Title Track is the Gem
09/25/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I came across Tim Buckley's music for the first time in a discount record shop in San Francisco several years ago - since then I have collected all his albums (even the out of print ones - here's to online music file sharing!). At his best (as in "Dream Letter: Live in London 1968") he will simply blow you away - his voice is so soaring, so magnificent, so utterly beautiful, and his style so brazen, so heartbreakingly courageous, that his performance overwhelms. There's simply no one else like him. His albums, both studio and concert, range tremendously in style (folk/jazz/avant-garde/funk/etc) - he was a tireless experimenter, who exhausted many of his contemporaries. This album, in contrast to his many of his incredibly energetic, masterful, and often deeply touching live and studio performances, is quiet and subdued, if pleasantly so. It's "mellow Buckley" - gentle on the ears and mood but somewhat lacking in the tremendous intensity which is a trademark of most of his work. The gem of the album is the title track, "The Dream Belongs to Me" - a song that makes you chuckle ("I had a love affair with a crosseyed flamingo...") but which features Tim's rich, unmistakable tenor giving you a taste of the passionate emotional depth that made him such a powerful performer. Aside from this song, if you're into unreleased stuff, you might prefer "Tim Buckley: Works in Progress" by Rhino Handmade. It's a similiar collection from the same period, but somehow richer and stronger, and it also has some previously unknown songs ("The Father Song" is one). I have found myself listening to this more than "Dream". But I'm delighted to have both - you really can't go wrong owning anything by Tim Buckley!"
Do not get this if your a buckley fan
a reader | Gloucester MA USA | 09/04/2007
(1 out of 5 stars)
"This must be a compilation put together for the yuppies.Tim definitely nowhere near how good he can sing.He sounds restrained and on best behaviour.'sefronia' begins to break away and about the best track- a good show case for how beautiful his voice is.The others-poor.This CD doesn't come near the similar ballards he sings on 'Live at the troubador' notably 'blue melody','chase the blues away', 'driftin' that are so damn moving.The rest of the album a better show case too."