She ‘Dreamed a Dream’

No one remembers the winners, only the most talented, and that goes for “Britain’s Got Talent” second-place contestant Susan Boyle. Like Jennifer Hudson, who did not win “American Idol,” Boyle has proved that what the world is yearning for are great voices. Her album “I Dreamed a Dream” has outsold Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys. Who would have thought that this unassuming older woman would rule the airwaves? But rule it she has by covering challenging material and, in some cases, from unsuspecting sources.

The first track, “Wild Horses,” is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. This poignant melody is sung with raw honesty, and that lingering emotion is what the listener is left with. The song resonates and stays with you, as Boyle does not attempt to put her own stamp on it. Instead, her voice gives listeners room to experience the song for themselves. It’s unobtrusive and a joy to listen to, even if you are feeling despair over a lost love affair or are in a brooding mood.

“Les Miserables” is one of the most successful musicals in theater history. Claude-Michel Schönberg, with a libretto by Alain Boublil and lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, have a beautiful way of weaving the same melody in various tones throughout the musical, and in “I Dreamed a Dream,” it shows the bitterness of a woman who took a chance on love, and in her naivete becomes a prostitute to survive. It is a song of a dream lost, and Boyle evokes that desperate anger to such an extent that you seem to be intruding on her private thoughts. However, you just can’t turn away, and you wind up enraptured in the heart-wrenching experience.

Boyle sings Arthur Hamilton’s “Cry Me a River” with an understated intensity. It is as if Boyle is singing about the hurt of an exposed nerve while trying to heal it at the same time. Its duality is compelling, and you can’t help but appreciate the lyrical story.

“How Great Thou Art” is a standard that Boyle covers well. The choir is also a nice touch. However, her voice truly shines when she gets a chance to emote a story through song, and Madonna’s “You’ll See” (co-written by Madonna and David Foster) is the perfect vehicle for her, as it gives her the ability to tell a narrative through several emotions that include defiance and anger. It seems to be Boyle’s anthem as she shows everyone that “All by myself/I don’t need anyone at all/I know I’ll survive/I know that I’ll stay alive” and that no one can “take it from [her].”

A personal favorite for many, “Daydream Believer” is a song that is best known as one of the Monkees’ major hits. Rarely covered, it stood as strictly a band song. Here, Boyle slows down the melody and gives the song a warmth that hasn’t been heard before. It’s a heartfelt and very personal melody that you will find yourself playing over and over again.

“Up to the Mountain,” written by Patty Griffin, is usually done with acoustic and electric guitar. Here, it is performed with piano, which makes the song laborious. The producers of this track should have given Boyle the chance to rock out, as this modern-day hymn deserves to be cranked up. Having said that, her rendition of “Amazing Grace” is perfect in its subtle yet desperate tone. It is a memorable take on this standard Christian tune, and one wishes that Boyle would have sung all the verses. Some songs do not need to be truncated.

Finally, “Who I Was Born to Be” is an original track. Written by Audra Mae, Mark Linn Baker (yes, the guy from “Perfect Strangers”), et al., it tells Boyle’s story. It’s her “turn to fly” on a song written for her based on her life experiences. It’s a smooth fit for this album that consists mostly of songs written and expressed by and for other artists. Here, Boyle has a signature song that is originally created for her.

Then there’s “Proud,” which is redundant, since Boyle has expressed that emotion in this track better in the previous songs, even in the boring “The End of the World.” Lyrically they do not add to her repertoire, but her voice is pleasant enough that it hardly seems to matter. Still, Boyle should have had more challenging material on this album. It would have been better for her to branch out than to stay safe. As an artist, these songs seemed to stifle her creativity. If the producers are going to do this, then for her next album they should have Boyle sing more challenging show tunes. Perhaps a tribute to Rodgers and Hammerstein or Andrew Lloyd Webber – something to make the listener wake up and take notice so that we don’t hear the frustration in Boyle’s voice when she has to sing these lesser tracks.

In the CD version, the last track is the holiday classic “Silent Night.” It’s a palatable rendition that will soon become one of the many versions you will hear at Christmastime, since a choir joins Boyle later on in the song and makes it slightly different than the usual holiday fare.

Together, the songs on “I Dreamed a Dream” show a mature woman burgeoning on what promises to be a career full of songs in which she can express every emotion in existence. Lyrically, Boyle is certainly up for the challenge.