Customer Reviews

True Stories & Other Dreams

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD is a wonderful introduction to anyone unfamiliar with the amazing range of Judy Collins talents as a singer, songwriter, and arranger of her own work. Early in her career she sang songs written almost exclusively by others, with occasional surprises like "My Father" or "Albatross". Yet here she shows just how accomplished a songwriter and lyricist she became over the span of her career. From the homespun gentleness of the opening "Cook With Honey" to the wistful "So Begins The Task" (written by Stephen Stills) to the maudlin and searching lyrics of "The Dealer (Down and Losing)", this song cycle stands as a timely reminder of why Judy has a place reserved in the pantheon of folk greats. Much more is here, from the highly autobiographical trio of "Secret Gardens", "Holly Ann" (about her younger sister), and "Song For Martin (a friend who committed suicide). In each of these Judy plumbs the depths of contemporary folk music, taking her leave with the remarkable, provocative, and evocative tale of "Che", a consideration of the fabled Cuban revolutionary's final years in Bolivia. This is a terrific album that is often overlooked because of it has no top forty hits on it (although "Cook With Honey" did get some air play). Remedy that mistake by listening to this a few times. I'm sure it will quickly find its way to your favorites. Enjoy!

I always thought of this as Judy Collins's saddest album, now I don't know why, unless it's the cover photo! This is indeed an album of its times. "Cook With Honey" is certainly catchy, fitting right in with other 'nature-pop' songs of the era. I can remember years ago seeing her perform the "Fisherman" song on the Muppets!

For me, the landmark song on this album is "Secret Gardens". Even after all these years, the poetry of this song, the perfect melding of music and lyrics, still stuns me. It truly reads as well as it sounds! I've always been surprised at the minimal notice this recording received.

I learned, many years later when reading her memoirs, that at the time of the recording of this album Ms. Collins was suffering from a growth in her throat and had surgery shortly afterward. Apparently this was only one of many stressors in her life at the time. I think many of the songs on here reflect that.

Another jewel in the Collins anthology.

I bought the LP of TRUE STORES AND OTHER DREAMS years ago when it was first released but recently had been humming "Secret Gardens" and purchased the CD. The song, written by Ms. Collins, is as beautiful now as it was 30 years ago when she first sang it. I have never understood why it hasn't received more praise. It's theme is so universal: no one grows old in our memory and flowers bloom forever. The CD also has "Cook with Honey" by Valerie Carter, sometimes included on "Best Of" recordings, along with "So Begins the Task" by Stephen Stills. The creme de la creme, however, is the music written by Ms. Collins, herself. In addition to "Secret Gardens," three other songs are included: "Holly Ann," a moving song about Ms. Collins' younger sister, "living north of San Francisco;" "Song for Martin," Judy's lament for a friend who committed suicide--"I know I let you down"-- and finally "Che," an anthem-like song in praise of Che Guevara that will put chills on your spine: "You have it in your time/You have it in your hands/To own your lives/To own your lands."

Ms. Collins has the rare talent of taking ordinary words and making them into something magical and beautiful. Her very personal lyrics-- though never maudlin-- achieve the universal. But then, that's what good poetry does; isn't it?

Another fine Collins CD.

I've read some of the reviews on this album and the two songs most recognized and loved are Secret Gardens and Hollyann and I must concur. I have some of Judy's vinyls from yesteryear;), but I don't have this particular one. I bought the CD just for those two songs because they are so endearing and simply beautiful. The other songs are good, but don't hold that kind of wistful feeling I get when I hear Secret Gardens and Hollyann.

A good album, but I'm pining for the not yet made CD of Judy's So Early in the Spring the First Fifteen years where all the songs are just amazing and the ones most fans would enjoy are on this album. Now that would be a definite keeper.

