Dream Into Action (2018 Expanded & Remastered Edition) Howard Jones

• 1 Things Can Only Get Better (2018 Remaster) 03:55
• 2 Life In One Day (2018 Remaster) 03:39
• 3 Dream Into Action (2018 Remaster) 03:47
• 4 No One Is To Blame (2018 Remaster) 03:28
• 5 Look Mama (2018 Remaster) 04:03
• 6 Assault And Battery (2018 Remaster) 04:52
• 7 Automaton (2018 Remaster) 04:06
• 8 Is There A Difference? (2018 Remaster) 03:34
• 9 Elegy (2018 Remaster) 04:24
• 10 Speciality (2018 Remaster) 04:02
• 11 Why Look For The Key (2018 Remaster) 03:22
• 12 Hunger For The Flesh (2018 Remaster) 04:01
• 13 Bounce Right Back (2018 Remaster) 04:33
• 14 Like To Get To Know You Well (2018 Remaster) 04:01
• 15 No One Is to Blame (Remake) 04:08
• 16 Like to Get to Know You Well (Demo Recorded In Howard's Front Room) 03:25
• 17 No One Is To Blame (The Long Mix) 03:08
• 18 No One Is to Blame (Single Mix) 04:15
• 19 Like to Get to Know You Well (International Mix) 07:39
• 20 Things Can Only Get Better (Extended Mix) 07:27
• 21 Look Mama (R.H. Version) 09:05
• 22 Life in One Day, Pt. 1 (2018 Remaster) 06:50
• 23 Life in One Day, Pt. 2 07:14
• 24 No One Is To Blame (Extended Mix) 05:21
• 25 Learning How to Love (2018 Remaster) 04:07
• 26 Boom Bap Respite 02:49
• 27 The Chase 02:50
• 28 No One Is to Blame (Lambs & Planes Mix) 07:38
• 29 Bounce Right Back (Cause And Effect Remix) 07:28
• Total Runtime 02:19:11

Info for Dream Into Action (2018 Expanded & Remastered Edition)

Newly remastered and expanded edition. Released in March 1985, “Dream Into Action” reached No.2 in the UK Album Charts and achieved Gold Album status. Like its predecessor “Human’s Lib”, “Dream Into Action” contained four Top 20 hit singles; ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ reached No.6, ‘Look Mama’ at No. 10, ‘Life In One Day’ at No.14 and ‘No One Is To Blame’ at No.16.

In addition to these four Top 20 Hit singles, the original album version of “Dream Into Action” also contained a bonus track, namely Howard’s hit single from the previous year - ‘Like To Get To Know You Well’ - which reached No.4 in the Singles Chart.

“Dream Into Action” also enjoyed massive international acclaim and success; particularly in the USA where it reached No.10 in the Billboard Album charts achieving Platinum status. It spawned three Billboard Top 20 hit singles including ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ at No.5, ‘Life In One Day’ at No.19 and a re-recorded version of ‘No One Is To Blame’ featuring Phil Collins on backing vocals and drums (produced by Hugh Padgham), which gave Howard his biggest ever US hit single reaching No.4.

As well as achieving great success in the UK (# 1) and USA, “Dream Into Action” and the various singles taken from it also enjoyed tremendous success internationally in such countries as Canada, New Zealand, Australia and throughout most of Europe.

"Dream Into Action begins with Howard Jones singing "Things Can Only Get Better," a sentiment that only hints at the good vibes touted by the synth pop singer on his second album. On his debut, 1984's Human's Lib, Jones sang about positivity, but this sequel plays like a self-empowerment manifesto, filled with cautionary tales and anthems of hope. "No One Is to Blame," a cavernous ballad of encouragement which was given a hit revision with the assistance of Phil Collins, exemplifies the latter but it doesn't typify the album, which trades in peppy pop tunes of self-actualization, best represented by the chipper hits "Things Can Only Get Better" and "Life in One Day." Synthesizers retain their place in the spotlight but Dream Into Action doesn't feel like a synth pop album, not in the way the sleekly electronic Human's Lib did. Instead, this is a big, bright album that epitomizes the sound of the mainstream in the mid-'80s, a time when computers worked overtime to disguise themselves as human sounds. And that's why Dream Into Action is, in many ways, the apotheosis of Howard Jones' career: he'd yet to drift into softened adult contemporary, and he still had enthusiasm for his hooks, his machines, and his positivity, the very things that distinguished him from the legions of synth poppers in the mid-'80s." (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Howard Jones

