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The Dream Academy (album)

The Dream Academy is the debut studio album by English band The Dream Academy, released on 16 September 1985 by Blanco y Negro Records in the United Kingdom and Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It was largely co-produced by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and Dream Academy frontman Nick Laird-Clowes. "Life in a Northern Town", written as a tribute to the musician Nick Drake, became the Dream Academy's only major chart success, reaching number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. The Dream Academy went on to chart at number 20 on the US Billboard 200 and number 58 on the UK Albums Chart.

The follow-up single from the album, "The Love Parade", was not received as well as their debut single, reaching number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 68 on the UK Singles Chart, but still received solid radio airplay. Also of note is the song "The Edge of Forever", which plays during a prominent scene in the John Hughes film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, resulting in many fans of 1980s films becoming more familiar with the Dream Academy's music.

Critical reception

In a rave review of The Dream Academy for Record Mirror, critic Mike Mitchell likened the album to "a dream... of the ordinary becoming glamorous, of maturing with age, of pleasant change, of counter revolution." Retrospectively, AllMusic reviewer Tom Demalon wrote that "The Dream Academy used lush string arrangements and choir-like background vocals to create a sumptuous backdrop for their paisley-tinged pop", most effectively on "Life in a Northern Town", "a slice of watercolored nostalgia with its memorable chant-like hook."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

The Dream Academy

Additional musicians

  • David Gilmour – guitar (track 6), acoustic guitar (track 9)
  • Peter Buck – Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar (track 9)
  • Guy Pratt – bass (tracks 4, 7)
  • Pino Palladino – bass (tracks 5, 6)
  • Mickey Feat – bass (track 9)
  • Chucho Merchán – double bass (track 10)
  • Jo Walton – cello (track 1)
  • Lucia Skidmore – cello (track 1)
  • Adam Peters – cello (tracks 2, 6)
  • Gary Barnacle – tenor saxophone (track 2)
  • Dave DeFries – trumpet (track 10)
  • Gregg Dechert – Hammond organ (track 9)
  • Ben Hoffnung – timpani and percussion (tracks 1, 2, 5), vibraphone and assorted percussion (track 4)
  • Luís Jardim – additional percussion (track 1), percussion (track 3)
  • Dave Mattacks – drums (track 5)
  • Jake Le Mesurier – drums (track 7)
  • Bosco de Oliveira – percussion (track 7)
  • Tony Beard – drums (track 9)
  • Derek Adams – additional backing vocals (tracks 1, 3)
  • June Lawrence – additional backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 7)
  • Sandrae Lawrence – additional backing vocals (track 3)
  • Colette Walker – additional backing vocals (track 3)
  • Caron Wheeler – additional backing vocals (track 6)
  • Sam Brown – additional backing vocals (track 6)
  • Ingrid Schroeder – additional backing vocals (track 7)

Production

  • David Gilmour – production (tracks 1–7, 9, 10)
  • Nick Laird-Clowes – production (tracks 1–7, 9, 10)
  • George Nicholson – production (tracks 1, 3–5, 7)
  • Gary Langan – production and engineering (tracks 2, 6)
  • Alan Tarney – production (track 8)
  • Andy Jackson – engineering (tracks 1–7)
  • John Hudson – engineering and mixing (track 8)
  • Stephen Short – engineering (tracks 9, 10)

Design

Charts

References

External links