Dusty Springfield was a record collector as well as a very talented performer. She had exceptional taste showcased by these songs that Dusty covered during her long career. A quick peek at the tracklist reveals her biased affection for soul. She wore her love of Motown loud and proud, taking on heavy-hitters such as the Velvelettes’ ‘Needle In A Haystack’, the Miracles’ ‘You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me’ and Marvin Gaye’s ‘Can I Get A Witness’. She also idolised Baby Washington, covering four songs from her repertoire, including ‘Doodlin’’ featured here. Compiler Mick Patrick also notes Dusty’s fondness for songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin, writing, “Dusty cut enough numbers from [their] catalogue to fill an entire LP”. The Honey Bees’ original of Goffin and King’s ‘Some Of Your Lovin’’ is a tough one to beat, but Dusty came very, very close. Her decision to cover Norma Tanega’s ‘No Stranger Am I’ was likely due to more than just her interest in the song. Norma and Dusty were dating at the time she recorded this for the B-side of ‘I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten’ in 1968. By the 70s she was tapping Evie Sands and Lesley Gore for material. It’s easy to hear why she selected Lesley’s ‘Love Me By Name’, so powerful and full of feeling. But then again, the same can be said for ‘Turn Me Around’ (Chi Coltrane), ‘Packin’ Up’ (Margie Hendrix), ‘Every Ounce Of Strength’ (Carla Thomas) and practically every single song on “Dusty Heard Them Here First”. This is one of those rare instances when it’s just too tough to choose between original and cover; both are wonderful, you be the judge. Her song choices were always consistently high in quality, and she wasn’t afraid to look to long-forgotten B-sides, demos and album tracks for material. Given her reputation for perfection, it’s no surprise there were so few duds in her catalogue. That so much of it was culled from American soul and R&B artists may be news to many. As Malcolm Baumgart writes in the booklet, “Dusty’s expertise as an interpretive singer prevented her from being viewed as a cover artist,” and it’s hard to believe songs such as ‘Am I the Same Girl?’ and ‘Now That You’re My Baby’ were not written exclusively for the British icon. Britain had a history of pulling from America’s R&B, soul and pop stashes, but whereas groups such as the Beatles, Herman’s Hermits and the Moody Blues gave their American covers a very British slant, Dusty’s interpretations sounded neither overtly British nor American. It all just sounded like Dusty. It’s hard to think of another singer able to so effortlessly and convincingly claim so many top-notch covers as their own.Full Info in the Booklet.
Review Courtesy Of PUW
The Tasters!
19 comments:
Thanks PUW and AMM for the upgrade to flac
Reb
Thanks PUW. Nice ACE compilation of Dusty material.
thanks for another great album AMM
Thank you PUW & AMM for this great Comp
I`ve only recently started to appreciate Dusty Springfield...this would help!
Cheers!
Bill
Fantastic review
some great tracks on here, Dusty sure had an ear for a great track, thanks for the review AMM
oops forgot to mention PUW, thanks for this mate
many thanks PUW for a great Review!
Cheers, PUW and AMM. An intriguing comp., worth checking out. Thank you.
Dusty could cover and sing whatever was around. I love her music. Thanks AMM.
This review looks interesting thanks for sharing
thanks to PUW and AMM for this another gem of UK Ace
What more can I say that AMM didn't already mentioned except to thank him for reviewing this beautiful woman's 'album.
You can't go wrong with Dusty - and even more with her inspirations. Thanks for review, P.
Thanks PUW and AMM great looking tracklist
Dusty was big over here in the Philly area. The real deal. Dusty in Memphis is a desert island album. Thanks to PUW and AMM. A great team.
Thanks for the Dusty selection some great sets on this she had a great taste in music Thanks for the review AMM
Cheers Pedro
Thank you PUW & MM for a great Dusty rteview.
cheers,ELtel
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