"Here's a miracle: the best damn song cycle about love since Blood On The Tracks, without a trace of sentimentality; soul-baring without being confessional or embarassing. But then, Greg Brown fans must be getting used to miracles. Greg's songs about old love, the ups and downs of marriages, and the vagaries of romance are shot full of self-deprecating humour, insights and beautiful images (I can't get that old couple 'burning their love letters so their children won't be shocked' in Spring Wind out of my head). This is the least precious, most life-affirming 'folk' record you'll ever hear."
Gotta love Greg
brad lonard | 06/29/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Dream Cafe has to be one of Greg's best works. With tunes like Spring Wind, Dream Cafe, and I Don't Know That Guy how could it not? I have to say this, you haven't really heard Greg until you hear him live. Especially live with Bo. The two mesh so well it is almost scary. The tunes are different every time you hear them with a little improv by both artists mixed in throughout. I highly recommend this album."
Greg lets his finest come to your ears....
Peter Jackson | Spring Lake, MI USA | 01/04/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you are familiar with Greg Brown, you probably are familiar with this release. If you don't have it, get it and treat yourself to an experience that take you on a journey of loves lost and loves to come. For those who are curious about Greg's work, this is an excellent place to start. There is not a bad cut here, and in particular, "Dream Cafe", "Spring Wind" and "Laughing River" are a trio of songs that somehow work some sort of magic into allowing me to see into life a bit deeper for a period of time. Two other releases that go along well with this are "Further In" and "The Poet Game.""
Simply Greg Brown's Best
James D. DeWitt | Fairbanks, AK United States | 02/13/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Many of us think this is Greg Brown's best album. Reasonable minds can differ, of course, but they have to get around the extraordinary imagery of the title cut, the plaintive story sketched in "Laughing River" and the deceptively simple melody line of "Spring Wind."
Yesterday I had a vision, under the tree where we first talked
Of an old couple burning their love letters
So their children won't be shocked.
Songs of love and disappointment, hope and loss, as well as the messy business of life. Never self-pitying, brutally honest, with melodies that can sear the lyrics into your mind.
I came down with a sickness; I thought you were the cure
But passion seems to promise more
Than friendship can endure.
Greg Brown doesn't have any bad albums. But some are a little better than the rest. And this is simply the cream of the crop. My very highest recommendation."
Great voice, great music,, great imagery...
Charlene Shotwell | Buffalo, NY | 08/08/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Ah, I love this guy! Brown's voice can go from back-of-the-bar room gravely to plaintative soprano... The music goes from folky to country to bluesy and is always great. The imagery in his songs are fantastic too -- some creepy rural themes, like the soundtrack to an Andrew Wyeth painting (ie. "Sleeper".) The song "Dream Cafe" makes me feel like I'm in an open air restaurant in Arizona... Which is odd because I've never been to Arizona... Case in point, this guy can do imagery..."