It Was All a Dream (Dream album)

It Was All a Dream is the debut studio album released by American girl group Dream. It was released on January 23, 2001 by Bad Boy Records. The album garnered a mixed reception from critics. It Was All a Dream debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two singles: "He Loves U Not" and "This Is Me". The album sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. To promote the album, the group toured across North America and the UK with appearances at award shows and talk shows. It remains Dream's only album officially released after 2003's "Reality" was shelved and the girls were dropped by Bad Boy Records.

It Was All a Dream
Studio album by Dream
Released	January 23, 2001
Recorded	1998–2000
Genre	Pop, teen pop, dance-pop, R&B
Length	55:04
Label	Bad Boy Arista
Producer	Sean Combs (exec.) Andre Harrell (co-exec.) Debbie Hammond (co-exec.) Steve Kipner Ken Burns David Frank Vincent Herbert Todd Chapman
Dream chronology
It Was All a Dream (2001) Reality (2008)
Singles from Dream
"He Loves U Not" Released: September 5, 2000 "This Is Me" Released: May 1, 2001

Production

Shortly after being formed, Dream's former manager, Judith Fontaine, signed them to Clockwork Entertainment so they could begin working on their debut album. There, they recorded several tracks for the album. Subsequently, Dream parted ways with Fontaine and Clockwork Entertainment. Shortly thereafter, the group signed a record deal with Bad Boy Records. This meant that much of what was recorded at Clockwork Entertainment would be excluded from the album. In January 1999, original member Alex Chester left the group and was replaced by Diana Ortiz. With Ortiz on board, Dream recorded It Was All a Dream from 1999 to 2000.

Cover

Initial pressings of the CD feature a darkened cover, making the background look brown as well as the picture and text being harder to see, and a misprint on the track listing. The song "Mr. Telephone Man" is listed as simply "Mr. Telephone." Both of these were fixed on subsequent pressings, with the new color being the same image and text, but brightened. Here, the cover's background looks red.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	(B-)[2]
People	Unfavorable[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]

It Was All a Dream received mixed reviews from music critics. Arion Berger of Rolling Stone commended the girl group for delivering an album that contains a charm that's both fierce and adorable, concluding that it "sounds good, and, if you're under eighteen, very good for you, too."[4] David Browne, writing for Entertainment Weekly, was lukewarm on the album, praising the first couple of tracks and the girls' competent vocal delivery but criticized the rest of the album's overlong, generic teen pop content and sounding similar to other girl groups.[2] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave a mixed review of the record, praising the good-sounding production and decent vocal performances but felt that it overstayed its running time and made the girls feel like non-entities on their own record, concluding that "what separates the good from the great is personality, which is lacking on the otherwise adequate It Was All a Dream."[1] A writer for People found the album's adult content off-putting due to the band members' ages and preferred the tracks "Mr. Telephone Man" and "How Long" for being more age-appropriate for the girl group.[3]

In their look at the Least Essential Albums of 2001, The A.V. Club awarded the record with the title of Least Essential Album By A Protégé Of An Inessential Artist, with Stephen Thompson saying "[I]f taken objectively, It Was All A Dream sounds no less essential than any of the countless teen-courting albums released in recent years. But two qualities set Dream's debut apart from the crowd: a lack of timeliness and the involvement of Sean "P. Diddy" Combs."[5]

Release and promotion

It Was All a Dream was released on January 23, 2001. It spent 20 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 6. The album sold 1.5 million copies in the U.S. and was certified gold by the RIAA on February 21, 2001, then platinum on March 5, 2001.

Two singles were released from the album: "He Loves U Not" and "This is Me". "He Loves U Not" was released on September 12, 2000 and was a transatlantic hit, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and number 35 on the ARIA Singles Chart. "This is Me" was released on May 1, 2001 and peaked at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. A new remix of the song was released to radio and as a commercial CD single on July 10, 2001[6]. This helped the song reach #5 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales and number 80 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. "In My Dreams" was originally scheduled to be the album's third official single. The song was sent to radio stations in 2001[7], but never received a full single release.

