Blues Dream
by Bill Frisell
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. AllMusic
    80
    Frisell’s fondness for putting unusual combinations of instruments together adds to the overall effect, leaving the listener to wonder why no one has ever tried this before. Blues Dream is a lovely release that should satisfy Frisell fans as well as jazz, country, and blues fans looking for a genre bending experience.
  2. Billboard
    80
    With the addition of trumpet, trombone, and alto sax to his quartet sound, however, Frisell is on the job with a jumbo-sized sonic palette. The results, tune by tune, are as eccentric as they are intriguing.
  3. Launch.com
    90
    The music gets gorgeously bizarre, but there is always a sleepy dog and a piece of apple pie waiting at night's end.
  5. PopMatters
    80
    Blues Dream is one of those rare instrumental records that neither bores or infuriates.
  6. Sonicnet
    80
    With the twangy, kaleidoscopic blend of country blues, downtown jazz and so many other unexpected flavors and sounds on Bill Frisell's latest album, Blues Dream, one can't help but be reminded a little of the updated American folkloric music score in the Coen Brothers' latest film.
  7. The A.V. Club
    80
    Blues Dream, Frisell's best collection since 1995's breakthrough Nashville, frequently incorporates blues as the base for a strong batch of evocative arrangements...
  8. The Wire
    90
    Blues Dream is both a compendious evocation and synthesis of a range of genres that never sounds merely eclectic... It's one of Frisell's most ambitious productions to date. [#207, p.61]
    All this publication's reviews

Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best Album of 2001
80
#80 Most Shared Album of 2001

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 7 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. BillW
    Feb 12, 2005
    3
    Bill Frisell is a very talented musician ! 1/3 of the music on this album is great ! However, the other 2/3 of the music is too noncommital. Bill Frisell is a very talented musician ! 1/3 of the music on this album is great ! However, the other 2/3 of the music is too noncommital. Its atmospheric music. No one takes a solo. I would expect more from him. So, I must give it a 3 which is 1/3 of 10.… Full Review »
  2. DanS
    Jan 27, 2004
    10
    Heartbreaking, beautiful. You're driving across Kansas, 3 in the morning, it's still 95 degrees outside, the windows are open, and Heartbreaking, beautiful. You're driving across Kansas, 3 in the morning, it's still 95 degrees outside, the windows are open, and you know you'll be in Denver by morning. One of the best jazz records in recent memory.… Full Review »
  3. JarradP
    Jan 30, 2002
    8
    Finally, I can say I listen to and all types of music, including country. A couple of skippable tracks, but the album as a whole is quite Finally, I can say I listen to and all types of music, including country. A couple of skippable tracks, but the album as a whole is quite enchanting. Great photography too.… Full Review »
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