Charlotte Church Music:

Dream a Dream Track Listing:
1. Dream a Dream (Elysium) - Charlotte Church, Billy Gilman
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. Little Drummer Boy
4. Mary's Boy Child
5. Ding Dong! Merrily on High
6. Winter Wonderland
7. Christmas Song
8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
9. Conventry Carol (Lully, Lullay)
10. Joy to the World
11. When a Child Is Born
12. What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)
13. Go Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
14. Draw Tua Bethlehem/Far Over Bethlehem
15. Ave Maria
16. Gabriel's Message
17. O Holy Night
18. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming
19. Silent Night

Editorial Review:
Everybody's favorite precocious sprite of a soprano comes out with her third album in Dream a Dream. It's only been two years since Charlotte Church's smash debut, Voice of an Angel, but that's a big chunk of the Welsh singer's life span so far. This latest is basically a Christmas album, so full of festive cheer you'd never guess it was recorded in the summer. Even the glummest of moods will disappear when you hear Charlotte's infectious take on chestnuts such as "Winter Wonderland" and "Little Drummer Boy" (and having the London Symphony Orchestra as your backup band doesn't hurt either). And on top of that is a really special treat: the title song (borrowing an unforgettable classical melody) which blends Church's soaring vocals with the tender voice of young country prodigy Billy Gilman. --Sarah Chin

Dream a Dream Reviews:
Very, very nice holiday CD
2009-10-21 - "Dream A Dream" - Musically a "Renaissance style" (the band, not the period) with Vangelis keyboards. I would like to see more of the technicals and personnel on this track than are in the liner notes. Or was it all programming? Whatever, it's still absolutely flooring me!

"O Come, All Ye Faithful" - Whoa, she affects the soul.

Sorry, "Little Drummer Person" (PC) has never been one of my favs and as beautiful as she makes it the "parum pum, etc." are still annoying. But "Mary's Boy Child" brings it back quick. I believe I'm partial to the harp (as an instrument, not just the one in the song. See my review of the Atlanta concert) It's like hearing your favorite bands songs but when the singer is up there with only a piano or acoustic guitar it's a whole new dimension.

Can "Ding Dong! Merrily On High" be any happier?

"When A Child Is Born" WOW!! Her softer, mellower voice is incredible. I like the percussion (a little South American?) and the backing vocals kick!

"What Child Is This - Greensleeves" - More harp! It has to be the dynamics and tonal range of the instrument that matches Char's voice so well. And the swirling strings, best production I think.

"Ave Maria" - It's Bach (with a harp) and Bach Rocks! (One of my fav composers) Ya' know at one time when he didn't have any money... he was Baroque (sorry)

"O Holy Night" - some really great high notes. Again the improved sustain and her clarity (really on the whole CD) is incredible. Has she gotten better at note separation?

"Silent Night" - very nice orchestration. The vocals and production really present a perfect "wrapping up" of the disk. I believe it's the flutes in the background, make a nice effect. Again, reminds of Vangelis. Again, very spiritual. I feel happily drained.

Overall I just can't stop exuberating about the "change" of her voice. This is the BEST vocal recording of Char's that I've heard as of yet. I mean, it hits deep, I'm getting spiritual here. (and it has nothing to do with the Xmas songs. She could sing AC/DC like this and I would feel it) Her sustain is SO much more controlled than in the past. (Great coaching?) In fact, I'm starting to prefer this lower toned style, I'm not sure why yet.

The "harp" songs get a higher mark from me than the ones with a chorus. And as pretty as she is, does anyone else think she should get out in the sun a little more? Or is she going for the milky white skin look? (It's a regional weather thing) NOTE: Songs not commented on mean I have no comments on them. Also, keep in mind I'm not a big holiday song fan.

Broken Dream
2009-08-29 - When the young Charlotte Church first burst into the musical scene, I was captivated by her youthful personality and stage poise, like many of her fans. Her first album, Voice of an Angel, was good, but her second album, the self-titled Charlotte Church, was her best. I thought to myself, "so she doesn't sing like Kathleen Battle, but she sings well enough. If she can sing like that at the age of 13, imagine what she can do at 20, when her voice is mature. With additional years of training, she might be the British version of Kathleen Battle."

But, alas, that was not to be. Her voice deteriorated, as she grew older. In this third album, Dream a Dream, her singing was getting worse, even to my untrained ears. The title song, Dream a Dream, a duet with Billy Gilman, was good enough, but in many other songs, she was clearly struggling. Her vibrato was erratic, her voice coarse, and she seemed out of breath. Her fourth album, Enchantment, was not much better. A classical piece in this album, The Flower Duet, reminded me of her best performance in the first two albums, but many others, including the pop songs, were unremarkable. The fifth album was Prelude: The Best of Charlotte Church. It was a collection of mostly old songs. Her sixth and last album, Tissues and Issues, was a pop release. Many of her classical fans, myself included, felt abandoned, while many pop fans wondered who Charlotte Church was. No wonder her pop album did poorly in the UK and was never released in North America.

After her sixth album, Charlotte Church parted ways with Sony and in September 2006, hosted in her own TV show--the Charlotte Church Show. Up to this date, it is not clear whether she will return to her singing career, or which genre her music will be. Whatever her career path is, Charlotte Church should be proud. She has accomplished, in a few teen years, a musical career most of us can only dream of in a lifetime.

Christmas
2008-01-13 - I ordered two CDs of Charlotte Church "Dream a Dream" for Christmas gifts and was really embarassed when both people I gave them to called me and stated they could not get them to play on either their CD players or their computers. I now have them in my possession and cannot get them to play on any of my equipment, so this was acomplete loss for me. I would very much like to return them in exchange for two that will play.

Great Christmas music!
2007-09-30 - This is one of my fave Christmas cds and I listen to it every year. Charlotte Church was only about 14 and her voice is amazing.

Dream a dream
2007-04-03 - I bought this CD after watching the music video of the same name. Their performance of "dream a dream" is exquisite. The fact that they wrote the lyrics just adds icing to an already magnificent cake!