Amy Lee - Dream Too Much [Review]

Most us know Amy Lee as the lead singer of alternative metal band Evanescence, but do all of us know her as the folksy lullaby singer on Dream Too Much? I would venture to guess not. Years ago, Lee was asked about the possibility of ever doing solo work, and she said that she would love to because she doesn't want to be seen as a "one-trick pony," and she has definitely proven that she is anything but. Since Evanescence's most recent album (self-titled) in 2011, Lee has performed bluegrass shows, wrote a film (War Story)'s score, and released an EP containing four cover songs (Portishead's "It's a Fire," U2's "With or Without You," Led Zeppelin's "Going to California," and my favorite of the batch, Chris Isaak's "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing"). 2014's Aftermath contained not only instrumental music for the aforementioned film but also a few songs, including the 90s-esque electronic club banger "Push the Button." Dream Too Much ventures into even newer territory - a children's album containing folky songs and lullabies. The album, inspired by the birth of Lee's son, Jack Lion Hartzler, is simply adorable, and perhaps mainly because I have never really heard this side of Amy Lee before (the closest that comes to mind is her "Cartoon Network Song" or maybe her cover of "Halfway Down the Stairs"), it feels very fresh and new. The album opens with "Stand by Me," a cover of the classic song originally by Ben E. King. This is one of the many songs on the album that is simply adorable. Featuring background "bum-bum-bum..." harmonizing by Amy's sisters as well as an accompaniment by what sounds like a banjo, this cover is so emotionally uplifting and adorable and serves as a great intro to the album.

The album then moves into the title track, "Dream Too Much," which I guess is technically the album's first single. The track starts with lulling notes that sound like they're played on a xylophone or a keyboard. The song has a really catchy melody and is essentially about how anything can happen in our dreams. Lee tells dream-like, nonsensical stories such as wind blowing at the bottom of the ocean, sleeping muffins, flying sandwiches, jellyfish building towers made of watermelon, etc. What I love about this album is that even though it is a children's album, Amy is well aware that she has a large adult fanbase, and there is consequently something for everyone on this album. "Dream Too Much" is a good example of this, as it has a really great message to which anyone can relate regardless of age. The best example of this can be found in these particular lyrics: "In dreams, you can do anything you want to, and once in a while, you'll have dreams that come true." I think that anyone can relate to this idea - children, teens, young adults, middle-aged adults, the elderly, etc. - that dreams are sometimes goals to which we can aspire. Then comes the shortest track on the album. Running at only thirty-seven seconds long, "Bee and Duck" is a short story sung over animal (bee and duck, of course) sound effects and what sounds like xylophone and piano, a story about a pair of friends (a bee and a duck) whose friendship ends when the duck tries to eat the bee and the bee retaliates by stinging the duck. It's a very simple and rather silly song that's definitely targeted primarily for youngsters.

Tracks 4 and 5 on the album are two of my favorites. The fourth track is "I'm Not Tired," which Amy herself has said is probably the funniest track on the album (and I would agree). She also said that it's her mother's favorite song on the album. It seems to be a song potentially from Jack's perspective, not wanting to go to bed. I think that even adults would love this song. (I know that I do; it's catchy and funny.) We all remember being at an age when going to bed was one of the most terrible things in the world that could happen. We didn't feel tired and wanted to stay up and continue playing with our toys or watching movies or whatever it was that we were doing. Our parent(s) don't have to go to bed until they're tired, we'd think, so why do I? The best part of the song is when Amy sings, "I can count down backwards from a thousand; check it out - 1,000; 999; 998; 997..." It's a catchy tune that will probably get a chuckle or two out of you. The fifth track is titled "Little Bird" and is, as I said, another of my favorites. After the energy of "I'm Not Tired," the speed is brought down considerably on this piano-driven song intended as an ode to the beauty of birds. This song is absolutely beautiful, and even though it's still pretty far removed from Evanescence's material, it is possibly in keeping with Amy's apparent love for birds, as it reminds me of this lyric from the Evanescence song "End of the Dream": "I found a bird closing her eyes one last time, and I wonder if she dreamed like me." Similarly, in "Little Bird," Amy not only admires the beauty of the described birds but also seems to identify with them: "I know your name," she sings.

