Dream of Life is the fifth studio album by Patti Smith, released in June 1988 on Arista Records. It was her first album after the dissolution of The Patti Smith Group. Lead single “People Have the Power” received some album-oriented rock airplay at the time, and later was revived by Bruce Springsteen as a theme song for the 2004 Vote for Change concerts. Songs from this album were performed live for the first time in a show on December 29, 2006 in New York City’s Bowery Ballroom. “Paths That Cross” is dedicated to the memory of Samuel J. Wagstaff. The cover photograph is by Robert Mapplethorpe.
The album was ranked number 49 on Sounds magazine list of the best albums of the year.
The big difference between Patti Smith’s four 1970s albums and this return to action after nine years lies in the choice of collaborator. Where Smith’s main associate earlier had been Lenny Kaye, a deliberately simple guitarist, here her co-writer and co-producer (with Jimmy Iovine) was her husband, Fred “Sonic” Smith, formerly of the MC5, who played guitar with a conventional rock competence and who lent his talents to each of the tracks, giving them a mainstream flavor. In a sense, however, these polished love songs, lullabies, and political statements are not to be compared to the poetic ramblings of Smith’s first decade of music-making — she’s so much…calmer this time out.
But you can’t help it. Where the Patti Smith of Horses inspired a generation of female rockers, the Patti Smith of Dream of Life sounds like she’s been listening to later Pretenders albums and taking tips from Chrissie Hynde, one of her spiritual daughters. Dream of Life is the record of someone who is simply showing the flag, trying to keep her hand in, rather than announcing her comeback. Not surprisingly, having made it, Smith retreated from the public eye again until the ’90s. (by William Ruhlmann)
Personnel:
Jay Dee Daugherty (drums, keyboards)
Fred “Sonic” Smith – guitar)
Patti Smith (vocals)
Richard Sohl (keyboards)
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Errol “Crusher” Bennett (percussion on 07.)
Hearn Gadbois (percussion)
Bob Glaub (bass on 06.)
Jesse Levy (cello on 08.)
Robin Nash (background vocals on 06.)
Andi Ostrowe (background vocals)
Gary Rasmussen (bass)
Margaret Ross (harp on 08.)
Kasim Sulton (bass)
Malcolm West (bass on 08.)
Tracklist:
01. People Have The Power 5.10
02. Up There Down There 4.47
03. Paths That Cross 4.20
04. Dream Of Life 4.37
05. Where Duty Calls 7.45
06. Going Under 5.57
07. Looking For You (I Was) 4.04
08. The Jackson Song 5.23
09. As the Night Goes By (bonus track) – 5:04
All songs were written by Patti Smith and Fred “Sonic” Smith
Sarafina! is a South African musical by Mbongeni Ngema depicting students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to apartheid. It was also adapted into a 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo. Sarafina! premiered on Broadway on 28 January 1988, at the Cort Theatre, and closed on 2 July 1989, after 597 performances and 11 previews. The musical was conceived and directed by Mbongeni Ngema, who also wrote the book, music, and lyrics. The play was first presented at The Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa, in June 1987. The cast included Leleti Khumalo as Sarafina. Sarafina! is a South African musical by Mbongeni Ngema depicting students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to apartheid. It was also adapted into a 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg and Leleti Khumalo. Sarafina! premiered on Broadway on 28 January 1988, at the Cort Theatre, and closed on 2 July 1989, after 597 performances and 11 previews. The musical was conceived and directed by Mbongeni Ngema, who also wrote the book, music, and lyrics. The play was first presented at The Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa, in June 1987. The cast included Leleti Khumalo as Sarafina.
Roll with It is the fifth solo studio album by English blue-eyed soul artist Steve Winwood, released on 21 June 1988. It topped the album charts in the United States, and has sold over three million copies. The title cut topped the pop and rock singles charts. The success led the subsequent songs to serve as singles, “Don’t You Know What the Night Can Do?” and “Holding On”.
High on Emotion: Live from Dublin is the first live album by Chris de Burgh, released by A&M Records in 1990. The album was recorded at the RDS, Dublin in December 1988.
There never was a supergroup more super than the Traveling Wilburys. They had Jeff Lynne, the leader of ELO; they had Roy Orbison, the best pop singer of the ’60s; they had Tom Petty, the best roots rocker this side of Bruce Springsteen; they had a Beatle and Bob Dylan, for crying out loud! It’s impossible to picture a supergroup with a stronger pedigree than that (all that’s missing is a Rolling Stone), but in another sense it’s hard to call the Wilburys a true supergroup, since they arrived nearly two decades after the all-star craze of the ’70s peaked, and they never had the self-important air of nearly all the other supergroups. That, of course, was the key to their charm: they were a group of friends that fell together easily, almost effortlessly, to record a B-side for a single for George Harrison, then had such a good time they stuck around to record a full album, which became a hit upon its 1988 release. The Traveling Wilburys was big enough to convince the group to record a second album, cheerfully and incongruously titled Vol. 3, two years later despite the death of Orbison. Like most sequels, the second didn’t live up to expectations, and by the time it and its predecessor drifted out of print in the mid-’90s, with the rights reverting to Harrison, nobody much noticed. A few years later, though, it soon became apparent that the Wilburys records — mainly, the debut, widely beloved thanks to its two hits, “Handle With Care” and “End of the Line” — were out of print, and they soon became valuable items as the Harrison estate dragged its heels on a reissue. Finally, the two albums were bundled up as a two-CD set simply called The Traveling Wilburys and reissued with a DVD containing a documentary and all the videos in the summer of 2007 (there is also a deluxe edition containing a longer, lavish booklet).
An excellent Brazilian guitarist, Baden Powell has played with his share of American jazz greats (including Herbie Mann and the late Stan Getz). But there’s no jazz to be found on Seresta Brasiliera, which was recorded for the Brazilian Caju Music label in 1988 and released in the U.S. on Milestone/Fantasy in 1994.
Jim Rodford, a founding member of Argent and bassist for the Kinks and the Zombies, died last Saturday at the age of 76.
