Dreamtime (The Stranglers album)

The initial recording sessions for Dreamtime began in late 1985 with producer Laurie Latham, who had worked on the band's previous album Aural Sculpture. A few months were spent working on a handful of tracks before the Stranglers and Latham parted company.{{cite AV media notes |title=Dreamtime|type=2001 reissue CD liner notes|last=Martin |first=Neil|others=The Stranglers|publisher=Epic Records|year=2001}} Latham felt the songs needed more work from the band and had suggested a break in recording. In his 2001 book The Stranglers: Song by Song, guitarist Hugh Cornwell says, "Laurie's comment that our songs weren't ready had left a nasty taste in our mouths because we liked to work with people who were confident in us." The Stranglers therefore decided to continue work on the album with producer Mike Kemp.{{cite book|first1= Hugh |last1= Cornwell |author-link1= Hugh Cornwell |first2= Jim |last2= Drury |year= 2001 |title= The Stranglers Song by Song |publisher= Sanctuary Publishing Ltd |page= |isbn= 1-86074-362-5}}

Jean-Jacques Burnel (1986): "Well, after three months in a Brussels studio we had only really finished three songs, and these songs aren't even going to be on the album." These three songs were "Shakin' Like a Leaf (single version)", "Norman Normal" (released as a single b-side in 1986), and "You" (released as a single b-side in 1991).Jean-Jacques Burnel interview in French Black & White fanzine, March 1986; English translation published in Strangled fanzine, Vol. 2, No. 24, October 1986, p. 14.

In The Stranglers: Song by Song, Cornwell states that only three songs on Dreamtime were written by the usual songwriting team of himself and Burnel: "Ghost Train", "Mayan Skies" and "Too Precious". The rest were written by the two writers individually. "Always the Sun", "Dreamtime", "Big in America" and "Shakin' Like a Leaf" by Cornwell, and "Was It You?", "You'll Always Reap What You Sow" and "Nice in Nice" by Burnel. Cornwell handles the lead vocals on "You'll Always Reap What You Sow", as the band felt Burnel's "operatic" delivery didn't suit the song.

Dreamtime is the second Stranglers album to feature a three-piece brass section on some tracks.{{cite web|date= |url=http://www.thestranglers.co.uk/?p=11405|title= Behold Aural Sculpture! |website=thestranglers.co.uk|access-date=15 December 2021}} Although credited in the album liner notes for playing drums, Jet Black actually programmed all his drum parts, as he had done on Aural Sculpture.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|1.5|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r19194|label="The Stranglers: Dreamtime |first=Alex |last=Ogg |access-date=5 October 2011}}

| rev2 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|chapter=Stranglers|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}

|rev3 = The Great Rock Discography

|rev3score = 6/10{{Cite book| last = Strong| first = Martin C.| title = The Great Rock Discography| publisher = Canongate Books| location = Edinburgh| isbn = 1-84195-312-1| page = 1012| date = 2002| edition = 6th}}

}}

Contemporary reviews were mixed.{{cite book |last=Buckley |first=David |date=1997 |title=No Mercy - The Authorised and Uncensored Biography of The Stranglers |url= |location=London |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |page=208 |isbn=0-340-68062-8}} A positive review from CMJ New Music Report said that the Stranglers are "a prime example of a band that has streamlined their sound and still retained much of their bite as well as their signature." They described the album as "a smooth production that is pretty, with the ability to be pretty nasty at the same time."{{cite web|date= |url=http://www.audio-music.info/htm/s/Stranglers_The_Dreamtime.htm|title= CMJ New Music Report Issue: 108, 16 January 1987 |publisher=|website=audio-music.info|access-date=15 December 2021}}

