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"Dreams"
Single by Gabrielle
from the album Find Your Way
Released7 June 1993 (1993-06-07)
GenreBritish soul[1]
Length3:44
LabelGo! Beat
Songwriter(s)
  • Gabrielle
  • Tim Laws
Producer(s)Richie Fermie
Gabrielle singles chronology
"Dreams"
(1993) 		"Going Nowhere"
(1993)
Music video
"Dreams" on YouTube

"Dreams" is a song by British singer and songwriter Gabrielle. It was written by Gabrielle and Tim Laws and produced by Richie Fermie for her debut studio album, Find Your Way (1993). Released by Go! Beat and London Records as Gabrielle's debut single, "Dreams" entered the UK Singles Chart at number two, which was the highest chart entry a debut act had obtained in the United Kingdom at that time before reaching number one for three weeks in June 1993. In the United States, the song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Gabrielle's highest-charting song there. The song's music video was directed by Kate Garner.

"Dreams" is widely seen as Gabrielle's signature song,[according to whom?] and its lyrics inspired the title of her greatest hits compilation Dreams Can Come True, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (2001). The song is featured heavily in the 1999 Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia, where William H. Macy's downtrodden character Donnie Smith plays the song repeatedly as a motivational aid. In 2013, Gabrielle re-recorded the track with producer Naughty Boy for her compilation album Now and Always: 20 Years of Dreaming.

Background and release

"I don’t think Gabs had been in a studio before and I’m pretty sure Dreams was only her second ever recorded vocal, after the duet she did earlier with the other girl. I didn’t have a vast amount of experience with singers then, but Gabs was awesome. She sang Dreams twice. I took the best bits and that was that. She didn’t need fancy production techniques. She had the voice."

—Producer Tim Laws talking to The Guardian about the song.[2]

Gabrielle used to perform at a London club called Moonlighting. One night after she'd performed Luther Vandross covers at the club, a woman told her, "This is as good as it's going to get for you." Disheartened by this, the singer went home and wrote the first lines of "Dreams" in her diary.[2] Shortly after, Gabrielle and another singer, Jackie King from the club, got an opportunity to make a record in a studio in Byfleet, Surrey. Her boyfriend had paid for them to do it. Producer Tim Laws was impressed by her voice and asked if she could come back later on her own. The singer then performed the lyrics of "Dreams" over Laws' music which was a backing track, using a Korg M1 synthesiser for most of the parts – piano, bass, string line – with an Akai S900 firing off drum loops and hits.

The first version became a hit in nightclubs, being played by underground DJs. This version included a sample of the song "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman, but because of copyright reasons, the sample had to be removed.[3] After selling a few thousand copies, Gabrielle was signed to the Go! Beat label. Because the "Fast Car" sample had not been cleared, producer Richie Fermie recorded a new version of "Dreams", without the sample.[4] This version went straight to number two on the UK Singles Chart as the highest charting debut single ever, before hitting number-one.

In an 1997 interview, Gabrielle said about making the song, "It wasn't until I took it home that I realised it was 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman and I thought, oh God, I love 'Fast Car,' but I don't think I could write anything original for it. And it wasn't until I had to go to the studio on the day, and I was on the train thinking, oh my God, I haven't written anything. So I opened up my notebook where, I keep my songs, and 'Dreams' was there, it was one of the songs I had written some time back."[5]

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "gloriously romantic, uplifting pop/dance shuffler" with a "wildly infectious chorus, delivered with a sly, feline grace." He commented further that a "interplay of contrasting elements like acoustic strumming, hip-hop-styled beats, and disco strings works surprisingly well".[6] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger noted Gabrielle's voice as "soaked in personality" and complimented the production as "reassuringly professional, very close to the kind of powerpoint soul the Lighthouse Family would serve up later in the 90s."[7] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report felt that the singer's "warm vocal style is just right to complement the hook-laden melody that she co-wrote."[8] A reviewer from Irish Independent called it a "smooth debut pop single".[9] Knight Ridder described it as "hypnotic".[10] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote that this is "another one of those records that is a hit almost before it even started." He also described it as a "haunting dreamy ballad" and "a unique record".[11] Pan-European magazine Music & Media viewed it as "immaculate".[12]

Alan Jones from Music Week said about the original 1992 release, "The soothing and gentle guitar intro to Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" underpins this superbly soulful dance cut, written and performed by a 22-year-old newcomer from Sydenham. Chiming synth strings and a Soul II Soul shuffle propel it along nicely, the uncluttered arrangement and production (by Unit 3) allowing her fine vocals room to breathe." He added, "Initially on a limited pressing of 1,500, which have now sold out, this is already getting specialist radio play, and could very easily explode as a major pop hit, given adequate distribution."[3] Another Music Week editor, Andy Beevers, called the 1993 version "excellent".[13] Mandi James from NME praised it, writing, "This is the sounds of blackness that will be drifting from sound systems nationwide by the end of summer. Swingbeat and soul, suckers, is back — and there's not a thing you can do about it."[14] Marts Andrups from the Record Mirror Dance Update declared it as "a stunning debut with "summer hit" written all over it. Like a funky Tracy Chapman, there's a beautiful soul vocal over a deceptively simple acoustic guitar and string arrangement."[15] Siân Pattenden from Smash Hits gave "Dreams" four out of five, writing, "If you're a big girl and like soulful swishdance music, this'll be in your in-car CD player for 1,000 years. More of less. You've got to have dreams, she reckons, and it's true, children."[16]

