Aquarian Dream moved from Buddah to Elektra with their second album,
Fantasy. With lead vocalist Gloria Jones having left the band, a new singer, Sylvia Striplin, was added. (Striplin would be gone by the third album,
Chance to Dance). Despite changing labels and undergoing some personnel changes, however,
Dream hadn't changed their sound much; this LP is fairly similar to its predecessor, Norman Connors Presents Aquarian Dream. Connors can take some of the credit for that -- the producer knew how he thought
Aquarian Dream should sound, and on sleek, Connors-produced material such as "Gentle Thoughts," "Do You Realize," and the
Earth, Wind & Fire-flavored "You're a Star," his guidance clearly serves the band well. Arguably,
Fantasy is
Aquarian Dream's finest album, but even so, it wasn't the commercial breakthrough that the band was hoping for. ~ Alex Henderson