Dream

Pop singer Gloria Estefan found much greater success after stepping out in the forefront of her band Miami Sound Machine, and the same good fortune should come to saxman Lincoln Adler, who now bills himself as a solo artist after fronting the vastly underrated L.A. pop-fusion ensemble Rain-bo Tribe. The Dream is an infectious combination of original recordings with sax-driven remixes from the Tribe's largely overlooked 1994 debut, which was one of the genre's most energetic ensemble releases that year. Tune-wise, Adler doesn't do anything his many peers haven't thought of first--he simply writes a grand mixture of radio friendly ballads and easily punchy melodic riffs, with a tender, albeit off the point Quiet Storm vocal thrown in for good measure. But his playing, either with some new musicians or with the Tribe, is laden with electrically improvised sparks which could give him a leg up on the new and deserving competition. His former band's past exposure troubles were due more to an identity crisis than any musical flaws, so Adler's decision to emerge from the shadows just might make the difference. Try try again, and eventually you will succeed.