Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis
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Free Music Notes for Dusty in Memphis
Free Music Review: Sublime pop music
Hit: 5 Stars
I rarely use the word "sublime" to describe anything, but it seems a perfect word for this album. In light of today's top 40 radio (which I'm sure leaves so much to be desired), it sounds insulting to label this album as pop music. But knowing that pop culture has the capability of being creative, meaningful, and even powerful (it really hasn't been since Madonna tried to buy it), this album has to be one of the absolute pinnacles of popular music. The songs on this album are fantastic, and Dusty Springfield had one of the greatest voices to ever grace American pop music. Her voice is so soft and mellow, yet can grab and just galvanize you. She knows exactly when and how to emote, something today's pop singers seem completely clueless about. So warm and loving--wow. When she sings "I've got so much love", well, heck, you can feel it.
But I don't want to overemphasize Dusty, though. The arrangements and song selection on this record are as important as Dusty's gorgeous voice. It's really amazing that this stuff passed as mainstream pop music; it beats the pants off of anything ever put out by Celine, Whitney, etc. etc. etc. This is the kind of record they DREAM of having their names on (and always miss it by a huge longshot). Did we really have to drop horns and real instruments in order to make songs consumable to the general public nowadays??? It's so sad! But I digress...
Don't even think of buying anything less than the "Deluxe Edition" of this album!! A lot of re-releases these days include bonus tracks, but the bonus tracks here are not to be taken lightly. It must have been a tough job to select the tracks for the original release (imagine having to throw away incredible tracks like "Wille & Laura Mae Jones" and the original recording of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend"!! OMG). If I had to pick a few weak tracks to throw out, though, I could have only really picked "Cherished" and "All The King's Horses". These are certainly not bad songs, they just don't stack up to the other 23 (!) songs.
If I could only say one great thing about this record (I can say a lot), it would be that this album showcases "Son-of-a-Preacher Man"--which is undoubtedly one of the greatest songs ever recorded. The buildup to this song is so tremendous, and the controlled release is just glorious. But that's really how this whole album works.
For once--BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!
Free Music Review: ELI'S COMING BUT......TIMMY'S PUNISHED
Hit: 5 Stars
Dusty in Memphis is upheld as one of the best albums from 1969. In this classic, the stunning vocals of a mature yet still youthful Dusty are there but with a different backing. No longer is there the Wall of Sound type recording as had been done in prior releases.
Apparently, Dusty was so frequently compared with the artists under Phil Spector that she must have felt compelled to take a new direction with her artistry. After all, just as Janis Joplin was regarded as the "white woman who could sing the blues", Dusty was revered as the "white woman who could sing the soul". And like Elvis, Dusty went to Memphis, where she was to attempt a new phase in her career in a city where musicians' styles crossed racial boundary lines. The result of her efforts would be this masterpiece.
In her eyes and in her vocals, Dusty was energetic and passionate, and her music is and will always be unique and special. As for this particular recording, the energy and passion are there, and the songs can be listened to from various perspectives and angles. Regardless of whether you are happy or sad, Dusty in Memphis seems apt for the present moment.
Just as Back in Memphis is arguably Elvis' easiest-listening album, Dusty in Memphis is perhaps the same kind of result for Ms. Springfield. In both albums, one cannot help but to relax and peacefully enjoy the material. Perhaps it was just that Memphis sound, for the vocals accompanied the sitar, guitar and orchestral arrangements with a quite superb effect.
Included in the set are the top 10 Son of a Preacher Man, which has been immortalized as Rolling Stone Magazine's 240th greatest rock and roll song of all time, and the top 40 The Windmills of Your Mind.
As the years go by, listeners will likely wonder how the lackluster record sales did not come close to reflecting the quality and polished treatment of this studio album. Now presented as a CD with 14 bonus tracks along with the original 11, Dusty in Memphis is now more than ever a worthwhile listen.
It has been over eight years since Dusty's departure, but her works, including Dusty in Memphis, were outstanding and prolific enough to earn a posthumous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Long live Dusty!
Free Music Review: Dusty's Memphis Pyramid
Hit: 5 Stars
In and near the ancient city of Memphis, capital of the ancient kingdom of Egypt, the great pyramids of Egypt may be found. These pyramids were built as monuments to the various pharaohs who ruled over Egypt. If I had to pick one album that would serve as a fitting monument to Dusty Springfield's it would have to be her classic "Dusty in Memphis". It was a tremendous, if sadly overlooked, album when it was first released in 1969 (it managed to hit only #99 on the pop charts). It is even better now that a deluxe edition has been issued that contains 14 `bonus tracks' that had not previously been released.