Tracks 6-8 are all cover songs, so I won't spend a whole lot of time talking about them. "Alice" is another short one (running at only forty-eight seconds long) and is melodically beautiful. Amy sings the old children's nursery rhyme (in what I am pretty sure is her own melody) over the sound of a harp (I always love it when she uses harp), and it's stunningly beautiful, even though I quite honestly don't understand the meaning of the nursery rhyme. (The rhyme is actually sometimes recited as "Gladys, where art thou going?" instead of "Alice...") Is Alice a doll that went down the drain? "Rubber Duckie," which of course is originally by Jim Henson from Sesame Street, is vocally led both by Amy and her father John Lee, and this is such an adorable and uplifting duet. The melody is sung over what I believe is either a banjo or an ukulele; I am honestly not sure (I am a terrible music reviewer, I know). Amy and her father sound so amazing together, and I hope to hear more from them in the future. "Hello Goodbye" is a cover of a classic song by The Beatles, and, as is just about all of the material on this album, it's so adorable. The cover is backed by a fun beat to which you might find yourself bobbing your head as well as guitar, and at least two of Amy's family members make vocal "appearances" on the song; her brother Robby is singing background vocals, and her son Jack says at approximately the 1:10 mark, "Goodbye, goodbye!" I remember Amy saying before the album came out that even Jack could be heard on the album, but she didn't say which song. Well, it's "Hello Goodbye," and it's precious.

"Donkey and Chicken" is similar to "Bee and Duck" in that it tells the story of a friendship between two animals. In this narrative, sung over what I believe is a banjo (the song kind of has a country-like twang to it, which makes sense since it's about farm animals) and a marching band beat, Amy tells the story of a donkey and a chicken who escape from their farmer in order to eat a bunch of ice cream, which results in their getting nauseous and having to sleep on the side of the road instead of going home to their farmer. My favorite part of the song is when the musical accompaniment changes to what sounds like an ice cream truck playing music, and Amy enthusiastically sings, "Ice cream! Ice cream! Sweet, sticky, glorious ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream! Tastiest treat in the world!" One thing that I love about this album is that you can tell that Amy and her family had so much fun making it, and it's very creative. Like "Bee and Duck," though, this song tells a very simple story that's ideal for the really little ones. "The End of the Book," though, is another favorite of mine that has a really sweet story behind it (as do many of the songs on the album). The song is inspired by Jack, as Amy has said that he tends to cry when the book that is being read to him is finished. She responds by telling him that they can read it again. "The end of the book isn't the end of the story. You can imagine anything that you want it to be," Amy starts the song by declaring. Some of the lyrics remind me of the title track because they are also about not being afraid to exercise your imagination. Amy has said that some of the songs included toys such as mallets as instruments, and I think that this might have been one such song.

The eleventh track on Dream Too Much is my favorite song on the album and is the second song to have premiered from the album. "If You're a Star" is quite possibly the most beautiful song that Amy has ever written, and anyone who knows me and understands my love for Amy and Evanescence knows that that is saying a lot. This is a piano-driven lullaby that wonders if stars have any human-like characteristics. "How do you sleep at night if you can never turn out your light?" she asks the stars. "How do you sleep at night if you're a star?" The melody of this song is hauntingly beautiful, and I especially love the part near the end of the song (at the 2:34 mark) when Amy closes the song by playing a snippet of the primary melody on the piano. What makes this song especially beautiful is that a lot of it was improvised by Amy and her husband Josh; they often sing to Jack and make lyrics and melodies up as they go along, and this song was the result of such a session. Dream Too Much then closes with "Goodnight My Love," a cover of a pop song originally released in 1956 by Jesse Belvin. Even though this is a cover, it still has a touching story behind it. Amy said that it was the first song to be record for the album, back when it was simply a family project not necessarily intended to be released for the world to hear. Her father John takes the lead on this one, with Amy harmonizing on background vocals, but this is a song that he sang to her as a child, which makes his singing it ever so meaningful. It's a great closing to an album that is such a beautiful work of art. I expected to love it because I have loved everything that Amy Lee has ever done, but I love it even more than I thought that I would. It's beautiful, creative, heartwarming, and adorable, and it has something for the whole family. Evanescence fans, you'd be foolish to not to give this a chance.