Dream of Life [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Patti Smith

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 18, 1996)
• Original Release Date: June 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000002VQR
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #59,090 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Different Patti Smith, December 4, 2001

By	Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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Smith's celebrated ferocity is more subdued here, as she explores less aurally aggressive sounds than those found in other collections. Some may disdain the result as over-produced and under-engerized, but in truth--with the single exception of the truly dismal "Where Duty Calls"--virtually every track bespeaks the artist as both poet and musician, and bespeaks her well indeed. Most of the tracks are considerably more lyrical than than one expects, and Smith clearly demonstrates that her more usual run of raw vocals are merely one aspect of a voice that here can also range into a precise and delicate tonal placement. An admirable collection of music, with "People Have The Power," "Paths That Cross," and "Up There/Down There," and "The Jackson Song" highlights of the work.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tightly Structured, Vibrant Melodies and a Great Voice, September 14, 2000

By	dev1 (Baltimore) - See all my reviews

So what's new with Patti Smith's Dream Of Life? With the replacement of guitarist Lenny Kaye by Fred Sonic Smith, The Patti Smith Group is basically intact. Patti's compositions are more tightly structured, vibrant melodies are at the core of each song, and Patti's voice has never (1988) sounded more "musical." As a straight up rocker, she puts the majority of girls and guys to shame. Anyone doubting that fifty percent of the intensity of Patti's songs comes from drummer Jay Dee Daugherty needs to simply give `People Have The Power' or `Locking For You' a spin. This guy is riveting. I've been playing `Looking For You' so loud with headphones that I've made an appoint with my audiologist to see if he can repair the damage.

Patti and the band are aggressive with steamroller rockers, but she can also be a sentimental heartbreaker. `Paths That Cross' is a passionate and inspirational ballad of nostalgic love and longing. The piano, cello and harp lullaby `The Jackson Song' is a guaranteed tearjerker. My favorite is neither the heavy duty rockers nor the sentimental stuff, but `Going Under.' The song is a complex dynamic and dreamlike six minute epic. It features a solo vocal "poetry" break at the end, but no reframe - Patti's craftsmanship at its finest.

The flaw on Dream of Life is the eight minute `Where Duty Calls.' Patti attempts to make a "big statement' concerning the Muslim religion, but the song rambles aimlessly for too long. Considering that Dream Of Life weighs in at a skimpy forty-one minutes, the eight minute "sleepy" period is a considerable portion of the album. Still, Dream of Life shows Patti hasn't lost her vigor. Too bad I'm now deaf in one ear.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The only one not to stand up to the test of time., July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This disc, unlike the four recordings that came prior, is the most consistent of Patti Smith's first five recordings. Unfortunately, it is the one recording, of the five, that fails to grab you and rock you to the core as only Patti Smith can. It is a competent recording, the songs are strong, but, again, unfortunately, it is the production that ultimately sells it short. The muscle is missing, which is surprising because Fred Sonic Smith always had muscle to spare, but here his playing is rendered too commonplace by the now-dated production. Lenny Kaye is missed sorely. Together Sonic and Kaye would have made an impressive tandem. After this recording Patti opted to disappear for a length of time only to return, following some devestating losses of loved ones, including her husband Fred, to produce her finest works, "Gone Again" and "Peace and Noise." She is one of the greatest and most unique of women's voices in rock and roll. After all these years she's still got it. Long may she rock...Simon