For those who somehow managed to go through 2009 without once hearing the name of Susan Boyle, her debut album, “I Dreamed a Dream,” will probably not mean that much. Her diehard fans, though, will see it in an entirely different light, as the material comes to show that all these months they’ve spent on their toes, keeping their fingers crossed for the release date to come (November 23), were well worth it. “I Dreamed a Dream,” in many ways, stands as testament that Susan Boyle is one of the greatest voices of our times, even if seemingly completely isolated from the rest of the world, critics believe.

Susan Boyle, the 40-something woman from Scotland who, not long ago, had the “audacity” to present herself to auditions for Britain’s Got Talent, and then to get up on stage to stand in front of none other than Simon Cowell, is an “Angel” of music no matter how one looks at it. At the same time, she’s also the only example we have of what it’s like to swim against the current, proof that a well thought out machine like a the aforementioned televised talent competition can also factor in real talent, as opposed to just the qualities that it takes to make it as a star.

We know we live in a world where making music no longer means what it mea... (read more)