Rediscovering Dreams

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by shackin'up

That's what this band always has been capable of in it's finest moments. Blend. And this is a perfect example. The tingling guitarparts, chris' keyboards, micks' drive, and John's offthe wall basslines. And now we were not even talking about those friggin' awsome harmonies! Wonderfully put, jbrownsjr.!

She also adds some twinkling patches of vibes (they are really subtle). And there is a very high synth which gives a really subtle strings effect over the top of the entire song.

Thanks Shkn Up!

[strandinthewind]

My fav. performace of it is that one from the 70's wear she is wearing the racoon eye make up and her dress has some blue in it. She sings it in the same voice she recorded it and it just ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also love the RAL concert video one.

I always say I am over the song in concert, but I love it when she sings it

[mylittledemon]

Actually when he switched the the Rick Turner guitar...he stopped using the "volume swells" for Dreams. I've never seen a performance where he used his pinky finger to swell the volume. He could've done that on his les paul as well. I've seen Rick Vito play Dreams that way.

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by sodascouts

I could do without the "crystal visions."

Not me. Hey, it's one of her signature lines! We can't toss that out!

gldstwmn,
I think I prefer the innocent, ingenue approach to Dreams that was captured so beautifully on Rumours rather than the "world-weary" version. There are some songs that are translated well through Stevie's world-weary eyes but I don't think Dreams is one of them. However, I do think that songs like GDW, Rhiannon, and Sara benefit from this kind of treatment.

[CarneVaca]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

I also love how Christine puts her thick keyboard sound just in the right spots creating this really cool drive. She really knows how to blend. In music it is very hard to blend sometimes.

Now, is that the Moog, the B3, the Yamaha or the toy piano that was just lying around the yard?

[CarneVaca]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Not REALLY, it has three chords.

Verses/Choruses: Fmaj7 to G (repeat ad nauseum)

BUT, the middle "solo" break is: ||: Am | G | Fmaj7 :||

Wow, I'm glad you said that. It confirms my suspicion that there was an Am in that break. However, my transcription book has it this way:

verse
F-G

Chorus
Fmaj7-G6

Doesn't specify any break chords.

Be that as it may, when I have strummed the break chords, as opposed to picking the licks, it has felt right to throw in an Am.

[JamieSPC]

Originally Posted by CarneVaca

Now, is that the Moog, the B3, the Yamaha or the toy piano that was just lying around the yard?

Sounds to me like the Moog. The Hammond is a lot brighter.

Something I've always wondered about... Christine is so much a rhythm player (she even says so) that I wonder how much of this atmospheric keybord work comes out of her head, or Lindsey's, or perhaps even Richard's or Ken's. The organ work in "Dreams" is so subtle you barely notice it... but it's perfect. You can especially tell how wonderful it is when they break the song down on the Rumours DVD.

Another phenomenal keyboard part by Christine is the stuff she used to do at the very end of Rhiannon live on the Rhodes. Amazing.

~Jamie

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by CarneVaca

Now, is that the Moog, the B3, the Yamaha or the toy piano that was just lying around the yard?

it's a casio 100 61 key!

[jbrownsjr]

Originally Posted by JamieSPC

Sounds to me like the Moog. The Hammond is a lot brighter.

Something I've always wondered about... Christine is so much a rhythm player (she even says so) that I wonder how much of this atmospheric keybord work comes out of her head, or Lindsey's, or perhaps even Richard's or Ken's. The organ work in "Dreams" is so subtle you barely notice it... but it's perfect. You can especially tell how wonderful it is when they break the song down on the Rumours DVD.

Another phenomenal keyboard part by Christine is the stuff she used to do at the very end of Rhiannon live on the Rhodes. Amazing.

~Jamie

I'm pretty sure she doesn't use a Moog here! Sounds like a rhodes or electric piano and some creative patches.

[dontlookdown]

i remember being 12 or 13 years old and driving with my Dad and hearing Dreams on the radio - and having him talk about what a great singer Stevie was.

My parents were splitting up at the time and I didn't realize it then, but maybe that's why this song was always pretty special.

I think it's easily one of Stevie's finest - in terms of songwriting.


When the rain washes you clean, you'll know....

Not everyone can relate to what's going on in this song, but I think most of us can. It's perfect.

[Hawkeye]

I agreis not so good live, but the studio version is one of the best songs EVER. Like you said Carne, Hypnotic guitar, perfect drums and bass line, and Stevie probably gives her best VOCAL ever (maybe not the best song but best vocal) And the harmonies. But I even like the song with no harmonies, When Stevie sings the chouruses alone on the outake on the reissue the song takes on this rocking feel.

[Mike B]

Originally Posted by dontlookdown

i remember being 12 or 13 years old and driving with my Dad and hearing Dreams on the radio .

I can relate. Dreams is my all time favorite song, period. A major reason is because that song has been hovering around my life as long as I can remember. I would have only been 7 when Rumours came out, but Dreams is just one of those amazing songs that I knew and loved even before I realized who was singing it. It just sparks something in me whenever I hear it.

It also represents everything I love about the band...how the five of them can work together to create 4 minutes and 16 seconds of heaven. It's pretty much a perfect song.

As for the live versions, nah, none of them can really compare to the studio version. But I still don't mind hearing it every single time they (or Stevie) walk onto the stage because for me, it's what my fandom is all about.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by CarneVaca

My only issue, which is small and unimportant, is that when I am singing it and playing it on the guitar, I often get the words from the first and second verses mixed up. That's what you get for reusing some of the lines and making slight alterations. Still, I wouldn't change a thing. This song is pretty much perfect.

Originally Posted by DownOnRodeo

I don't know how Stevie remembers the order of her verses, honestly!
Even a simple song like GYOW I will get boxed up given the opportunity.

I hear you both.

"Dreams" trips me up from time to time, and "Go Your Own Way" trips me up even more. As does "Everywhere."
And yet, I never so much as stumble on a 6-minute song like "Wild Heart."

[David]

Originally Posted by jbrownsjr

I'm pretty sure she doesn't use a Moog here! Sounds like a rhodes or electric piano and some creative patches.

She plays the Rhodes on verses & chorus, as well as the B3 on chorus. The Rumours folio of full-band notation indicates a vibraphone during the verses ("like a heartbeat . . . "). You can hear a vibelike sound periodically on the recording. Some Rhodes models can sound very vibraphonelike in the upper registers (consider her Rhodes work on "Rhiannon," which some musician friends have always called "those bell sounds").

[David]

Originally Posted by JamieSPC

Something I've always wondered about... Christine is so much a rhythm player (she even says so) that I wonder how much of this atmospheric keybord work comes out of her head, or Lindsey's, or perhaps even Richard's or Ken's. The organ work in "Dreams" is so subtle you barely notice it... but it's perfect. You can especially tell how wonderful it is when they break the song down on the Rumours DVD.

Her keyboard arrangement on "Dreams" is so thoroughly Christine that it's almost as if it could be considered a short summation of her total style. But maybe one of the others had the idea for, say, the single-note B3 part during the chorus. They should have told us by now (especially considering there's been a DVD-Audio, a remastered special-edition reissue, & several CD releases). But they haven't, so we're left to our own devices.

Originally Posted by JamieSPC

Another phenomenal keyboard part by Christine is the stuff she used to do at the very end of Rhiannon live on the Rhodes. Amazing.

First a Hohner, then a Yamaha, but never a Rhodes.