Yesterday's Dreams

[jobucats]

I was just listening again to this wonderful waltz-like ballad by the Four Tops and was so moved by the urgency of this song, "Yesterday's Dreams." Yes, I know it didn't do very well on the charts which was probably due to many factors including it is written in 3/4 time [[not a popular time signature in pop music). Another aspect that caught my attention is how clearly you can hear the background voices of Obie, Duke, and Lawrence without augmented voices.

Just a good song, IMO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9Sp3t04OZM

[marv2]

You have great taste. I've loved this and "I'm In A Different World".

[TomatoTom123]

You have great taste. I've loved this and "I'm In A Different World".

Yessss, love that Marv
Beautiful, lovely song
Such soul, yet such emotion
Just great!!!

[Ollie9]

I remember playing this song to death as a young kid when it featured on the Motown Chartbusters vol 3 album. Never understood why it performed so poorly on the charts. To me it sounds a classic motown hit.

[jobucats]

Marv, what can I say about "I'm In a Different World"? Let alone the great interpretation of Levi and the Tops, this is what I consider a masterpiece production. Notice that the verses tend to be sparse in instrumentation adding to the somber mood of the lyrics. As the the refrain approaches, a whole new array of instruments [[especially the string section) is added which in turn ushers in the section with the moving rhythm "I'm no longer just another face in the crowd. Hey, look at me now, you see I'm strong and I'm proud." All of this is followed by another somber verse which again evolves into forementioned structure of the song.

Another effect that I like is the phrase somewhere around 2:10 where Levi begins the swelling "Ah........" Some recordings of this have a pronounced reverb/echo technique added which is only fitting to further promote the concept of "A Different World."

Some may say the version by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin is "cheesy" however, I found that their version is quite a good interpretation.

Thanks for mentioning this song.

[marv2]

Marv, what can I say about "I'm In a Different World"? Let alone the great interpretation of Levi and the Tops, this is what I consider a masterpiece production. Notice that the verses tend to be sparse in instrumentation adding to the somber mood of the lyrics. As the the refrain approaches, a whole new array of instruments [[especially the string section) is added which in turn ushers in the section with the moving rhythm "I'm no longer just another face in the crowd. Hey, look at me now, you see I'm strong and I'm proud." All of this is followed by another somber verse which again evolves into forementioned structure of the song.

Another effect that I like is the phrase somewhere around 2:10 where Levi begins the swelling "Ah........" Some recordings of this have a pronounced reverb/echo technique added which is only fitting to further promote the concept of "A Different World."

Some may say the version by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin is "cheesy" however, I found that their version is quite a good interpretation.

Thanks for mentioning this song.

I love the way Levi immediately starts singing as soon as the record starts. It may be the way the recording was edited. You are right about the sparse verses giving it an almost acappella feel. When he does the "Ahhhhhh...." it use to give me chills as kid it was that good!

Dave Stewart as in Dave Stewart of the Eurhythmics has done a version of "I'm In A Different World?

[jobucats]

I love the way Levi immediately starts singing as soon as the record starts. It may be the way the recording was edited. You are right about the sparse verses giving it an almost acappella feel. When he does the "Ahhhhhh...." it use to give me chills as kid it was that good!

Dave Stewart as in Dave Stewart of the Eurhythmics has done a version of "I'm In A Different World?

I found this and downloaded it a couple of years ago from iTunes. Not sure if it's the same Dave Stewart you mentioned. It's from an album [[cd) called "Broken Records-The Singles" from 1987 containing lush interpretations of popular singles.

[marv2]

I found this and downloaded it a couple of years ago from iTunes. Not sure if it's the same Dave Stewart you mentioned. It's from an album [[cd) called "Broken Records-The Singles" from 1987 containing lush interpretations of popular singles.

I'll try to check it out. Thanks Jobucats!

[soulwally]

I love the way Levi immediately starts singing as soon as the record starts. It may be the way the recording was edited. You are right about the sparse verses giving it an almost acappella feel. When he does the "Ahhhhhh...." it use to give me chills as kid it was that good!

