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Little Dreamer | 
 enlarge | Artist: Beth Rowley
Label: Universal
Category: Music
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £8.98
You Save: £8.01 (47%)
New (30) Used (2) from £8.64
Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 85
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Running Time: 40 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 602517547131
EAN: 0602517547131
ASIN: B0011V97G0
Release Date: May 19, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Nobody's Fault But Mine | | • | Sweet Hours | | • | So Sublime | | • | I Shall Be Released | | • | Only One Cloud | | • | When The Rains Came | | • | Oh My Life | | • | Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground | | • | Almost Persuaded | | • | You Never Called Me Tonight | | • | Beautiful Tomorrow |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Cute, curly-headed diva Beth Rowley won many hearts with her charming Violets EP. Born in Peru and raised in the English West Country, Rowley has been mentored by Carleen Anderson and now follows up on the success of that EP with Little Dreamer, an album that continues her sweetly old fashioned, Motown-esque blend of blues, gospel, soul and jazz--all peppered with a classic mainstream sheen. Produced by Steve Power (Blur) and Kevin Bacon & Jonathan Quarmby (Richard Hawley, Finlay Quaye), the album discloses a voice as jaw-droppingly flawless and hopelessly compelling as a Norah Jones or Amy Winehouse, but with atmospheric traces of Karen Carpenter, Aretha Franklin and Eva Cassidy too. Tracks like the stunning gospel blues of "Almost Persuaded" and soulful single "Oh My Life" are good examples of what to expect from this cozy, feelgood album. The reggae pulse of "I Shall Be Released" tends to undermine the power and beauty of the original, but slow, heartfelt blues numbers like "One Cloud" more than make up for these blips. Rowley plays it safe on Little Dreamer, but it's a stunning collection nonetheless. --Danny McKenna
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Superb debut May 21, 2008
Andy Edwards (Essex UK)
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
There is a danger that Beth Rowley could be lost among the plethora of female vocalists who have surfaced recently - that would be a pity. Throughout this varied set, Rowley's vocal ability is clear. She effortlessly handles blues, country and gospel and turns Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" into a reggae inspired shuffle. Not only that, she has written 5 of the tracks, each of which bears testament to the varied influences she must have had.
My favourites are the aforementioned Dylan track, "Almost Persuaded.." and "When the Rains Came", each of which build to a superb gospel climax, (but then I am a sucker for Soul) and "Only one Cloud", which sounds like an ancient Blues, but is actually part written by Rowley.
If you like Duffy, Adele, Winehouse, Norah Jones or Alice Russell, I would recommend this album - soulful vocals, restrained arrangements, you'll find it ends too soon and you'll play it again.
Brilliant music with many influences May 20, 2008
Peter Durward Harris (Leicester England)
17 out of 22 found this review helpful
Though born in Peru, Beth Rowley is of British stock and has lived in Britain since her parents returned home when she was two. Beth grew up listening to many different styles of music thanks to her parents' eclectic musical tastes and this is reflected in her music. As a singer-songwriter, Beth has co-written five of the songs here, often with the help of Ben Castle. Ben (son of Roy Castle) is a jazz saxophonist who has worked with Jamie Cullum. The other six songs are covers but Beth has chosen them well. I'd be very surprised if you've heard more than about four of them by other artists at the very most.
The set opens with a traditional song (Nobody's fault but mine). Beth's bluesy voice is perfectly matched to this bluesy song that sets a high standard for the rest of the album, which maintains that high standard throughout.
The next two tracks (Sweet hours, So sublime) are among the original songs, with the latter being the second single from the album, released just a week before the album itself. The release of the first single (Oh my life, which is track 7 here) preceded the album by a full three months but failed to chart.
The fourth track (I shall be released) might be the most familiar song that Beth covered for this album, it being one of Bob Dylan's classic songs. Beth opted to give it an upbeat reggae treatment that may be slightly at odds with the lyrics but nevertheless works well.
The next three tracks feature two more brilliant original songs (Only one cloud, Oh my life) sandwiching a cover of When the rains came, written and originally recorded by British blues singer Jim Crawford. I confess that I've never heard of him before but if all his songs are this good, one wonders why he isn't better known.
The next two tracks, both covers, are what attracted my attention when I first saw the album and looked at the track listing in my local store. I am familiar with a Willie Nelson song titled Angel flying too close to the ground. I really didn't believe that somebody could come up with a different song with that title. Seeing another familiar country song title (Almost persuaded) as the following title reinforced this belief. I did some research and confirmed that these songs were indeed covers of the songs that I was familiar with and after listening to some of the other songs (but not these two) on MySpace, I knew that I had to buy this album.
Beth chose to bring in guest vocalist Duke Special on Angel flying too close to the ground. It's a long way removed from Willie Nelson's original version, but if the great man hears it, I think he would approve. Almost persuaded (originally recorded by David Houston, who has long since faded into obscurity) has generated a variety of covers including very distinctive versions by Etta James and Hank Williams Junior. Both of those covers are very different from the original and from each other. Tammy Wynette is among those singers who recorded faithful covers of the song. Beth has stamped her own identity on the song so her version is different again from the others I've heard.
Next comes the last of the five excellent original songs here, You never even called me tonight. The final track (Beautiful tomorrow), like the opening track, is a traditional song, but this one is a gospel song that Beth may have learned from Mahalia Jackson's version.
Musically, this is hard to classify but it has elements of pop, jazz, blues and soul in it. Despite including two covers of country songs, I don't detect any country influences in the actual music. Not that I mind, because this is a truly brilliant debut album by a singer who will hopefully be around for a long time.
Brilliant May 22, 2008
Mr. Blane Stevens (UK)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
There are many run of the mill female singers out there, Beth is not one of them.
She is a joy to listen to, and her tone and intonation is superb
Quite simply, superb! June 20, 2008
Mr. David A. Cooper (Barnet, United Kingdom)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Although I have owned this CD for some time, I wanted to defer my review until I saw Beth live which I did on 19th June at The Stables. Quite simply, Beth Rowley is the best blues singer I've heard since the wonderful Eva Cassidy.This girl has everything, looks, personality, and most of all,a sensational voice. The CD is just a starting point as you really must see her live to appreciate just how good she is. She also has a superb band, and her co-writer and tenor sax player, Ben Castle, also happens to be the great Roy Castle's son. Given the breaks in a tough industry, Beth Rowley will become a legend.
BETH HAS FINALLY MADE IT May 5, 2008
Mr. Ian Bocking
I have been a fan of Beths for the last couple of years since she been doing the London circuit and have recently been able to attain a copy of the album.
The album doesnt disapoint but i have to say that the best songs are the same songs she released on her ep. If you want to listen to, in my view, one of the some outstanding voices in resent years buy the album.
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