Track Listing

1. Wild Horses
2. I Dreamed A Dream
3. Cry Me A River
4. How Great Thou Art
5. You'll See
6. Daydream Believer
7. Up To The Mountain
8. Amazing Grace
9. Who I Was Born To Be
10. Proud
11. The End of The World
12. Silent Night

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #159 in Music
• Released on: 2009-11-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Review
The phenomenon of Susan Boyle, the singer from West Lothian, rolls on with the release of this album on the Sony label, the home of Dylan and Streisand. I Dreamed a Dream stacked up extraordinary advance sales (and has broken 2009 records since its release), rejuvenated the box office of Les Misérables and looks set to dominate the singles and album charts over Christmas time, highlighted by her inclusion of the carol, Silent Night.

Boyles’s singing is of the moment, which began with her appearances on Britain’s Got Talent. She employs a very contemporary technique and can adapt her voice to the style of song, from a mid-Atlantic nuance in Wild Horses to a laidback performance of Cry Me a River, the antithesis of the recent blockbuster version from Michael Bublé. Her idiomatic take on this number suggests that she should have included more bluesy songs of this type, as it works to her advantage – she displays an innate affinity for a torch song, possessing a catch in her voice on certain phrases that is very affecting. The arrangement also enhances the sultry nightclub atmosphere to perfection.

In I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Misérables, her quieter singing, notable for its freshness and clarity of diction, evokes the spirit of a young woman without recourse to dramatics. Another winner is her gentle take on the Skeeter Davis song The End of the World, where the guitar accompaniment pays homage to the producer of the that single, Chet Atkins.

Many of the other songs placed in the middle of this album are from the evangelical belt or redolent of it, like Madonna’s You’ll See, which rely once too often on diffuse choral backings where, in truth, this singer is more than capable of holding her own in this genre. In the unaccompanied concluding line of Amazing Grace, the sincerity of her personality shines through without embellishment.

With this album Boyle has achieved a transformation from a performer on a talent show to a first-class recording artist not unworthy of her prestigious label. --Adrian Edwards

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CD Description
I Dreamed a Dream is the highly anticipated album from a global phenomenon whose dream has become reality. She captured the hearts of millions and became a worldwide YouTube phenomenon with over 300 million hits. Susan surprised the world with her powerful, heart stopping voice when she walked onto the Britain's Got Talent stage. I Dreamed a Dream, the album, crafted by world acclaimed producer Steve Mac, demonstrates Susan Boyle's extensive musical ability. Featuring her signature songs, "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Cry me a River" the album also includes a haunting rendition of Rolling Stones "Wild Horses", Madonna's "You'll See", The Monkees "Daydream Believer" and "Who I Was Born To Be" an original recording written specially for Susan.

Customer Reviews

Wow! This is a seriously good album.
This is a seriously good album from a lady with loads of vocal talent - this is going to be a global smash hit. Susan's performances are just sublime and the arrangements are perfect. 'Wild Horses' is simply wonderful, but there is much more. Susan has a great range, but her smoky, bluesy lower register comes to the fore here ('Cry Me River' is superb). 'How Great Thou Art' has a purity that Enya would be proud of. The joy goes on - there is not a duff track on this album. I predict it will go straight to No. 1 in the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. A MUST buy (and I really mean that!)

Stop Press (14 Dec): Susan achieved the No. 1 slot in Britain and the USA with record sales of her album.

I was gobsmacked
I was very apprehensive about her album as i thought they have her sing pap and we'd never hear from the dear lady again! However it's a little twee in places but I think the album's worth buying just for her version of "Cry Me a River' whoever selected that song was a genius! each time i hear it I go nah it's not her. However "Up to the Mountain" will have grown men crying as it's just so moving. Not all of the songs are for me but it's far better than Leona Lewis's debut album which I found hard to listen to despite her having a great song. "Amazing Grace" is done quite well as you can hear her scottish twang coming thru in the song perfect! I'd love to have heard a couple of slightly uptempo tracks as I think she'd love to do a big band number. " Who was I born to be" grows on me and I'm glad they let you hear her voice and not drown it out with the instrumentation. "Proud" I thought it was Eva Cassidy singing it or one of those US country singers. She's not the worlds best singers but she sings very well within her range but this might sound a bit far fetched but there's something quite spiritual about her voice that sort of makes your stomach get butterflies. I know this will sell by the truckload and I wish the lady the very best for the future. It's a tremendous debut album better than some of the tosh Cowell and co have rushed out. Like I said the album will make a grown man cry!!

As for those who gave it 1star it just shows how small-minded and poisonous you really are oh please keep those snakes ( the UK press) well away from her.

Voice 5+, arrangements 1
Susan Boyle's immense talent comes through and will ensure that enough copies of this album are sold for her to make a second one. Just pray that she gets a new arranger in the meantime, because several of the arrangements do not do justice to her voice, range or personality. Her signature songs (I Dreamed a Dream and Cry Me a River) are fabulous. Her haunting version of Wild Horses is a delightful surprise. The cover of Madonna's You'll See is intriguing but would be stronger if more contrast had been built into the arrangement. This album makes it clear the directions she should explore: gospel and spirituals (I'd love to hear her do something upbeat like "Shut Da Door" or "Lost in the Night"), jazz and pure lyrical ballads without all the pop saccharine. This album is definitely worth buying for Susan Boyle's voice, but I can't wait to hear what she can do with a different arranger who lets more of her personality shine through.