''Dreamchaser'' is the eleventh studio album by English singer

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover soprano singer, actress and dancer. Brightman began her career as a member of the dance troupe Hot Gossip and released several disco singles as a solo performer. In 1981, ...

. This album is Brightman's first collaboration with producer

Mike Hedges Mike Hedges (born 1953) is a British audio producer/engineer best known for his work with The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Manic Street Preachers. During his career, Hedges has worked with an eclectic roster of artists ranging from roc ...

and centres on the concept of

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

. The offering was inspired by Brightman's decision to become the first singer in outer space, as she intended to launch on an

orbital spaceflight An orbital spaceflight (or orbital flight) is a spaceflight in which a spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least one orbit. To do this around the Earth, it must be on a free trajectory which has an altit ...

mission to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

(ISS) in partnership with

Space Adventures Space Adventures, Inc. is an American space tourism company founded in 1998 by Eric C. Anderson. Its offerings include zero-gravity atmospheric flights, orbital spaceflights (with the option to participate in a spacewalk), and other spacefl ...

, Ltd., a private space experiences company. Nevertheless, in March 2015 it was announced that Brightman had postponed the flight due to personal reasons. It was released in Japan on 16 January 2013 and in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2017 and in the North America on 16 April 2013 to critical acclaim. The

Dreamchaser World Tour The Dreamchaser World Tour was the fifth worldwide concert tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman in support of her album ''Dreamchaser'' (2013). The North American tour had been planned to begin in early 2013, but all dates were resche ...

was Brightman's eighth

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

and served as a major promotion of the album. The tour lasted for a period of two years and became her second largest world tour, performing in over twenty countries. In November 2013,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

aired the live-concert

Dreamchaser in Concert ''Sarah Brightman: Dreamchaser in Concert'' is a live concert recording by Sarah Brightman following her 2012 release, Dreamchaser. It was recorded in June 2013 at the Elstree Studios near London, United Kingdom. ''Dreamchaser In Concert'' has ...

, filmed in

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

, and was later released in Japan on 18 December of the same year as DVD and

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

format. ''Dreamchaser'' entered at the Top 20 of seven countries and the Top 60 of another five. The album peaked at number 17 in the United States, being Brightman's third top-twenty album in the country.Chart Moves: Sarah Brightman, Olly Murs Make Top 20 Debuts on Billboard 200
''Billboard''. 12 October 2016.

Background

Inspired by her planned trip to the International Space Station, Brightman planned to make an album that would "convey the ideas and visions you would get from being a human up in space". The album has been described as grand, ethereal, and somewhat experimental The majority of ''Dreamchasers songs are covers, with "B 612" being the only entirely original composition on the standard edition of the album. "B 612"'s title is a reference to the asteroid of the same name from

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of s ...

's novella ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 an ...

.'' Two bonus tracks that are exclusive to the Super Deluxe Edition of the album, "7th Heaven" and "In The Air", are also original compositions. All three were written by Sarah Brightman, Makoto Sakamoto, and Yuka Ikushima. The background of the remaining song are as follows: * "Angel" was originally recorded by Jerry Burns and

Sally Herbert Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military *Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting nam ...

for the soundtrack of the 2001 film '' Crush''. * * "One Day Like This" was originally recorded by

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

for their 2008 album ''

The Seldom Seen Kid ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' is the fourth studio album by English rock band Elbow. It was released by Fiction Records on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and was released by Geffen Records on 22 April 2008 in the United States. The album debut ...

''. * * "Glosoli" was originally recorded by

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...

for their 2005 album '' Takk...''. While the song was originally sung in Icelandic, Brightman's version features entirely new English lyrics written by

Chris Difford Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Musical career Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written ly ...

of the band Squeeze. * * "Lento e Largo" is an extract from

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

's Symphony No. 3. * * "Breathe Me" was originally recorded by

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

for her 2004 album ''

Colour the Small One ''Colour the Small One'' is the third album by Australian singer-songwriter Sia, which was released in Australia and the United Kingdom on 19 January 2004. It was issued in the United States on 3 February 2004. Production was by Jimmy Hogarth, w ...

''. * * "Ave Maria" is an interpretation of "Ave Maria, o auctrix vite" by the 12th-century composer

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

with new original Latin lyrics credited to Brightman, Sally Herbet, and Mike Hedges. Brightman had previously released another track called "Ave Maria" on her 2001 album ''

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

'', though that was a recording of an entirely different composition by Franz Schubert. * * "Eperdu" was originally recorded by

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

for their 1996 album ''

Milk & Kisses ''Milk & Kisses'' is the eighth and final studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Cocteau Twins, issued by Fontana Records in March 1996. It proved to be their last; a meeting two years later to record a new album ended with the breakup ...

''. * *"A Song Of India" in an interpretation of the aria "Song of the Indian Guest" from

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

's opera ''

Sadko Sadko (russian: Садко) is the principal character in a Russian medieval epic ''bylina''. He was an adventurer, merchant, and ''gusli'' musician from Novgorod. Textual notes "Sadko" is a version of the tale translated by Arthur Ransome in ...

