Dusty Springfield - Very Best of
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Free Music Notes for Very Best of
Free Music Review: Awesome
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a great CD! Dusty Springfield was so very tallented. Great music!Free Music Review: Dustry Springfield CD review
Hit: 5 Stars
A great old CD received quickly. I like it a lot. Thanks.Free Music Review: One of the best
Hit: 5 Stars
Love the CD, Dusty has always been one of my favorites.Free Music Review: a light dusting
Hit: 4 Stars
This compilation is aptly titled 'the very best of Dusty Springfield' (the lack of capitalization conveys more than a subliminal meaning...), rather than 'Dusty Springfield's Greatest Hits', since Dusty had only a handful of true hit songs. Given the magnetic appeal of her voice, something akin to a sultry Karen Carpenter, it is nothing short of tragic that more of the great composers of the era did not see fit to adorn their best work with her prodigious talent. The most glaring oversight in this regard was Burt Bacharach and Hal David choosing Lesley Gore to record their timeless compositon 'The Look of Love'. Two years later, in 1967, Dusty corrected that error, and she had slightly better success on the charts than Gore with that same song. Her version stands as the centerpiece of this collection, a truly magical blend of writing and performing genius. This one song is worth the price of any Dusty CD it appears on.There are other memorable moments included here, whether you remember them or not, ranging from Dusty's first hit, released in the UK in late 1963, the bubbly 'I Only Want To Be With You', to her final top-40 US hit, 1969's 'A Brand New Me'. The UK charts were more sympathetic to their homegrown diva than overseas, despite the fact that Dusty's delivery lacked even a hint of a British accent. 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me', Springfield's only UK number one, and had it not been for her British Invasion brethren The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, a US number one (but as it turned out, a number 3 hit), is included here. But by and large Dusty was forced to record substandard compositions, squandering her talent. 'Wishin' and Hopin', 'Son of a Preacher Man', 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself' (another Bacharch/David number), and a Gerry Goeffin/Carole King composition, 'Goin' Back', are the remaining highlights among the 20 offerings. It is to Dusty's credit that she could take mediocre material such as 'Stay Awhile' and 'Some of Your Lovin' and make it worth more than one listen.
One other cavaet that must be considered for those delving into the world of Dusty: this woman ascribed to the stereotype of the dependent female, ala Tammy Wynette standing by her man. While even the musical 'progressives' of the era fell victim to sexism (consider The Beatles 'Getting Better' or The Rolling Stones 'Under My Thumb'), some may consider Dusty's willingness to play second fiddle an annoyance. On the other hand, if you consider her gender depreciation as symptomatic of the era, something of a history lesson, you should be able to get beyond this to indulge in the workings of her vocal cords rather than her psyche.
The liner notes establish the timeline for these 20 selections as spanning roughly the same time period as 'Meet the Beatles' to 'Abbey Road'. It is ironic to consider the varied musical directions traveled by The Beatles during that time period as contrasted to the middle-of-the-road consistency in the music of Dusty Springfield. All the radical changes of the 1960's left little mark on her. Thus, since Dusty's style changed so little, there is little need for a chronological sequencing of her music in this compilation. 'Son of a Preacher Man' was recorded in 1968, yet is the fifth selection on this CD, while 'Guess Who?', from 1964, chimes in as the 17th (imagine 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' following 'Revolution'....). Despite how her obviously rabid fans may want to portray the depth and breadth of her music, Dusty's style didn't change any more than her beehive hairdo as she chased after the image of her muse, Peggy Lee.
Dusty passed from the music scene, for all practical purposes, by the 1970's, and her final passing from breast cancer took her talents away from us permanently in 1999. It is a great tragedy that her remarkable vocal talent was never completely tapped while she was in her prime. And the beauty of her voice was matched by the beauty of her appearance, making lines such as "just do it, and after you do, you will be his" from 'Wishin' and Hopin', or "the only man who could ever teach me, was the son of a preacher man" more than simple words to any red-blooded male.
Free Music Review: Fair to middlin' collection.....you can do better than this!
Hit: 4 Stars
This 1998 collection from Polygram is okay but nothing special. In my opinion Dusty deserves better. You will find all of her important Philips hits here like "I Only Want To Be With You", "Wishin' and Hopin" and of course her terrific 1966 hit "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me". Polygram even managed to secure the rights to her two biggest Atlantic hits "Son of A Preacher Man" and one of my all-time Dusty favorites "A Brand New Me" from 1969. However, one glaring omission here is Dusty's marvelous 1968 recording of "The Windmills of Your Mind". No Dusty Springfield collection can be considered complete without that one. The remastering job on this disc is acceptable but I found the liner notes to be quite disappointing. This is not a bad collection but in my opinion there are better options out there.
You just might want to take a look at Hip-O records 2001 release "Ultimate Collection". For about the same money you will get all of her big Philips and Atlantic hits as well as a couple of gems including the funky "Mama's Little Girl", a great single from her short stay at Dunhill records in the early 1970's that for some inexplicable reason just never took off. You will also find her fabulous 1987 comeback hit with Pet Shop Boys "What Have I Done To Deserve This? on the Hip-O collection. And for those of you who are huge Dusty Springfield fans and also have a few extra bucks to spend I would highly recommend the Philips British collection "Goin' Back...The Very Best of Dusty Springfield". The remastering job is superior and the liner notes are a cut above the Polygram offering. This disc also includes 3 tunes from Dusty's early work with the folk trio The Springfields. So as you can see there is no shortage of fine Dusty Springfield collections to be had. Just pick the one you like the best and enjoy!!!