiful "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground".

Such beautiful music this lady makes. I heartily recommend it to anyone who likes music to move them in ways unimaginable. New music does that to me. It's a modern and retro look at this generation's look into that beautiful music from the 50s... Enjoy!