''. * * "Venus and Mars" was originally recorded by

Paul McCartney and Wings Wings were a British-American rock band formed in 1971 by former Beatle bassist Paul McCartney, his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards, session drummer Denny Seiwell, and former Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine. Wings were noted for their co ...

on their 1975 album of the same name. Brightman's version combines lyrics from both "Venus and Mars" and "Venus and Mars (Reprise)" which appear as separate tracks on the original Wings album. * * "Closer" is an arrangement of themes from

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

's ''

Tubular Bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

'', primarily interpolating elements from "Tubular Bells, Part One". It features original lyrics written by

Chris Braide Christopher Braide (born 1973) is an English songwriter, record producer and singer, formerly based in Malibu, Los Angeles, California, United States. Braide is known for being a pianist. First signed as a solo artist by David A. Stewart in t ...

. * * "Kaze No Toorimichi" was originally recorded by

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explor ...

, featuring the Suginami Children's Choir for the soundtrack to the 1988 film ''

My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story of a ...

''. * * "Hawaii '78" was originally recorded by

Israel Kamakawiwoʻole Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (; meaning 'the fearless eye, the bold face'; May 20, 1959June 26, 1997), also called Bruddah Iz or just simply IZ, was a Hawaiian musician, singer, songwriter, and Hawaiian sovereignty activist. He achieved ...

on his album

Facing Future ''Facing Future'' is the second album by Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, released in 1993. The best-selling album of all time by a Hawaiian artist, ''Facing Future'' combines traditional Hawaiian-language songs, hapa-haole songs with ...

. Brightman's version features a posthumous duet with Kamakawiwoʻole, who died in 1997. * * "So Long Ago So Clear" was originally recorded by

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

featuring

Jon Anderson John Roy Anderson (born 25 October 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassist Chris Squire. He was a member of the band across thre ...

for the 1975 album '' Heaven and Hell''.

Singles

The first single "Angel" was released on Brightman's official website on 26 September 2012 and it was later released for purchase on 15 October 2012 in Europe and Mexico. The second single, a cover of

band's song "One Day Like This", was released on 19 November 2012. In October 2013 "Glosoli" was released as a promotional single in the form of a dance remix by Samuel Cramer under the alias Eyes. The remixed single was given a digital release on the

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

and

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

streaming platforms and received a limited Promo Only release on CD.

Promotion

To promote ''Dreamchaser'' Sarah Brightman appeared in several TV shows, starting in January 2013. She performed " One Day Like This" live on Japan's news program ''News Zero''. She also made several appearances and interviews in TV shows such as ''El Mañanero'', ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

'', ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'', CJAD 800 Radio, Breakfast BBC1, FOROtv Mexico and

. She sang "One Day Like This" on the Hallmark Channel's ''The Home and Family Show''. She performed the same song "Time to Say Goodbye" with

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

in the German television program ''Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel''. Later, Brightman went to China and Japan in February, Germany in March, the United States in April and to Mexico at the beginning of May where she signed autographs and held press conferences.

Critical reception

''Dreamchaser'' has received acclaim from critics, many considering it Brightman's strongest work to date.
Polarimagazine.com. Retrieved 12 October 2016. Many pointed out the coherence of the song choices and the quality of Brightman's vocals. Bernard Perusse of the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'' described the album as "expertly-executed" and added "Brightman confirms what we have always suspected: less is not necessarily more."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

commented that Brightman "gets points for even attempting some of these songs. That she pulls off her most daring choices is a testament to her artistry." Stephen Unwin of the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' wrote that the album is "an almost surreal, often heartbreaking record that is stirringly epic." ''Polari Magazine'' in a 5-star review described the album as "stunning" and continued that "instead of playing it safe and releasing yet another Mother's Day Opera-By-Numbers album like most classical singers, Sarah's general lunacy helps her to take risks most artists in her genre wouldn't take."

Commercial reception

''Dreamchaser'' became Brightman's seventh No. 1 album in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Classical Crossover chart. It also reached the third spot on the

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by ''Billboard'' magaz ...

chart, marking Brightman's first appearance on this list. ''Dreamchaser'' peaked at number five on the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...

, the second place on the Australian Classical Albums Chart and number 17 on the ''Billboard'' 200, moving 20,358 copies on its first week. In Japan, the album debuted in the top 20. It entered the chart at No. 16, selling 7,183 copies during its first week.

World Tour

Sarah Brightman began a world tour, the eighth of her career, to promote her ''Dreamchaser'' album. The tour was created and promoted under the name of the

. The tour started on 16 June 2013 and ended on 14 14 December 2014. The tour included stops in twenty-four countries of four different continents, Asia, Europe, North and South America. The World Tour consisted of 106 shows in total over a year and a half time span, being her largest tour since the

Harem World Tour The Harem World Tour was the third worldwide concert tour by English soprano singer Sarah Brightman following the release of the ''Harem'' album (2003). The tour began on 10 January 2004 in Mexico City and concluded on 23 December that year in ...

Track listing

All the songs were produced and arranged by

and

. It was recorded mostly at Abbey Road Studios (London) and

Westlake Studios Westlake Recording Studios is a music recording studio in West Hollywood, California. History Westlake Recording Studios was founded in the early 1970s by the American audio engineer Tom Hidley under the name Westlake Audio. Hidley was experienc ...

(Los Angeles). Mazen Murad mastered the album at

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor and Karin Clayton.Donald Brackett It is located in the Powerhouse, a Grade II listed building, at 70 Chiswick High Roa ...

, London.

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2013 albums Albums produced by Mike Hedges Decca Records albums Sarah Brightman albums Classical crossover albums Concept albums