Digital remastered

John Howard Jones
was born in Southampton, England, on the 23rd of February 1955 to Welsh parents, John and Thelma Jones. He has 3 brothers, Roy, Martin and Paul, with Howard being the oldest. Howard learned to play the piano at the age of seven. His fathers' career took the family overseas to Canada, and Howard made an appearance on Canadian TV singing Welsh songs.

Howard attended several schools in England including Leicester, and Rugby, Cardiff in Wales and of course High Wycombe. He went to the Royal Grammar School where he got ten "O" and two "A" levels. (Howard said, "They served me no purpose whatsoever") And despite his music teacher advising him not to take music "A" level he formed his first band called Warrior. Warrior drew its musical influences from bands like Genesis, and Emerson Lake and Palmer. Howard describes the music as being Electro Classical Rock!

Howard enrolled in the Royal Northern College of Music, in Manchester in 1974, where he studied classical piano. Whilst he was there he earned extra money doing the night shift on Piccadilly Radio. Every 20 minutes between Midnight and 6am he would play a selection of his own music, on a synthesizer. The sessions were supposed to be purely instrumental, but on occasions Howard could not resist singing, and as a result had several phone calls... to complain!

Howard used to give piano lessons. It is there he met Jan Smith, who he later married. It was whilst they was selling fruit and veg off the back of a van that a runaway vehicle crashed into the van, injuring Jan. She wasn't hurt badly, but Howard persuaded her to claim compensation. She used the money to buy Howard a synthesizer. The Shop delivered two by mistake and Howard liked the combination of the two so much, that he paid for the extra one. The shop knows him as "Honest Howard"!

Howard began performing as a solo artist, in the clubs and pubs in High Wycombe. It was at one of these shows that Howard noticed Jed Hoile dancing and performing mime to his songs. This was the start of a very impressive visual partnership that continued to 1987.

Howard continues to be an active musician, producer and performer and records in his own studio, and lives in Somerset, England.

Electronic music pioneer Howard Jones has been a constant presence on the international touring scene for the past four decades, playing live in a number of different configurations including intimate solo shows and dates with his full high-tech band set-up. He first burst upon the contemporary music scene in 1983, with his very English songwriting and pioneering synthesizers with 'New Song'. His first two albums HUMAN'S LIB and DREAM INTO ACTION were worldwide hits. HUMAN'S LIB reached #1 in 1984 in the UK and featured the hits 'New Song,' and 'What Is Love?' In 1985, Jones released the follow-up, DREAM INTO ACTION, which quickly became a Top Ten Platinum album in the United States and featured the smashes: 'Things Can Only Get Better,' 'Life In One Day,' 'No One Is To Blame,' and 'Like To Get To Know You Well.'

Howard Jones has sold upwards of 10 million albums worldwide and continues to make new music and tour the world. Jones has performed on NBC's top-rated morning and nighttime shows respectively, Today and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. His ubiquitous hits can be heard in such high-profile television series and films such as 'Stranger Things,' 'Breaking Bad,' 'Watchmen,' 'The Carrie Diaries', 'Superstore' and 'Bumblebee'. Howard Jones' most recent album is DIALOGUE, which was released in September 2022. DIALOGUE is the third album in a trilogy of electronic releases from Jones with multi-media project ENGAGE released in 2015 and studio album TRANSFORM, released in 2019. DIALOGUE garnered serious coverage in outlets such as Spin, Stereogum and more.

This album contains no booklet.