Ruminations on Albums Three - Primo

Susan Boyle - I Dreamed A Dream



A glorious showcase for this lady’s remarkable voice with some predictable song choices and one truly inspired, unlikely winner. For Ms Boyle to have recorded I Dreamed A Dream (from Lés Miserables) was a foregone conclusion since that was the song from the British talent show that launched her into YouTube stardom and brought goose bumps to millions, yours truly included.

Other chestnuts, while perfectly worthy renditions are nevertheless fairly predictable (though no less beautiful for that) when a voice like Ms Boyle’s is on display. Amazing Grace? Check. Cry Me A River? Check. How Great Thou Art? Check. Silent Night? Check.

Ms Boyle’s voice seems custom-fit to soar in cathedrals and echo in spires and the apparent preponderance of religious-themed songs or, at least, songs that sound religion-inspired on her album is not very surprising. A hint that Ms Boyle may be more than a one-trick pony, however is provided by three song choices on the album.

One is Daydream Believer, originally recorded by The Monkees as a chirpy, peppy uptempo pop song. Ms Boyle slows it down and gives it gravitas and depth. Another is Madonna’s You’ll See, again suitably measured in pace yet dramatic.

But the song that really blew me away was the unlikeliest choice of all: Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones. Susan Boyle doing Mick Jagger? Holy guacamole! She pulls it off and how! Wild Horses is a stand out bluesy number from the Stones’ Sticky Fingers album and Ms Boyle treats it with great respect. The delicate piano accompaniment and her wonderful voice, restrained at first, then soaring gloriously through the chorus makes this an instant and complete classic, a beautiful reinterpretation of a great song that transforms it into something wonderful and fresh.

On my personal, arbitrary scale, I’ve rated seven songs of the twelve as five stars, two as four stars and half a star, two as four stars, and one as three stars and half a star.