Little Dreamer - Music (Beth Rowley)

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

Customer Reviews of Little Dreamer

johnboy
greater manchester
27th August 2008

From Small Beginnings.........
Was wondering what to buy recently when I saw a review of this album and an interview with the singer in a sunday magazine.Turns out that this is a brilliant album,and has traces of blues,gospel,pop,country,and a touch of the brilliant Karen Carpenter about it.

Stand-out tracks for me include the intense deep gospel of Nobody's Fault But Mine and One Cloud,and the lighter yet still uplifting pop of So Sublime and i Shall Be Released.

A varied collection then in some ways,yet with a pleasing undercurrent of blues running throughout the whole album to string it all together and give it a sense of identity.

Really uplifting and at times extremely powerful! For once the hype may be justified!

jrw1185
colchester
24th July 2008

Disappointed
I think I must have bought a different album to the one Chris McKenna reviewed. I was expecting an album with a range of vocal talents but what I heard was a reasonably nice album with nothing outstanding from the mass of young white female singers currently extant after the demise of Eva Cassidy. There is not one track I can recall as compulsive replay. I suppose I could just about hear the Carla Anderson influence but she (Carla) has a certain je ne sais quoi that black "soul" singers have. Where is the Amy Winehouse/early Motown/Blues rawness?
I'm sorry but Ms Rowley has a nice voice and sings mid range songs very well but she has to develop a different style to achieve lasting popularity.
I shuffled this album with Madeleine Peyroux, Catherine Russell and other similar artists and my friends could not tell the difference. After that I gave the CD away and bought Alice Russell instead - now she's versatile. . .

C. Rees

23rd July 2008

Beautiful voice and some top tracks but a few poor ones
I bought this album based on 3 songs I had heard which are superb.
There are a few others that are ok but a lot of mediocre maybe boring ones in comparison fill the rest of the album.
Knowing this I would probably have downloaded the 3 great tracks individually.

johnronmusic
Merseyside United Kingdom
1st July 2008

Great new talent
A superb album - an exciting new voice, on both the cover versions and the originals, and confident handling of several genres (I don't find the current 'blues singer' pigeon-holing very helpful, although she can handle this genre well). OK, she probably can develop a bit more edge and drive and surely will, but she's well on the way. Strongly recommended!

Gloucestershire Echo
UK
23rd June 2008

Great voice, bigger potential
She's got a great voice and can handle a range of styles with ease.

Her pop radio songs are somewhat misleading as her handling of blues and gospel numbers on this album is exceptional.

Yes, there are echoes of other great female artists here, but her voice and style is distinctive and good enough to ensure she doesn't get consigned to the 'if you like this, you'll love this' category.

A refreshing new talent and voice in a sea of increasing pop mediocrity.