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Rating:
An album at the service of emotions. It is with these words that I feel compelled to describe what should be considered the stylistic turning point album of the British band. They were already capable of moving us with the space-psychedelic sound of the first 4 albums, but this new sound seems purpose-built for that aim. The change in approach is evident: there is much emphasis on the acoustic guitar (well alternated with the electric one) and the piano (always very delicate), the light keyboard backgrounds, almost imperceptible with a vaguely orchestral flavor, and the sounds decidedly darker. Another element is a generally shorter duration of the songs, which allows listeners less inclined to long durations to better digest the album... and why not, also allows the group to try to place some singles in the charts; but there are longer tracks as well.
But the duration of the songs practically never affects their quality, which remains unchanged whatever the length. The tracks that are more noticeably catchy and radio-friendly are "Piano Lessons", the band's first track to be supported by a videoclip, which is fully influenced by brit-pop, "Stranger By A Minute", delicate in its guitar and organ touches, and "This Is No Rehearsal" where acoustic riffs alternate with unusual punk accelerations.
Although the focus is more on shorter songs, truly remarkable are the two longer tracks "Even Less" and "Don't Hate Me": the first alternates delicate verses with acoustic guitar and piano, then gives way to electric guitars in the chorus and also to delicate keyboards at certain moments; the second, however, has perhaps a more Pink Floyd-esque style: delicate arpeggios of acoustic guitar and gentle organ parts and beautiful atmospheres in the chorus, plus a beautiful sax part.
Apart from these, I find the splendid "A Smart Kid" particularly touching where everything is intertwined splendidly: the touches of acoustic guitar, the keyboard background with a very orchestral flavor and a piano that perfectly meshes with Wilson's voice, plus some darker sounds. "Pure Narcotic" puts me in a very good mood, a direct and effective yet delicate acoustic guitar-piano track. I find "Baby Dream In Cellophane" particularly reflective, which in just three minutes, focused predominantly on the acoustic guitar, manages to really touch the heart.
Also very moving is the concluding "Stop Swimming" led by a warm and engaging piano. It's worth mentioning the instrumental "Tinto Brass" (whose name you well know whom it refers to), well led by Colin Edwin's bass and characterized by decidedly harder guitar riffs, and also "Slave Called Shiver", very dark in its sounds and also featuring excellent bass parts, among the best in the entire album. The track that gives the album its title is a simple 28-second keyboard interlude systematically placed between "Piano Lessons" and "Pure Narcotic".
Really beautiful this "Stupid Dream", but I warn you, if you want to enjoy it to the fullest, you absolutely must set your mind free from what you're doing at the moment and think about where you'd like to be and when; who knows, maybe in green and romantic landscapes with a shining sun on a spring morning (a very personal example). If, on the other hand, music for you is not strong emotions but a pure moment of relaxation, a desire to let loose or spend the day... just leave it, maybe have a listen, but then you'll see, you'll leave it there; this is not music for the faint of heart. And then, last thing: if real emotions for you lie in the discography of Gigi D'Alessio... then we don't align!!!
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Even Less (07:11)
A body is washed up on a Norfolk beach
He was a friend that I could not reach
He thought I was cold but I understand
But for the grace of god goes another man
And I may just waste away from doing nothing
But you're a martyr for even less
A choirboy is buried on the moors
Where we used to go dreaming when we were bored
So some kids are best left to fend for themselves
And others were born to stack shelves
And I may just waste away from doing nothing
But you're a martyr for even less
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02 Piano Lessons (04:21)
I remember piano lessons
The hours in freezing rooms
Cruel ears and tiny hands
Destroying timeless tunes
She said there's too much out there
Too much already said
You'd better give up hoping
You're better off in bed
You don't need much to speak of
No class, no wit, no soul
Forget you own agenda
Get ready to be sold
I feel now like Christine Keeler
Sleepwaking in the rain
I didn't mean to lose direction
I didn't want that kind of fame
(Take your hands off my land)
Credit me with some intelligence
(if not just credit me)
I come in value packs of ten
(in five varieties)
And even though I got it all now
My only stupid dream
I see you and me together
And how it should have been
I remember piano lessons
Now everything seems clear
You waiting under streetlights
For dreams to disappear
04 Pure Narcotic (05:02)
You keep me waiting
You keep me alone in a room full of friends
You keep me hating
You keep me listening to the Bends
No amount of pointless days
Can make this go away
You have me on my knees
You have me listless and deranged
You have me in your pocket
You have me distant and estranged
No narcotics in my brain
Can make this go away
I'm sorry that, I'm sorry that I'm not like you
I worry that I don't act the way you'd like me to
I'm sorry that, I'm sorry that I'm not like you
You find me wanting
You find me bloodless but inspired
You find me out
You find me hallucinating fire
No narcotics in my brain
Can make this go away
I'm sorry that, I'm sorry that I'm not like you
I worry that I don't act the way you'd like me to
I'm sorry that, I'm sorry that I'm not like you
Have we ever been here before?