TRUE STORIES AND OTHER DREAMS is my favorite of Judy Collins' albums. It shows how creative a songwriter (not that she wasn't before this!) she is when she takes some to think in reagards to songwriting (she spent an extended period of time alone in Long Island to write songs for this album.) Songs like "Fishermen Song," "Secret Gardens," and "Holly Ann" are truly majestic tapestries of words and music. "Che," with it's string and horn arrangements, couldn't have sounded more political than it did, as of course, it is geared to Che Guevara and is another highlight. I believe the best track on the album, however, is "Cook With Honey," a song she did not write but one (seemingly!) that subtly spoke of the hippie mentality of unity and harmony within a group of people yet is perfect as the lead-off track on the album, just as "Che" is a perfect closing! To me, if one were a first time venturer into the music of Judy Collins, TRUE STORIES is the place to start!

When this album was first released in the early 1970s, Judy Collins had already written some really amazing songs ("Since You Asked", "Albatross", "My Father" and "Nightingale" amongst them), but she was mostly known as being a great interpreter of others' material; but with "True Stories And Other Dreams", she placed herself right up there firmly with the other great folk-rocking singer-songwriter troubadours at the forefront of the musical scene.

This album contains some nice versions of songs by Valerie Carter (the superbly enjoyable "Cook With Honey"), Stephen Stills ("So Begins The Task") and Tom Paxton ("The Hostage", a really riveting number about a prison riot).

However, the big highlights on this album are Judy's own magnificent compositions: "Fisherman Song" is a great folk-rocky number with an ecological overtone; "Song For Martin" is about a friend's suicide and is, therefore, quite sorrowful; "Holly Ann" is a beauty of a number about her sister and, musically, sounds like the weaving she does; "Che" is an epic masterpiece about political unrest in South America; "Secret Gardens", as you may have already read in some of the other reviews of this album, is a supreme masterpiece and must be heard, as it reminds all of us how our ancestors stay young somehow and are always with us, even as we grow older - it never fails to move me and I long to hear it again as I type these words into the computer.

"True Stories And Other Dreams" is a true testament to the artistry and talent that is Judy Collins. Her voice is as beautiful as ever on this recording and her songwriting here puts her right there with all the songwriting greats of that era (or any era, for that matter!).

I remember going to a record library and listening to this, soon after it was released - my first encounter of an Judy Collins album. After buying most of her albums, this is, as it has always been, my favourite of her albums.

The songs have such beauty, she is singing wonderfully and the orchestration is just heavenly, divinity itself. Favourite tracks are "Secret Garden" and, in particular, "Holly Ann", which is, I think Judy's best song ever. However, the other tracks are all top class.

If you have only one Judy album, make it this one.

This Judy Collins album, to me, is by far the best she has released. Unlike certain albums she has released, such as HARD TIMES FOR LOVERS, that attempted to bolster sales yet fell short of artistic accomplishment, this album was fortunate enough to do well while retaining artistry.

Judy writes a majority of the songs here, the best being "Che," "Fishermen Song," and "Holly Ann." It is also interesting to note how EVERY song on the album is magnificent, despite the variety in each one's message. "Che" and "The Hostage" for example are overtly political, with the former exuding her own opinions and the latter (by Tom Paxton) being a flat out revelation of a certain prison riot, yet Collins opens the album with a gentle folk song pertaining to the counter-culture mentality called "Cook With Honey" (a Top 40 single in 1973) that ranks among the best songs in her catalogue. The real highlights here can't be put into words; one would have to listen to it to actually derive them. But believe me, listeners won't be let down!

This hard to find CD is my second favorite Judy Collins CD (album) of all time... right behind "Who Knows Where the Time Goes." This "sleeper" is chock full of "true stories" and they are worth the telling, as only Judy can do. Well done, moving, touching, poignant... well produced. I love this album to pieces!!

Marc Waszkiewicz
Bremerton, Washington

"True Stories and Other Dreams" was the first of Collins' albums to contain at least half of her own original songs. Collins' songwriting on this album ("The Fisherman's Song," "Secret Gardens," "Song For Martin," "Holly Ann," "Che") show her to be an inspired, sometimes brilliant composer. For the remaining songs, Collins selected prime material: Tom Paxton's "The Hostage," Valerie Carter's "Cook With Honey" and Steve Stills' "So Begins the Task." This is one of Judy Collins' major releases and it deserved to be much more commercially successful than it was at the time of its release in 1973. It shows Collins off as both a premier songwriter and interpreter of contemporary material.