Retrospective reviews were more negative. Alex Ogg of AllMusic wrote, "After Aural Sculpture, this came as a major disappointment. It's not awful, but neither is it in any way essential. ... There are a couple of good songs, like "Always the Sun" and "Nice in Nice" ... but that's simply not enough for a once great band." Ira Robbins of Trouser Press called it an "unfocused time-filler", writing, "Accomplished but bereft of ideas or concept, Dreamtime is a soporific, characterless nightmare."{{cite web|last=Robbins |first=Ira|date= |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/stranglers/|title= The Stranglers |work=Trouser Press|access-date=15 December 2021}}

{{track listing

| all_writing = the Stranglers

| title1 = Always the Sun

| length1 = 4:51

| title2 = Dreamtime

| length2 = 3:43

| title3 = Was It You?

| length3 = 3:40

| title4 = You'll Always Reap What You Sow

| length4 = 5:13

| title5 = Ghost Train

| length5 = 5:04

| title6 = Nice in Nice

| length6 = 4:03

| title7 = Big in America

| length7 = 3:18

| title8 = Shakin' Like a Leaf

| length8 = 2:36

| title9 = Mayan Skies

| length9 = 3:56

| title10 = Too Precious

| length10 = 6:44

| total_length = 45:53

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 2001 CD reissue bonus tracks

| extra_column = Origin

| title11 = Since You Went Away

| extra11 = "Nice in Nice" single

| length11 = 2:53

| title12 = Norman Normal

| extra12 = "Always the Sun" single

| length12 = 4:33

| title13 = Dry Day

| extra13 = "Big in America" single

| length13 = 5:02

| title14 = Hitman

| extra14 = "Shakin' Like a Leaf" single

| length14 = 4:21

| title15 = Was it You?

| note15 = 7" version

| extra15 = Previously unreleased

| length15 = 2:57

| title16 = Burnham Beeches

| extra16 = "Always the Sun" (Sunny Side Up Mix) single, 1990

| length16 = 3:50

| total_length = 66:23

}}

;Notes

• "Norman Normal" is an Aural Sculpture outtake. The rest of the bonus tracks were recorded for Dreamtime.
• The instrumental track "Burnham Beeches" was originally intended as the B-side to the abandoned "Was it You?" single.{{cite AV media notes |title=Here & There: The Epic B-Sides Collection 1983-1991|type=CD liner notes|others=The Stranglers|publisher=Absolute|year=2014}}

Credits adapted from the album liner notes, except where noted.{{cite AV media notes |title=Dreamtime |author=The Stranglers |year=2001 |type=Album sleeve |publisher=Epic Records |id= 504593 2}}

The Stranglers

• Hugh Cornwell - vocals, guitar
• Jean-Jacques Burnel - bass, vocals (lead vocals on "Was It You?", "Nice in Nice", "Since You Went Away" and "Norman Normal")
• Dave Greenfield - keyboards, backing vocals
• Jet Black - drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Alex Gifford - saxophone
• Hilary Kops - trumpet
• Martin Veysey - trumpet
• B.J. Cole - pedal steel guitar (on "You'll Always Reap What You Sow")
• Simon Morton - additional percussion

Technical

• The Stranglers - producer
• Mike Kemp - producer (except "Mayan Skies"), engineer, mixing
• Ted Hayton - engineer, mixing, mastering
• Owen Morris - engineer
• Jean Luke Epstein - sleeve design

Bonus tracks

• Sil Wilcox - additional guitar (on "Burnham Beeches"){{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1221882-The-Stranglers-Always-The-Sun-Sunny-Side-Up-Mix|title= Always The Sun (Sunny Side Up Mix) |website=Discogs|access-date=15 December 2021}}
• The Stranglers - producer (except on "Norman Normal")
• Mike Kemp - producer (on "Since You Went Away")
• Laurie Latham - producer (on "Norman Normal"){{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1602638-The-Stranglers-Always-The-Sun|title= Always The Sun |website=Discogs|access-date=15 December 2021}}
• Timm Baldwin - mixing (on "Burnham Beeches")
• Tony Bridge - remastering (2001 reissue)

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Category:The Stranglers albums

Category:1986 albums

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