Running headlong at the floor
Leave me dreaming on a railway track
Wrap me up and send me back
Have we ever been here before? (I'm sorry that)
Running headlong at the floor (I'm sorry that I'm not like you)
Leave me dreaming on a railway track (I worry that)
Wrap me up and send me back (I don't act the way you'd like me to)
05 Slave Called Shiver (04:40)
I need you more than you can know
And if I hurt myself it's just for show
I found a better way to curb the pain
You put a trigger here inside my brain
Mother I need her
I'm falling apart
Mother I need her
And it's only the start
I may be nothing now but I will rise
I'll have more followers than Jesus Christ
Mother I need her
I'm falling apart
Mother I need her
And it's only the start
Through all the smashing things and crashing cars
I love the ground you walk with all my heart
Mother I need her
I'm falling apart
Mother I need her
And it's only the start
06 Don't Hate Me (08:30)
A light snow is falling on London
All sign of the living has gone
The last train pulls into the station
And no-one gets off and no-one gets on
Don't hate me
I'm not special like you
I'm tired and I'm so alone
Don't fight me
I know you'll never care
Can I call you on the telephone, now and then?
One light burns in a window
It guides all the shadows below
Inside the ghost of a parting
And no-one is left, just the cigarette smoke
07 This Is No Rehearsal (03:26)
How many children did I bring into this world?
How many did I lose in the shopping arcade?
This is no rehearsal - play it back
and throw things at the screen
This is no rehearsal - somebody
interpret this for me
And still I remember how I dressed him this morning
And then he was gone - stolen, my only one
09 Stranger by the Minute (04:30)
Ghosts in the park
Appear just after dark
Killers, children ...
But no-one has a harp
They look like tourists
It makes me want to laugh
Under floorboards
It's hard to fly a kite
Underwater
My cigarette won't light
Standing in the shade
I'm getting frostbite
Strange as I seem
I'm getting stranger by the minute
Look in my dreams
They're getting stranger by the minute
When I'm drowning
You drag me up to you
Rings in the water
My only residue
But you're just fiction
And I'm a twisted boy
10 A Smart Kid (05:22)
Stranded here on planet earth
It's not much but it could be worse
Everything's free here, there's no crowds
Winter lasted five long years
No sun will come again I fear
Chemical harvest was sown
And I will wait for you
Until the sky is blue
And I will wait for you
What else can I do?
A spaceship from another star
They ask me where all the people are
What can I tell them?
I tell them I'm the only one
There was a war but I must have won
Please take me with you.
12 Stop Swimming (06:53)
This song leaks out onto the pavement
It could be a joke, it could be a statement
The more that I fake it and pretend I don't care
The more you can read in to what isn't there
Maybe it's time to stop swimming
Maybe it's time to find out where I'm at
What I should do and where I should be
But no-one will give me a map
I'll leave now, this can't continue
But I forget which door I came through
And I know what the lift can be painfully slow
So I think I'll leave by the window
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Other reviews
By Shine
Listening to 'Stupid Dream' was a real relief because it freed me from the obligation not to cry: that 'cosmic' pain released by that music brought tears to my eyes.
After seeing the darkness, we have exorcised death… and now life is an adventure that must be lived.
By Omega Kid
Stupid Dream is the story of an epic infatuation, a destabilizing crush that makes it difficult to rationally evaluate what surrounds us.
It’s simply a comforting, warm corner of serenity, where Wilson finally manages to find that dimension craved by his creative vein.
