''Dream Soldier'' is the fourth album by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soul singer-songwriter

Des'ree Desirée Annette Weekes (born 30 November 1968), known by her stage name Des'ree (), is an English pop recording artist who rose to popularity during the 1990s. She is best known for her hits "Feel So High", "You Gotta Be", "Life", and " Kissi ...

. It was released on 31 March 2003 on the

Sony Soho Square Sony S2 Records, formerly named as S2 Records and Sony Soho Square (typeset as Sony Soho2), was a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (SME), which operated as a record label in the 1990s and early 2000s. Sony Soho Square was named after its ...

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

and features the

UK top 75 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

single, "It's Okay". For sixteen years, it was the last studio album by Des'ree as she hadn't released any new material since the album's release before going on hiatus to focus on her interest in

naturopathy Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of pseudoscientific practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturop ...

. It wasn't until 2019 when she announced her fifth studio album, ''A Love Story'', set to be released on October 11 through Stargazer Records. This is also her only studio album to be released in the 2000s as it was her last album before her hiatus.

Commercial reception

The album was a commercial failure in comparison to Des'ree's previous three studio albums, entering and peaking at number 178 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and spending three weeks in the chart. The album failed to chart in the US. Following the commercial and critical failure of ''Dream Soldier'', Des'ree was dropped by her label, Sony Music, and did not return to recording or releasing music until 2019.

Singles

Only one single was released from ''Dream Soldier'' due to the poor commercial performance of the album. "It's Okay", which featured a radio mix by

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...

, was released on 24 March 2003 and reached number 69 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The single didn't chart in the US.

Track listing

Worldwide edition

Credits

Production

* Arranged by

Will Malone Wil Malone (born 1952, in Hornsey, North London) is a British music producer and arranger, who has worked with artists including Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Todd Rundgren, The Verve, Massive Attack, Depeche Mode and Italian rocker Gianna Nannini ...

(tracks: 1 to 5, 8, 9) * Engineered by Alex Scannell, Simon Changer * Strings engineered by Alex Scannell (tracks: 2, 4, 8, 9) * Mastered by

Ray Staff Ray Staff is a British mastering engineer, best known for his work with a diverse mix of artists including Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Clash and Black Sabbath. Most recently he has mastered albums for Muse. Biography and career Joini ...

* Mixed by

Jonathan Quarmby Jonathan Hugh Quarmby (born 20 December 1961 in Huddersfield), is an English record producer and songwriter and son of English architect Arthur Quarmby. Biography Studying architecture at Sheffield University, he soon became a part of the city' ...

(tracks: 2 to 11),

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. His films include the musical-drama film '' Footloose'' (1984), the controversial historical conspiracy legal thriller '' JFK'' (1991), the legal drama '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), t ...

(tracks: 2–11),

(track: 1) * Producer Des'ree (tracks: 2 to 11), Jonathan Quarmby (tracks: 2–11), Kevin Bacon (tracks: 2–11), Stargate (track: 1)

Personnel

* Backing vocals – Chris Ballin (tracks: 1, 3, 11), Derek Green (tracks: 1, 3, 11), Des'ree (tracks: 1 to 4, 9 to 11) * Bass – Kevin Bacon (tracks: 1 to 5, 8 to 10) * Guitar – Mark Sheridan (tracks: 1, 3, 4 to 6, 9, 10) * Keyboards – Jonathan Quarmby (tracks: 1 to 10) * Strings – The London Metropolitan Orchestra (tracks: 1 to 9)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2003 albums Des'ree albums Albums produced by Kevin Bacon (producer) Albums produced by Jonathan Quarmby Epic Records albums