Produced by Atlantic Records' Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin (who produced a number of Aretha Franklin's early albums), Dusty in Memphis cemented Dusty's reputation as having one of the most powerful, soulful voices of the 60s. Just about every song on this deluxe edition helps cement that reputation.
"Son of a Preacher Man" is probably the best known song on the original album. It is a tremendous performance that highlights Dusty's wonderfully smoky, bluesy voice and her ability to interpret a song. The song starts low and wistful and build to a very powerful conclusion. Dusty covers a number of songs written by the team of Gerry Coffin and Carole King. Carole King has said (according to the liner notes) that Dusty was the definitive performer of her songs. After listening to Dusty's covers of King's songs, included spectacular version of "You've Got a Friend" it is hard to find fault with that assessment. The bonus tracks are as compelling as the original album tracks. "Willie & Laura Mae Jones" makes for a perfect follow up to "Son of a Preacher Man" both as to style and substance. Dusty even turns in an excellent performance of "Make it With You", originally performed by Bread. Springfield extracts all the extra sugar from the original and replaces it with a version in which you can hear the yearning in Dusty's voice.
Dusty in Memphis is a wonderful monument to a wonderful performer.
Free Music Review: One of the best soul/pop albums of all time!
Hit: 5 Stars
The 60's, a decade that produced some of the most progressive acts and most memorable music of the last century; Dusty was a staple in 60's rooted music. Dusty had already had tons of success releasing a slew of great song recordings and albums and established herself as one of greastest singers to come out of the U.K. With the decade winding down, Dusty released "Dusty in Memphis" a now deemed classic in 1969, who many consider her masterpiece. In addition, "Dusty in Memphis" is frequently included in lists of the greatest albums of all time.
"Dusty in Memphis" teems with Dusty's husky, yet so vulnerable, breathy soulful voice. Dusty always had great control in her voice and knew how to gauge and emote her feelings in her songs remarkably. 100% believable. What makes "Dusty in Memphis" such a great album is not only Dusty's voice but it contains some wonderful horn and string arrangements.
The most recognizable song from this stunning collection and Dusty's career perhaps and greatest singles of all time is "Son of a Preacher Man", which history goes that it was initially offered to Aretha Franklin, which she turned down and was only prompted to record it after she heard Dusty Springfield's version.
The song selection for this album of soulful pop and ballads was pretty much faultless. Working with the legendary producer Jerry Wexler(Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Led Zepplin), Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, Dusty set out to create an album to revitalize career. That did not end up happening unfortunately. My favorite song has to be the Carole King penned song "No Easy Way Down", which Dusty sings with lovely, impeccable airy ease.
The rerelease of the Deluxe Edition adds alot of unreleased songs that did not make the album and the gem in the bunch has to be the gospel-tinged, "Love Shine Down". It shows some range and really how powerful Dusty's voice could really be.
A simply "must have" album of classic, beautiful soul.
Free Music Review: A Rhino Diamond
Hit: 5 Stars
Rhino seldom, if ever, puts out a CD lacking some redeeming quality (unlike a few I could name), but in this instance they even outdid themselves. This is pure gold, from the 25 tracks to the 11 pages of liner notes presented in a fold-out cardboard holder.
This includes a reproduction of the reverse of the original 11-selection Atlantic stereo LP SD 8214, complete with those liner notes - although you'll need 20-20 vision to read them. Not to worry, though. Inside you get three opening paragraphs by Andy Wombwell of Rhino Films, six full pages detailing Dusty's illustrious career written by Jim Feldman in May 1992, and then four more pages covering this deluxe edition written by Jim Pierson that October.
As to the contents, a full discography is included, and you get both sides to four of her hit singles - Son Of A Preacher Man [# 10 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in January 1969 b/w Just A Little Lovin' (Early In The Mornin'); Don't Forget About Me [# 64 Hot 100 in March 1969 b/w Breakfast In Bed (# 91); The Windmills Of Your Mind (# 3 Adult Contemporary (AC)/# 31 Hot 100 in June 1969 b/w I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore (a Hot 100 "bubble under" at # 105); and Willie & Laura Mae Jones (# 78 Hot 100 in July 1969 b/w That Old Sweet Roll [Hi-De-Ho].
The real bonus is in those 10 previously-unissued tracks (15 to 21 and 23 to 25), many from the pen of Carole King and Gerry Goffin with whom Dusty shared a mutually-lucrative association in the late 1960s/early 1970s.
This re-issue compilation was released in 1999 - the year Dusty succumbed to breast cancer on March 2 and the year in which she was justifiably inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame. Ironically, the title of her last charted hit early in 1988 had been What Have I Done To Deserve This? with The Pet Shop Boys (# 2 Hot 100/# 14 AC).
One you will treasure forever and guard jealously from borrowers. Highly recommended and may it never go out of print.