The Corrs Club

Dreams
22-Dec-2018 13:06:25

CorrsClub Time:
28-Mar-2024 12:40:37

I never particularly liked FM's original version of Dreams. I'm not a huge fan of the Corrs' version, either, but I do like it better than the original. Two things I liked about the Corrs' version:

1) The original has an eighth-note hi-hat pattern, which can be heard throughout the song. This gives the song a kind of lazy shuffle feel:



In the Corrs version, Caroline plays a 16th-note hi-hat pattern (i.e., twice as fast), which gives the song more energy and intensity (e.g., at 2:45):



2) The FM version alternates between two chords for almost the entire song. Listen to the bass in the recording above; it pretty much just alternates between F and G, including in both the verse and chorus. The Corrs' version uses two additional chords, so there's a four-chord cycle rather than a two-chord cycle. e.g., listen to the bass starting at 1:56 above. This gives the song more of a sense of momentum and harmonic interest. The bass part, with its small embellishments, is also more interesting.

I also like the violin parts and the backing vocals. Listen to the vocals at 2:37 -- it sounds like there is no backing track with extra vocals, so you can really hear Sharon singing clearly.

The Corrs sometimes followed the FM version more closely, notably in the Unplugged DVD and the BBC Christmas radio show:



I like this version, especially Caroline's crisp drumming, but I do find that the simple two-note bass part starts to get monotonous after a while.

SteveW
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