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I want to thank all of you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. Nothing makes me happier than receiving your wonderful responses and knowing that you are enjoying my music. After all, I am making these albums for you! Full
Reviews Bill Binkelman Dreaming
For Real is one of those special debut recordings
that blew me away when I first dropped the virtual
needle onto the virtual first
groove. Those
synth strings entered on the title cut and my heart
melted. Hey, laugh all you want, fuzz-ball
(copyright, Han Solo); this CD is one of the more
romantic and warmly melodic releases I've heard in
a long time. That the music is also complex, quite
varied in emotional mood, and engineered to
near-flawless perfection shoots Mister Potts'
recording into the Binkelman stratosphere with
ease. The
music on Dreaming For Real is exquisite and
unabashedly romantic. Blending his synth strings
with bells, chimes, piano, and neo-symphonic
keyboards, Mister Potts hits one great song after
another, launching each one into different
bleachers. BAM! Heart-rending beauty ("Symphony
Erotica")! CRACK! Haunting mystery ("Nocturnal
Tapestry")! POW! Frantic, neo-classical menace
("Imsomnia")! BOOM! Somber yet sublime reflection
("Sleepwalking"). The baseball analogy is my way of
saying that Dreaming For Real is a bases-loaded
out-of-the-park smash hit! This music is some of
the prettiest yet non-melodramatic stuff you will
hear this year, guaranteed! The
other point worth mentioning is how original this
music is. Mister Potts really doesn't sound like
anyone. Oh sure, you could say that on some songs
you might hear echoes of Ciani, and on others a
smidgen of Vangelis. But, the strong neo-classical
elements, combined with the considerably varied
pallette of synths, place this CD into a whole
other realm from them. Plus, the diversity of
tempos and moods across the recording are stunning.
There is a characteristic "Potts" sound (synth
strings and a vague symphonic texture at times),
and it's not like you'll hear Feet In The Soil
Asher-isms next to Eno-esque ambience. The
diversity I'm speaking of is actually harder for an
artist to nail. It's easy to make wildly different
music, song-to-song. But, to lend just enough of
your signature touch to a tune, yet always bring a
new wrinkle to the process. Well, not a lot of
people can do that. Mister Potts, on his first
recording no less, does it magnificently. I love
the descending synth notes in "Nightmare" that seem
to come from out of nowhere (appropriately enough).
And then, just when you think the song will be a
"typical" darker ambient piece, the guy slips in
some beautiful major chord symphonic synths, before
bringing the noir elements back, even more menacing
than before. I tell ya, this man has it! This stuff
is magic! Dreaming
For Real gets my highest recommendations. It is
beautiful beyond my ability to describe it. It
sparkles, dances, flits, and walks the darkened
corridors of your mind during the deepest part of
the night. Dreaming For Real is for real, all
right. Sweet dreams are assured with this one.
Fred Puhan With
dreams the likes of which Mister Potts weaves, who
would ever want to wake up? How
often does the word "elegant" come into play when
describing music? Well, this is one of those times.
Mister Potts has been composing and performing for
quite some time it would seem. And yet "Dreaming
For Real" is his debut album. Legend has it that
Mister Potts has been honing his skills composing
music for film, radio, television -- even ballet!
And it shows. This is an album full of genuine
complexity, maturity, polish, and yes,
elegance. The
title "Dreaming For Real" refers to the fact that
Potts claims to dream the music, and then upon
waking, remembers it and puts it to paper. The song
titles too, refer to elements of sleep and
dreaming: Dancing With A Dream, Cosmic Night,
Nocturnal Tapestry, Insomnia, Sleepwalking, and so
on. Each
cut on the album has its own flavor; its own
timbre, so to speak. Yet the album works as a
single entity as well, so tightly woven are the
spells, or dare I say it, the dreams, that bind it
together. Potts
uses keyboards (synths and piano) primarily. A nod
of appreciation must be given to Larry Mah, who
recorded and mixed the album, and whose touch lends
a masterful professionalism to the quality of the
recording. A most impressive debut, indeed. I've
listened to this CD at home, in hotel rooms, on
board airplanes, and in my car. Despite the
sometimes cacophonous surroundings, "Dreaming For
Real" has never failed to put my mind and soul at
ease, granting me extended periods of luxurious
calm. I
never used to wonder what it would be like to
experience someone else's dreams. Thanks to Mister
Potts, however, I now have a glimpse. And it's
certainly "For Real." Thanks, Mister Potts.
"great
and sweet melodies..."
"I
liked your CD, it's one of the best ones I've heard
in a while" "It's
in my CD Changer at home right now... One of four
CDs I've taken home this year out of around 110
submitted CDs. Does that tell you what I
think?"
"WOW -- I
love it! Congratulations on a job beautifully done
from top to bottom."
S.S., Cambridge, MA
"My entire
family loves it, even the kids. I may order more
later on for Xmas presents."
J.D., Londonderry, NH
"It was over
too soon. The CD stopped and I thought - "No, I
want to hear more." J.H.,
Nassua, NY
"We got our
CD, it made beautiful lounging music for us last
week." V.S. Beverly, MA
"It takes me
into a comfort zone of peace."
M.G.P., Chicago, IL
"I always
feel better after it's been on for awhile--more
peaceful, in better spirits. Once it even cured an
intractable headache that had been impervious to
drugs and acupressure (thank you for that!). There
must be something about the different brain-wave
frequencies of the dream state, something you have
managed to `bring to life.' M.M.,
Jamaica Plain, MA
"In his
"Dreaming For Real" he touches so many levels of
the unconscious from the wanting to reach the
heavens, to edgy sleepiness, to reliving the days
worries, he captures the sensual sleep in us, as
well as the longing for a different or better
place.....every note becomes a statement....He
brings his dreams to life and isn't that something
we all wish we could do...that safe warm place
where we love to spend hours just being wrapped up
in our dreams and inner thoughts...or even working
through some of lifes' daily routines and
problems...... the music embraces you then takes
you on a journey to another world, another frame of
mind where you can stop and just be.....he becomes
the mastermind behind your spirits being lifted to
the heavens......he can transcend you to a
different place because of love, because of his
love of music and wanting to share the moods and
shapes of his world...he brings beauty and quiet to
what has become a very noisy world...and if it
sounds cliche...then so be it....Just sit and
listen to the sounds of the night and let Mister
Potts be your blanket into the dream
world........" D.A.,
Boston, MA
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