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Follow-up to 2001: Sarah Brightman's 'Dreamchaser'

5/23/2013

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When I posted ‘2001 – A Continuing Odyssey’ a while back I mentioned the idea of getting celebrities into space, to engender public interest in space exploration. Well, it seems someone intends to do exactly that. Sarah Brightman, the world’s best selling mezzo soprano and classical cross-over artist, plans to be the first person to perform in space come 2015. Though I've been a big fan of her work since 1998, I applaud this move on her part because of the inspiration it will give us down here on Earth. I say this as someone who wants to see the human race return to the next logical step in its continued evolution, not just a biased fanboy of Brightman.

I rarely review anything on Amazon.com (I did defend Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 film Troy) but after reading negative reactions from Sarah’s fans to ‘Dreamchaser’, I decided to post my own review. I have included it in this post:

Amazon review of Sarah Brightman’s ‘Dreamchaser’ (5 out of 5 stars)

Ignore the naysayers--this is wonderful music.

After reading so many negative and lukewarm reviews on here, I decided to contribute my own opinion. I've been a fan of Sarah's work since 1998, and own copies of all her material, even dating back to the Hot Gossip era. So I’m not a casual fan.

‘Dreamchaser’ comes across as a more intimate soundscape than I’ve ever heard from Sarah. That crystalline voice is still there. Other reviewers think that just because there’s no titanic duet with a fellow opera singer or technically challenging vocal phrases, that she’s lost her voice. Nonsense. What matters is how this music moves you. 
 
It is a beautiful work, and goes along well with Sarah’s theme of space travel. The arrangements are stripped down compared to previous albums and some tracks feature a trance-like quality, but Sarah’s performance is highlighted all the more because of that. Her vocal stylings on this album are more along her pop sensibilities. A good move, because her previous album, ‘Symphony’, gave us plenty of classical opera pieces. That was an excellent album, but she needed to follow it with something different. And she has.

In time, fans will accept this album. I have always appreciated Sarah’s diversity, from the pop craft of ‘Dive’, the world/house beat of ‘Harem’, to the priceless purity of ‘La Luna’. For those fans who want more of the same with each album release, then listen to a less creative artist. Music is a celebration of humanity and emotion, and I for one loved this aural journey with Sarah. It made me want to soar with her into the firmament.

As a closing note, when I watched the video for ‘Angel’, it brought tears to my eyes. To capture her dreams, and the collective dream of the human race, in that collage of space exploration footage/Brightman home videos, was brilliant. 

Never stop dreamchasing, Sarah. 

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