To further promote the album, Dream toured with 'N Sync on their No Strings Attached Tour in November 2000 and toured with Destiny's Child, Eve, Jessica Simpson, 3LW and Nelly on the MTV TRL Tour in 2001. Dream also made several guest appearances on television shows including TRL, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Early Show, Live With Regis and Kelly and Good Morning America.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"It Was All a Dream" (Intro)	Vincent Herbert, Curtis Williams, Kenny Burns, Todd Chapman	Burns, Herbert, Williams, Chapman	1:16
2.	"He Loves U Not"	David Frank, Steve Kipner, Pamela Sheyne	Frank, Kipner	3:46
3.	"In My Dreams"	Sean Combs, Mario Winans, Dez Dottin, Karen Johnson, Gordon Dukes, Jack Knight	Dottin, Dukes, Winans, Combs	4:55
4.	"This Is Me"	Frank, Kipner, Sheyne	Frank	3:12
5.	"I Don't Like Anyone"	Martin Briley, Andy Marvel, Dana Calitri	Ric Wake	3:27
6.	"Reality" (Interlude)	Burns, Chapman	Burns, Chapman	3:27
7.	"Pain"	Holly Arnstein, Melissa Schuman, Ashley Poole, Diana Ortiz, Burns, Tom McLaughlin	Burns, McLaughlin, Winans, Combs	3:55
8.	"When I Get There"	Shelly Peiken, Guy Roche	Roche, Burns	3:55
9.	"What We Gonna Do About Us"	Knight, Winans, Combs	Winans, Combs	4:28
10.	"Jordan" (Interlude)	Burns, Chapman	Burns, Chapman	1:54
11.	"Mr. Telephone Man"	Ray Parker, Jr., Curtis Williams, Combs, Winans	Combs	5:02
12.	"Angel Inside"	Knight, Winans, Combs	Winans, Combs	3:10
13.	"Do You Wanna Dance"	Herbert, Williams	Herbert, Williams	3:06
14.	"Miss You"	Herbert, Williams	Herbert, Williams	4:14
15.	"Our Prayer" (Interlude)	Burns, Chapman	Burns, Chapman	1:04
16.	"How Long"	Franne Golde, Kasia Livingston, Chapman	Chapman	4:05
17.	"He Loves U Not" (Remix)	Kipner, Frank, Sheyne, Harold Ousley	Winans, Combs	3:10

Limited edition Wal-Mart bonus tracks[8]

No.	Title	Length
18.	"Back 2 U"	3:57
19.	"Baby"	3:41

Notes

• "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Miss You" do not feature vocals from Diana Ortiz, but instead feature vocals from former member Alex Chester, as they were recorded before Diana joined. In the fade out of "Do You Wanna Dance", Ashley gives a shout out to Holly, Melissa, and Alex.
• "He Loves U Not" (Remix) contains a sample of "Pretty Please", performed by Houston Person and composed by Harold Ousley.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of It Was All a Dream.[9]

Sean "Puffy" Combs – executive producer Andre Harrell – executive producer Debbie Hammond – executive producer Vincent Herbert – associate executive producer Kenny Burns – A&R, associate executive producer, management Esaie Witherspoon – product manager, project manager, production manager Leo Williams - product manager, project manager Kim Lumpkin – project manager Eddy Schreyer – mastering James SK Wān – bamboo flute Gary Greenberg – legal

Kenny Meiselas – Bad Boy legal representation Tonya Salvant – product manager Alison Stanley – product manager BENTO – creative direction and design Troy Ward – photography Rodney O'Neal McKnight – stylist Charlene Roxborough – stylist David Cox – hair Hikari & Jose – hair Erin Ayanian – makeup

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2001) Peak position US Billboard 200[10] 6 US Top Internet Albums (Billboard)[11] 15 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] 11 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United States (RIAA)[13] Platinum 1,000,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position US Billboard 200[14] 57 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[15] 96

Notes

• "Pain" contains a sample of "Crazy" by The Usual Suspects.
• Two other versions of the album were released: one version included two bonus tracks, "Baby" and "Back 2 U", released as tracks 18 and 19 with the same original track listing; the second version included three bonus tracks, "Baby", "Back 2 U", and "Daddy's Little Girl" (which features original member Alex Chester) and omitted "In My Dreams", "I Don't Like Anyone", "This Is Me", and "He Loves U Not (Remix)".
• It Was All a Dream peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on February 10, 2001.
• "He Loves U Not" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
• "This Is Me" peaked at #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #80 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
• "Mr. Telephone Man" is a cover of the New Edition song of the same name. Coincidentally, P. Diddy signed that group some time after Dream broke up.

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "It Was All a Dream - Dream". AllMusic. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
2. Browne, David (January 26, 2001). "It Was All a Dream". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
3. "Picks and Pans Review: It Was All a Dream". People. Meredith Corporation. January 22, 2001. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
4. Berger, Arion (January 23, 2001). "It Was All A Dream : Dream : Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on January 3, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
5. Thompson, Stephen (December 12, 2001). "Least Essential Albums of 2001". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on March 29, 2006. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
6. https://www.discogs.com/Dream-This-Is-Me-Remixes/release/3235663
7. https://www.discogs.com/Dream-In-My-Dreams/release/4747771
8. https://www.discogs.com/Dream-It-Was-All-A-Dream/release/8240600
9. It Was All a Dream (liner notes). Bad Boy Records. 2001. 78612-73037-2.
10. "Dream Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "It Was All a Dream - Dream | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
12. "Dream Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
13. "American album certifications – Dream – It Was All a Dream". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 9, 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
14. "2001 Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
15. "2001 Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 9, 2015.

External links

• It Was All a Dream (Dream album) at Discogs (list of releases)