Hollywood Dream – THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN***

Hollywood No.1/The Reason/Open The Door Homer/Look Around/Accidents/Wild Country/When I Think/The Old Cornmill/I Don’t Know/Hollywood Dream/Hollywood No. 2/Something In The Air

Hollywood Dream was the sole album from the British one hit wonder Thunderclap Newman. Created by The Who’s Pete Townshend they topped the UK singles chart with Something In The Air. (US:161)

“Even with Something In The Air's anthem status, the rest of the album definitely holds up. Hollywood Dream is a solid musical experience which gets under your skin as the tunes roll along. This album is one to be enjoyed repeatedly over time.”

“The tunes are infectious and will hook you from the beginning. Every song is a surprise, whether through the lyrics or the amazing intertwining of the melodies and many instruments played by these three brilliant musicians, or the clever arrangements. There are juxtapositions of ragtime jazz interspersed with soaring rock guitar solos, obscure Asian instruments and good old Dixieland style horns, which sometimes shift over to jazz and R & B styles.”

“Despite the revolutionary disposition Hollywood Dream is a rather gentle album showing more airy moodiness and halftones than rebellious emotions.”

“Delightful album with a unique sound, a handful of all-time great songs, several more good ones, and a few filler-ish but quite listenable tunes. Something In The Air is rightly recognized as one of the classic singles of its era, but there are a couple that are even better: Open The Door Homer has a similarly great, wondrous vibe and is one of the best Dylan covers ever, and Hollywood Dream is one of the finest three minute pop-rock instrumentals.”

“This is a totally solid album of psychedelic British pop rock. My main beef is that the songs can be formulaic - they all seem to be decent mid-tempo rockers with sudden breaks for contrasting quirky jazz/honky-tonk piano interludes. It works on Something In The Air, but it starts to get a little repetitive elsewhere."

“Trouble is by the time this album came out in Britain the singles and albums markets were considered to be very different and Thunderclap Newman were seen as a 'one hit wonder' and the album was deemed not worthy of serious attention.”