Album Review: Patty Loveless – ‘Dreamin’ My Dreams’

Dreamin’ My Dreams was the last album Patty Loveless recorded for the Epic Nashville label before they closed shop. Some of their artists went to the Columbia Records roster.  Patty instead took a two-year hiatus from touring and recording before going the indie route, signing with Suguaro Records in 2008.  She has since recorded two albums for the label.  While this would be her last album for Epic, Patty delivered nothing less than a first-class set of songs, with some contemporary flavor, well worthy of radio airplay, as well as her signature bluegrass and rootsy album staples.

Though the lead-single, ‘Keep Your Distance’ is as good a track that’s been shipped to radio this decade, it failed to chart, and Epic didn’t release any follow-up singles. The single, written by Richard Thompson is a snappy number with some great guitar licks and a sing-along melody.

She slows things down with Lee Roy Parnell and Tony Arata’s ‘Old Soul’, my favorite track on the set.  The tale of a young heart who, after being hurt and down-trodden by life, is wise beyond her years.  The haunting arrangement and the ache in the vocal combine to make for a punch to the listener.

Laugh too little and you cry too much
Way too long without that gentle touch
Weight of the world resting down in your bones
Pretty soon you’ve got an old soul

Likewise, ‘Nobody Here By That Name’ is reminiscent of her 90s hits.  Smart lyrics, flawless vocals, and a strong-woman spirit underscore the melancholy lyrics. Listening to the song, it’s evident that this is another Tony Arata cut; it’s very much in his style, and he co-wrote this with Pete Wasner.

The album gets back to the tempo with ‘Same Kinda Crazy’, a jazzy-rocking number, later recorded by George Strait.  The tale of two kindred spirits is told with a ferocious vocal from Patty.  ‘Dreamin’ My Dreams With You’, the almost-title track was written by producer-extraordinaire Allen Reynolds.  The song has also recorded by Alison Krauss and Waylon Jennings, among others.

Tracks nine and ten co-exist together perfectly, giving the album a sense of cohesion that all Loveless’s albums from her early Epic days to the present have always shown.  I would have arranged them backwards though, allowing the young-love story of ‘Big Chance’ to be told before the love-lasts theme of ‘Never Ending Song of Love’, a track that starts off slowly but gains momentum slowly as the melody unfolds.  Both are backed by bluegrass instruments.  ‘Big Chance’ was also re-recorded for Patty’s latest Mountain Soul II.

‘My Old Friend The Blues’ is a Steve Earle cover and continues her affection for Steve Earle’s writing, this is one among several Steve Earle cuts in Patty Loveless’s catalog. This one comes from Earle’s landmark debut, Guitar Town.  The song tells of the maddening setting in and loneliness takes over.  And once again, there’s those old familiar blues.

Closing the album is ‘When I Reach The Place I’m Going’, written by Emory Gordy Jr. and Joe Henry .  It’s a gospel-flavored number with fiddles framing the verses, giving the song a sort of mountain feel.

While not a commercial success, with no charting radio singles, and peaking at #29 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, Dreamin’ My Dreams was critically-acclaimed, and rightly so.  This collection of twelve gems, sang to near perfection, and arranged with tribute to tradition, craftsmanship, and Loveless’s own musical legacy is a five-star effort, and a must-have for any fan of real country music.

Grade: A

Dreamin’ My Dreams is still in print, and new and used copies can be picked up inexpensively from Amazon. It’s also available digitally at Amazon and iTunes.