Dave Stewart as in Dave Stewart of the Eurhythmics has done a version of "I'm In A Different World?

It's a different Dave Stewart

[arr&bee]

A different sound to me,and a good one i too fail to see why it didn't chart higher.

[TomatoTom123]

"I'm In A Different World" made #51 on the US Pop Charts and #23 on the R&B Charts. It was actually a bigger hit in the UK, where it got to #27.

[marv2]

It's a different Dave Stewart

Thanks Soulwally.

[Sotosound]

Another effect that I like is the phrase somewhere around 2:10 where Levi begins the swelling "Ah........" Some recordings of this have a pronounced reverb/echo technique added which is only fitting to further promote the concept of "A Different World."

The reverb/echo is on the stereo mix.

"Yesterday's Dreams" is a great song, and the production seems different to all that went before in terms of it sounding very, very clean and dry, both in mono and in stereo. Possibly new gear in the studio at that time or a new mixing engineer or the influence of Ivy Jo Hunter?

Also, is there actually a dedicated mono mix? I've never been sure of that since the single and album versions sound very similar.

[[The normal DM number is missing on the US Motown single for some reason, so that doesn't provide a clue to either who mixed it, nor whether or not the single has a dedicated mono mix.)

[theboyfromxtown]

The DM reference is 441M07 and there are a further 2 [[earlier) mono mixes.

Interestingly this is one of those songs where co-producers were not listed on the label credits. Co-producers were Jack Goga and Lawrence Payton .

[motownjohnny]

The reverb/echo is on the stereo mix.

"Yesterday's Dreams" is a great song, and the production seems different to all that went before in terms of it sounding very, very clean and dry, both in mono and in stereo. Possibly new gear in the studio at that time or a new mixing engineer or the influence of Ivy Jo Hunter?

Also, is there actually a dedicated mono mix? I've never been sure of that since the single and album versions sound very similar.

[[The normal DM number is missing on the US Motown single for some reason, so that doesn't provide a clue to either who mixed it, nor whether or not the single has a dedicated mono mix.)

In the U.S. there is definitely a mono mix of the album - cat. no. MM 669, I believe this was the last album on the Motown label to be released commercially with a mono version. A few of the later albums e.g. "Love Child" by Diana Ross and The Supremes did have mono versions, but they were all white label DJ copies and not for sale to the public.

[Sotosound]

The DM reference is 441M07 and there are a further 2 [[earlier) mono mixes.

Interestingly this is one of those songs where co-producers were not listed on the label credits. Co-producers were Jack Goga and Lawrence Payton .

Cool. I was going from an image of the record label, which normally contains the DM reference but which doesn't in this case.

I also had a good listen a few minutes ago with the mono switch on and compared the mono and stereo versions .... and there are differences.

The elements of the single mix are largely a little more up front in relation to Levi's vocals, e.g. strings, backing vocals etc. The elements are also slightly more integrated, but that's about it. The overall sound and feel are very, very similar on both mixes and equally very, very dry.

Quite the opposite of "I'm In A Different World" wherein one could almost believe that it's "I'm In A Different Recording" since the two mixes are quite different, i.e. the norm for Motown of that era.

[TomatoTom123]

I was just listening again to this wonderful waltz-like ballad by the Four Tops and was so moved by the urgency of this song, "Yesterday's Dreams." Yes, I know it didn't do very well on the charts which was probably due to many factors including it is written in 3/4 time [[not a popular time signature in pop music). Another aspect that caught my attention is how clearly you can hear the background voices of Obie, Duke, and Lawrence without augmented voices.

Just a good song, IMO

Been listening to this one and it has grown on me very much! I now love it!!! Thank you, jobucats

[biggestfourtops fan]

Fantastic gem of a song. Too many original songs left off that album like JUST ONE LAST LOOK, I'M SO AFRAID OF LOSING YOU, LONELY LOVER, I CAN'T ESCAPE YOUR MEMORY. YOUR LOVE IS WONDERFUL and IF YOU DON'T WANT MY LOVE should've been on that as well.