Somewhere in the Sun... Best of the Dream Academy [IMPORT]

Dream Academy

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 9, 2000)
• Original Release Date: March 28, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Wea International
• ASIN: B00004NK3S
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #396,263 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Japanese-only retrospective with all of the greatest by the arty English pop trio. 18 tracks, including remixes of their smash 'Life In A Northern Town' & 'Love', plus the chart hit 'The Love Parade', an acoustic version of 'The Party' and both songs they contributed to the blockbuster 1986 comedy 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', 'The Edge Of Forever' & The Smiths' 'Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want' (although this is a vocal version). Over 76 minutes of music in all. 1999 release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars In Places On The Run, March 21, 2000

By	Nigel Blunkell (London) - See all my reviews

My first impression is of slight disapointment. The packaging of the disc is good but could be better - lyrics appear to be accurate and clear, photos are also good, but a band history etc could have been added.

It appears that the tracks have not been selected by the band but by a Japanese WB employee of some kind, and the track order is just not right. How could you include Johnny (new light) and In Places On The Run, and not have them running into each other as they appeared on the first album?

I was glad to find Please Please Please... but somehow prefer the instrumental version, sadly not included.

The biggest sins are omission of Gaby Says and Moving On, the latter being one of the best tracks on any album.

But here is where the root of the problem lies. The first album was so full of excellent tracks that not to include virtually all of them would be an error - but this is simply not possible and the 'Best of' must contain representative tracks from each album.

If I had been tasked with this compilation I would certainly have given it more thought and time but if this is your first glimpse of DA then enjoy the tracks but ensure you get the first album which is much close to perfection.

Nigel Blunkell

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're a die-hard Dream Academy fan..., February 19, 2004

By	Timothy Karlberg (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not here to review this CD. I just wanted to let any serious fans of the Dream Academy know about two other projects that might be of interest, if only for the sake of trivia.

The first is "The Invisible Circus" film soundtrack--still available used here at Amazon. This was released around 2000, and the instrumental score (about 7-10 tracks) was composed by Nick Laird-Clowes. A few other Laird-Clowes originals are included under the guise of his recent band, Trashmonk. While the instrumental score tracks are fondly reminescent of the Dream Academy's folkish melodies, the Trashmonk songs are decidedly less relaxed (and didn't appeal much to me personally).

The other CD I wanted to note here is by a producer/DJ who goes by the name of Dario G. His CD, "Sunmachine," which is also available here at Amazon, is best described as pre-millennium electric anthems. It sounds a little like the music from Chicane's "Behind the Sun," only less trance-inflected. At any rate, the first track on "Sunmachine," is Sunchyme. This is only relevant on account of the song's base melody which derives heavily from Dream Academy's Life in a Northern Town, right down to the genuine inclusion of the chorus "Hey-oh-ma-ma-ma's." The original DA song isn't sampled quite enough for this to be a remix, but at the same time, Sunchyme contains so many elements of Life in a Northern Town, that it can't really be considered an altogether separate song. Anyone who might have heard this featured on a TV commercial for contact lenses a few years ago can now exhale. I, for one, am sleeping better now that I've found its source. The rest of Dario G's CD isn't bad either...given its age.

I hope this encourages someone out there.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A compilation is great, but missing some rare gems, May 9, 2001

By	"fontvrault" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

If you're mildly interested in The Dream Academy, view this CD as a "greatest hits" -- and not a reworking of the Dream Academy's music. If you like their music, start off with their debut self-titled album that is out of print in the US but can still be found in Europe and Asia.

I was disappointed in the song selection (as well as the order of tracks) because there are some B-side rarities, originally on the single 45s released in the mid- to late-80s, that are missing on this compilation. The best of these rare tracks, missing from the CD, is "Immaculate Heartache," (never released on any album) that I would have loved to have seen finally mastered onto CD.

These other rare gems include "Test Tape #3," "Heaven," and "Girl in a Million (for Edie Sedgwick)".

On a positive note, the extended version of "Life in a Northern Town" is an amazing mix that in my opinion, surpasses the radio (shorter) version of the original.