It’s The Talk Of The Town

Edison Awarded first album of the orchestra. Twelve sad songs from the thirties and forties including Harry Warren's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and Hoagie Carmichael's "I Get Along Without You Very Well." 

Concept and repertoire: Gert-Jan Blom. Liner notes and art direction by Piet Schreuders, cover illustration by James Avati.

Produced by Jakob Klaase & Johan Visser. Recorded and mixed at Studio Zeezicht by Emile Elsen.

12-track album. released in 1985. Click on cover to enter the ITunes Music Store.

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A "Broken Dream" song is more than just a sad ballad. Its lyrics should reflect both the protagonist's high expectations of lave and his ultimate disappointment; a wish that can never be fulfilled. These are all lonely, forlorn, wee small hours songs, played lo perfection by a group of musicians specifically brought together to render this type of music. The Broken Dreams Orchestra was founded in 1983 by Gert-Jan Blom (formerly with De Snackbarfavorieten, De IJsbrekers and Big Bamboo) and Ton Van Bergeijk (guitarist with The Cup· cakes), who also founded the vocal jive trio The Gangbusters with Frenk Von Meeteren. In 1984 the Orchestra starred in Amsterdam's Boulevard of Broken Dreams Festival (named after the Orchestra}, which is being repeated this year on a much larger scale. The repertoire is put together by Gert-Jon Blom, who as a musical archaeologist unearthed many pre-war gems of broken-hearted songwriting.