Chart performance

In Europe, the song reached number one in the United Kingdom on 20 June 1993 and stayed there for three weeks. Before, it had entered the chart at number two. At that time, it was the highest chart entry a debut female solo act had scored in the UK.[17] The single was a top-five hit in Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Sweden, as well as a top-10 hit in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Dreams" reached its best position of number six on 14 August. It debuted on the chart at number 15 on 26 June,[18] after charting in the UK and peaked eight weeks later. Outside Europe, the single peaked at number one on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart and the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart. "Dreams" sold 513,000 copies in United Kingdom in 1993.[19]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Dreams" was directed by British photographer, artist and singer Kate Garner.[20][better source needed] It received heavy rotation on MTV Europe.[21]

Track listings

UK CD single[22]
No.TitleLength
1."Dreams" (7-inch version)3:44
2."Dreams" (The Developed Arrested mix)6:25
3."Dreams" (Our Tribe house mix)6:41
4."Dreams" (Dignity mix)5:44
5."Dreams" (Easy mix)5:39
6."Dreams" (Law's House)4:00
7."Dreams" (The Red Underground mix)6:16
UK 7-inch and cassette single; European CD single[23][24][25]
No.TitleLength
1."Dreams"3:44
2."Dreams" (Breakdown mix)3:54
UK and US 12-inch single[26][27]
No.TitleLength
1."Dreams" (The Developed Arrested mix)6:25
2."Dreams" (The Red Underground mix)6:16
3."Dreams" (Law's House)4:00
4."Dreams" (Our Tribe house mix)6:41
5."Dreams" (Dignity mix)5:44
6."Dreams" (7-inch version)3:44
US CD single[28]
No.TitleLength
1."Dreams" (7-inch version)3:44
2."Dreams" (Breakdown mix)3:53
3."Dreams" (acoustic version)3:51
4."Dreams" (Dignity mix edit)3:44
5."Dreams" (Easy mix edit)3:46
US cassette single[29]
No.TitleLength
1."Dreams" (7-inch version)3:41
2."Dreams" (Dignity mix)5:40
Australian CD single[30]
No.TitleLength
1."Dreams" (7-inch version)3:44
2."Dreams" (The Red Underground mix)6:16
3."Dreams" (Dignity mix)5:40
4."Dreams" (Our Tribe house mix)6:41

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Dreams"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[58] Platinum 70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[74] Platinum 1,000,000[73]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Dreams"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 7 June 1993
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Go! Beat [75]
Japan 25 October 1993 Mini-CD [76]

Other versions

References

  1. ^ Phillips, Dom (25 September 1993). "U.K. Fray: Trip or Trance, Tech or Tribal, House Rules" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 105, no. 39. p. 34. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Gabrielle: how we made Dreams". The Guardian. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b Jones, Alan (21 March 1992). "Mainstream: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 8. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  4. ^ "UK chart archive". everyhit.com. Retrieved 1 March 2010. Search for the song and click on notes
  5. ^ Courtney, Kevin (19 April 1997). "Gift of the Gab". Irish Times.
  6. ^ Flick, Larry (4 September 1993). "Single Reviews: New & Noteworthy" (PDF). Billboard. p. 63. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  7. ^ Ewing, Tom (20 April 2012). "Gabrielle – "Dreams"". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  8. ^ Sholin, Dave. "Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Dreams finally comes true for Gabrielle". Irish Independent. 9 April 1997. page 26.
  10. ^ "After a successful debut, Jodeci disappoints". Beaver County Times. 30 January 1994. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  11. ^ Masterton, James (14 June 1993). "Week Ending June 19th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  12. ^ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 42. 16 October 1993. p. 17. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  13. ^ Beevers, Andy (5 June 1993). "Market Preview: Dance" (PDF). Music Week. p. 7. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  14. ^ James, Mandi (19 June 1993). "Groove Check". NME. p. 23. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  15. ^ Andrups, Marts (22 May 1993). "Hot Vinyl Buzzing" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 6. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  16. ^ Pattenden, Siân (9 June 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 50. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  17. ^ "AllMusic bio". All Media Guide. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 26. 26 June 1993. p. 27. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  19. ^ Rob Copsey (4 June 2021). "Official Top 40 best-selling songs of 1993". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Gabrielle: Dreams (1993)". IMDb. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Station Reports > MTV Europe/London" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 35. 28 August 1993. p. 21. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  22. ^ Dreams (UK CD single liner notes). Gabrielle. Go! Beat. 1993. GODCD 99, 857 141-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ Dreams (UK 7-inch single vinyl disc). Gabrielle. Go! Beat. 1993. GOD 99, 857 140-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ Dreams (UK cassette single sleeve). Gabrielle. Go! Beat. 1993. GODMC 99, 857 140-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Dreams (European CD single liner notes). Gabrielle. Go! Beat. 1993. 857 142-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ Dreams (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Gabrielle. Go! Beat. 1993. GODX 99, 857 141-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ^ Dreams (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Gabrielle. Go! Beat, London Records. 1993. 857 141-1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ Dreams (US CD single liner notes). Gabrielle. Go! Beat, London Records. 1993. 857 299-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. ^ Dreams (US cassette single liner notes). Gabrielle. Go! Beat, London Records. 1993. 857 298-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  30. ^ Dreams (Australian CD single liner notes). Gabrielle. Go! Beat. 1993. 857 143-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  38. ^ "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 36. 4 September 1993. p. 21. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
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  76. ^ "ドリームズ | ガブリエル" [Dreams | Gabrielle] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
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source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreams_(Gabrielle_song)

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