The Dreamer
by Etta James
  • Record Label: Verve
  • Release Date: Nov 8, 2011
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. Expert Witness (MSN Music)
    Feb 17, 2012
    91
    The physical and even mental diminution enriches the music.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Nov 9, 2011
    83
    Snarling through covers as far-flung as "Welcome to the Jungle" and Little Big Town's "Boondocks," James brings some welcome grit to the retirement-album game.
  3. Uncut
    Dec 12, 2011
    80
    A supremely sassy swansong. [Jan 2012, p.90]
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  5. BBC Music
    Nov 16, 2011
    80
    The production might be slick, but James relaxes into this framework, providing the necessary lived-in looseness.
  6. The Independent (UK)
    Nov 14, 2011
    80
    As a swansong, it's as fine as might be expected given the circumstances.
  7. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Nov 14, 2011
    80
    James's voice is slightly diminished but not so as to sound like anything other than itself. She's the real deal.
  8. Los Angeles Times
    Nov 9, 2011
    75
    We get a career-twilight portrait of James and her darker-than-ever voice in a set of moody, bluesy and slow-jam groove numbers.
  9. American Songwriter
    Nov 9, 2011
    70
    On The Dreamer, James includes some unlikely song choices, and most of them work.
  10. AllMusic
    Nov 9, 2011
    70
    The Dreamer is a fitting--if not perfect--bookend to one of American popular music's most iconic lives.

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