Dusty Springfield - White Heat

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Free Music Notes for White Heat

Free Music Review: A unique exploration of sexuality and womanhood
Hit: 5 Stars

The album is a curious meld of rock guitars, synths, and that inimitable voice. Gone are the powerhouse vocals of the sixties, replaced by a vulnerable tool which is as flexible and variable as any musical instrument but noticeably threatens to crack and bleed at any given moment. It is this intense fear which gives 'White Heat' an explosive energy never displayed in Dusty's career before or after. The album begins with a song harking back to the last days of disco, a hedonistic dizzying swirl of synths with La Dust cooing 'I'm going down for the last time', asking a potential lover to 'donnez-moi' which translates to, umm, 'do me'. The song segues perfectly into the Sting-composed 'I Don't Think We Could Ever Be Friends', which appeared on the B-side of 'Donnez-Moi' but in retrospect may have made a better A-side. Punky synth stabs litter this slice of disco-rock, with a multi-tracked Dusty and a soundscape of clubtastic beats.

It's arguable that 'Blind Sheep' is the song's most interesting tune, lyrically and musically. Lyrically it addresses the mindset of the new-wave 'punk' rebels who emerged as a youth movement during the early 80's, and musically it gave Dusty a chance to try a more hard-edged rock sound, reminiscent of the early incarnations of heavy metal. Her tone is spiteful and aggressive, offering a social commentary and a battle cry for the new generation of the world. Juxtaposed with the next song, the synthy mid-tempo 'Don't Call It Love', which could have quite easily been included on Olivia Newton-John's 'Physical' record.

Of course, Dusty was never one to entirely abandon her roots, offering up 'Time And Time Again' as the album's central ballad. A gorgeous concoction of strings, lovely melodies, and Dusty's voice so high you wonder how she ever got through the song, this could quite easily have been a big hit on the Adult Contemporary charts back in 1982. 'I Am Curious', the disc's sixth track (and opener of Side 2 of the initial LP release) marks one of the earliest uses of the vocoder and scratching on a pop record. Dusty talks about being 'in a state of eruption' and experiencing a 'wild intensity' - it's not exactly subtle as to what she's singing about. With her voice mixed back sharp and nasty (a technique Janet later used), 'I Am Curious' is one of the record's more 'treated' songs with the vocal seeming almost unrecognisable as the woman who once sang 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' with a beehive and a multitude of hand movements.

'Sooner Or Later' is a soulful pop song which is not quite as shocking as some of the songs which preceded it, and the Elvis Costello-penned 'Losing You' is another shout-out to those fans who believed Dusty had 'lost it' with its simple structure and lyric, and a piano-and-drum backing. 'Gotta Get Used To You', Track 9 on the disc, is possibly the best song of the incredibly strong set with its aggressive lyrics, rock-funk chorus with a low growling Dusty, and chugging backing. The final song is out of place on the record to say the least, but that's not to discount its merit - 'Soft Core' is a one-take jazz tune with hi-hat, piano, and Dusty, not too dissimilar to the Broadway tunes of 'Cabaret' or something of the like. An interesting end to an interesting album.

Dusty's career had many highs and lows, and fans are as divided over this release as the critics were. It is undeniable though that this record is the most interesting album in Dusty's catalogue, and unlike anything else she released in her career. For that reason alone it is to be applauded, but also as a frank account of an 'older' woman's rediscovery of sexuality, taking charge of her life by both hands and strangling it for all its worth. The result is a record which is both intimate and exploratory, subtle and aggressive, Dusty and not Dusty.

And it absolutely shines.

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