Customer Reviews

A Very Fine Love

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's easy at first blush to be quite disappointed with this effort. After all, it came as the follow up to the just-hip-enough "Reputation" album.

Dusty was sitting pretty, even after EMI had opted-out for another album. Colombia's Kip Krones took the bull by the horns and saw to it that Dusty was signed and a project was undertaken to reveal the other side of Nashville songwriters and musicians. This is an interpretive project undertaken by perhaps the finest interpretive singer of the Rock era.

Problem is, it's focus isn't quite understood by it's producer. Where we should be getting no-nonsense jam-sessions and minimalist beer-hall renditions of some of Nashville's finest, we get bloated "jazz-light" arrangements oversweetened with extra helpings of "acoustic processing". I suspect they were trying to make the album "shimmer". I'm left with a bad metallic taste in my mouth...

At the heart of the project are some of the finest musicians to ever grace albums cut in Nashville OR LA. Chief example is Dann Huff, axeman extraordinaire. You may not know his name by heart, but start looking through your album collections for the session players and he'll become familiar enough. Huff's work truly shines and, if one is blessed with intense powers of concentration, a sort of dialogue between Dusty's phrasings and Huff's riffs and solos starts to become clear. Too bad it gets muddied with some truly aweful keyboard parts. Ironically, the one part on the album I should really despise (a Kenny G. inspired sax solo in "Go Easy on Me")is actually a moment i treasure on the album. It's cheesy at first blush, but it's played with just enough sensitivity to carry the bridge of the song and elevate a world-weary Dusty's plea for minimum nonsense and maximum TLC. Someone once said that "sometimes cheese is Brie" and I guess that's how I feel about that sax solo. I feel strongly that "Go Easy on Me" is really the heart of the album, it's honest, simple and yet requires quite a bit of talent (and hard-earned wisdom) to sing convincingly. Luckily, that's right up Dusty's alley and she delivers.

The other high points for me were the kick-off track "Roll Away" (I was so glad when Simon Bell confirmed it as her favorite, it's mine too), "You are the Storm", and "All I Have to Offer You is Love". "Roll Away" has become a sort of unofficial swan song for Dusty (helped along by the "Full Circle" video, where it closes the documentary). It's a song of spiritual resignation: the kind one might have at the end of a life, but also the kind one might find at a new beginning. There's no doubt Dusty sang it as a joyful song, and to these ears it will always be that and that alone. I find the well-lived-in "You are the Storm" to be just the kind of observation Dusty might make at her age and with many battlesome relationships(personal, professional, and likely within her own psyche as well) behind her. I have no doubt whatsoever that she was singing it from both sides of the story. I certainly hear both sides when I listen to her version, and it's got a righteousness that is just undeniable - and the tenderness that comes through in Dust's reading is something we don't find in our run of the mill country numbers these days.

Much is made of Dusty's aging instrument and the fact that she was perhaps too ill to have been recording. All I can say is, even with hoarser than expected pipes, Dusty's phrasing alone would carry any project artistically: in some ways I think she was the Billie Holiday of Rock. If Colombia would get an edgier producer to strip down these arrangements and let that earthy vocal be the moving force it truly is, perhaps others would start to see such comparisons as well.

Not every song here is worthy of attention, but I promise at least four that you will find yourself growing into as you get older. If one has limited energy, one starts spending less of it trying to be hip and more of it trying to be eloquent.

Eloquence in song is Dusty Springfield's eternal legacy. I think songs, songwriters, and singing were her most profound love. A Very Fine Love indeed!

A VERY FINE LOVE is the first album that Dusty recorded after her album REPUTATION in 1990. Dusty moves away from the camp arena that was REPUTATION and here produces an album that is more suited to the emotional literacy that she seems to be almost unique in delivering.

The album opens with ROLL AWAY, a classic song that is majestic in nature and reflective in content. Dusty's voice is in fine form, smoky and full of depth.

GO EASY ON ME is another track that stands out, and is a gentle ballad that Dusty's unique vocal makes a haunting and disarming experience to listen too.

I CAN'T THE WAY I DON'T FEEL is a track that turns the table on previous love songs, with Dusty singing that she is unable to return the love that she is being presented with. A laid back number that again is so suited to her voice.

