Dream into Action

1985 studio album by Howard Jones From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dream into Action is the second studio album by the English synth-pop musician Howard Jones. It was released on 15 March 1985 and reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached the top ten on the US Billboard 200, peaking at No. 10. The album achieved a gold certification in the UK and platinum status in the US and Canada.

Released15 March 1985 (1985-03-15)[1]
Recorded1984–1985
StudioFarmyard (Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire)
GenreSynth-pop[2]
Quick facts Studio album by Howard Jones, Released ...
Dream into Action
Studio album by
Howard Jones
Released15 March 1985 (1985-03-15)[1]
Recorded1984–1985
StudioFarmyard (Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire)
GenreSynth-pop[2]
Length55:45
Label
ProducerRupert Hine
Howard Jones chronology
The 12″ Album
(1984)		 Dream into Action
(1985)		 Action Replay
(1986)
Singles from Dream into Action
  1. "Things Can Only Get Better"
    Released: 1 February 1985[3]
  2. "Look Mama"
    Released: 12 April 1985[4]
  3. "Life in One Day"
    Released: 17 June 1985[5]
  4. "No One Is to Blame"
    Released: 7 March 1986[6]
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The album contains the hit singles "Things Can Only Get Better" (UK No. 6, US No. 5), "Look Mama" (UK No. 10) and "Life in One Day" (UK No. 14, US No. 19).[7][8] Additionally, the track "No One Is to Blame" was re-recorded in a new arrangement for single release, reaching No. 16 on the UK singles chart and No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1986;[7][8] this version was included on a later second European pressing of the album. The 1984 single "Like to Get to Know You Well" (UK No. 4) was included on the album's CD reissue (and is also on the US version of the vinyl album). A world tour accompanied the album's original release with Jones playing Wembley Arena and the O2 Academy Birmingham in the UK, and arena-size venues in the US, Europe and Japan. In 2010, a remastered edition of the album was issued alongside Jones' debut studio album Human's Lib (1984).

Critical reception

More information Review scores, Source ...
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[9]
God Is in the TV9/10[10]
Number One3/5[11]
Record CollectorStarStarStar[12]
Record Mirror3/5[13]
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStar[14]
Smash Hits7/10[15]
SoundsStarStarStarStar[16]
The Village VoiceD[17]
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In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine observed that in contrast to the "sleekly electronic" Human's Lib, Dream into Action "is a big, bright album that epitomizes the sound of the mainstream in the mid-'80s, a time when computers worked overtime to disguise themselves as human sounds". He concluded that it "is, in many ways, the apotheosis of Howard Jones' career: he'd yet to drift into softened adult contemporary, and he still had enthusiasm for his hooks, his machines, and his positivity, the very things that distinguished him from the legions of synth poppers in the mid-'80s."[9] Paul Scott-Bates of Louder Than War found Dream into Action more "chart oriented" than its predecessor, while noting that throughout the album, Jones "expressed his views and concerns ... with compassion" and "upped the pace with as eclectic and wild compositions."[2]

Track listing

All songs are written and composed by Howard Jones.

UK version

Side one

  1. "Things Can Only Get Better" – 4:02
  2. "Life in One Day" – 3:39
  3. "Dream into Action" – 3:45
  4. "No One Is to Blame" – 3:28 (initial issue), 4:13 (later reissues, single version)
  5. "Look Mama" – 3:53
  6. "Assault and Battery" – 4:51

Side two

  1. "Automaton" – 4:04
  2. "Is There a Difference?" – 3:33
  3. "Elegy" – 4:20
  4. "Specialty" – 3:58
  5. "Why Look for the Key" – 3:23
  6. "Hunger for the Flesh" – 3:59

CD bonus tracks

  1. "Bounce Right Back" (B-side of "Like to Get to Know You Well") – 4:33
  2. "Like to Get to Know You Well" – 3:58

US version

Compared to the UK LP version, the US LP dropped "Specialty" and "Why Look For The Key", and added "Like To Get To Know You Well" and "Bounce Right Back".

Side one

  1. "Things Can Only Get Better" – 4:02
  2. "Life in One Day" – 3:39
  3. "No One Is to Blame" – 3:28
  4. "Dream Into Action" – 3:45
  5. "Like to Get to Know You Well" – 4:01
  6. "Assault and Battery" – 4:51

Side two

  1. "Look Mama" – 3:53
  2. "Bounce Right Back" – 4:34
  3. "Elegy" – 4:20
  4. "Is There a Difference?" – 3:33
  5. "Automaton" – 4:04
  6. "Hunger for the Flesh" – 3:59

Personnel

Production

  • Produced by Rupert Hine for Gestalt
  • Recorded and mixed at Farmyard Studios, England by Stephen W. Tayler
  • Recording assistant – Andrew Scarth

Other credits

Charts

More information Chart (1985), Peak position ...
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Certifications

More information Region, Certification ...
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

External links

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