Customer Reviews

20th Century Masters: Collection

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Personally, I love Aretha, but Etta did it all first and most of the time better! The first song I heard was "Trust In Me" and I loved it. "At Last" was next and I loved it better! I didn't want to jump right into the 2-CD anthology, so decided to buy this as a sampler. It compiles some of her best material and takes glances at every little piece of her soul. If you want a sample of Etta just to see if you like her, this CD will make you come crawling back for more! Every song on here is classic, but my personal faves are "At Last", "Pushover", "Don't Cry Baby", "Trust In Me", "Tell Mama"...oh, I give in! They're all my personal favorites!!!!! A must-have!

I've always looked at "greatest hits" albums as "starter" albums.
A great way to sample the artists work, then decide whether you want to further explore (ie purchase)more from their body of work. This collection from Etta James serves the above premise to some degree. Although it is somewhat short in length (a trait common to all the 20th Century Masters releases) and doesn't contain some of her better "blues" work, it is decent way to sample Etta James's music; especially for someone on a budget. However, if you can afford a few extra bucks, I would highly recommend the "Her Best : The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection" ablum over this one. For a few extra bucks, you get 9 more tracks, better sound and better packaging. But for less than 5 bucks on zShops, this is not a bad purchase.

I first heard At Last in a movie and knew immediately I wanted it as my first dance song at my wedding. The whole CD is wonderful.

As the song says, At Last! Here is a collection of music that anyone of any age can listen to. If this doesn't move you, then your soul has left town! The best way to get my feelings across on how this touches me is by just saying that it feeds the heart, the mind, your very soul, and that the rest of you just follows suit! A fabulous work by an artist that has weathered very stormy days, and lived to tell the tale! Don't miss this!

The reviewers who pointed out that this disc is short on blues (mostly pop-influenced string arrangements)and short on music (less than 32 minutes playing time) wre absolutely right. If you want a single disc , go for "Her Best" (Chess, 1997), containing 20 of her best blues sides. The double disc "The Essential Etta James" (Chess, 1993) expands that to 44 cuts. Other excellent choices are "Tell Mama: The Complete Muscle Shoals Sessions" (MCA/Chess,2001) and her live masterpiece "Etta James Rocks the House" (MCA/Chess, 1964).

I remember hearing Etta first on some scratchy 45s of my older sisters, and this album offers a good cross section of one of the first ladies of R n B. What a voice and what a talent!

Etta voice is like fine wine, she only improves with age. Time after time, Etta demonstrates her superb style and gutsy performances. Gotta' love her!!

I was disappointed in this CD because it seems to be a compilation of her recordings that were clearly made for the pop market. It certainly isn't the blues that I associate with Etta James. My problem is with the title of the CD. A first-time buyer looking for a good cross-section of her music will be disappointed with this selection.

The lady could sing with all her heart and soul

This cd is fabulous, lots of good old songs. A must have CD for Etta fans.