ALL I HAVE TO OFFER YOU IS LOVE is Dusty in fine form, displaying the wonderful lower timbre of her voice, with a smoky, gravelly edge. This song is a pure delight!

WHERE IS A WOMAN TO GO closes the album, and this track is fast becoming another Dusty classic, being featured on many recent compliation albums. Dusty in the bar, drowning her sorrows and listening to heartbreak songs on the juke box.

This album shows the versatility and and pure brilliance that is DUSTY SPRINGFIELD. Dusty confounds everyone with this album, showing that she is prepared to go into new territory and experiement with a voice that is, quite simple, unique.

This album is a pleasure and a delight.

Dusty's last album is well worth looking out for, if you haven't already. It features some really nice songs. Dusty recorded the album in Nashville. Some of the songs are a little weaker, and the production isn't always great, but the cd is still pretty good. Her voice is very warm and strong as usual. "Roll Away" is an excellent album opener. "You are The Storm" and "Go Easy On Me" are great ballads. "Wherever Would I Be" is a great duet with Daryl Hall, although I like the solo version better (found on her HEART AND SOUL compilation of rarities and live tracks). The album closer "Where Is A Woman To Go" is a great bluesy track and a good way to close off the album. A few tracks I don't care for much are "Old Habits Die Hard", the Diane Warren song "Lovin Proof". Otherwise it's a fairly good album of songs from Dusty, which would be her last album of new material.

There is only one way to truly appreciate and then love this collection of songs. Get in your car and play it on a long drive to no where, preferably alone. If you don't have a car, take along walk in the park or along the river. It doesn't matter the weather. This was Dusty's last studio work. While a few of the titles seem to lack luster, particularly the opening track Roll Away, there is a continuity to the songs sung that will tell you the story of this c.d. It is the story of finding one's self and not accepting second best. Deciding where to go, on your own, without the usual escape devices. It uses the platform of emotional relationships (love) to convey the essence of self-improvement from the inside out. It is uplifting in a soul stirring after-thought kinda way and provides insight into who the listener is (when the lights are on and no one is watching). The final track Where's A Woman to Go solidifies to me that Dusty was at peace with where she came from amd where she was going. By the third listen, I promise that many of the songs on this c.d. will become your all time Dusty favorites. Listen and you will see.

Unfortunately, this was Dusty's last album. In a career which spanned some 30+ years, there aren't nearly enough albums to reflect the incredible vocal talent that was Dusty Springfield.

This album would have been a great penultimate offering if Dusty had lived long enough to do that album of standards which would have been the icing on her career cake. For a female singer who was so influenced by the likes of Jo Stafford, June Christy and Peggy Lee, you would think Dusty would have tackled a few of those ladies' tunes at least once in her too short life. It hasn't hurt Rod Stewart's career one bit.

"A Very Fine Love" has some very fine moments - "Roll Away", "Wherever Would I Be Without You"(if you get a chance, have a listen to the song without the Daryl Hall intrusion) and the half-past tipsy "Where Is A Woman To Go". Dusty does all 3 songs with her signature flair and "Dustyfication". Otherwise, the remaining songs are lovely but pretty forgettable. And, as another reviewer on this page wrote, they are way over-produced. This music lover will never comprehend why Dusty had to hide her fantastic, versatile and unique voice within layer upon layer of reverb, double-tracking and obnoxiously intrusive string sections and backup singers.

Having purchased this album when it was first released, I was a tad disappointed then. Listening to it again in recent weeks, I realise Dusty set such a high standard for herself with "Dusty In Memphis" that neither she, nor any other singer, could ever hope top that masterpiece. Peaking at the young age of 29 spelled Dusty's doom as an artist. And, now with Dusty gone, we music lovers are left to drown in a sea of "what if"'s and "if only"'s... if only Dusty had left us with a more consistant body of work in which her tremendous talent was more fully realised... if only.

this is such a timeless classic. the ablum is by and large a covers album 3 tracks were new here is what was new and what were covers


1 roll away new song
2 very fine love originally by pam tillis
3 wherever would i be originally by cheap trick
4 go easy on me new song
5 you are the storm originally by matraca berg
6 i cant help the way that i dont feel originally by waylon jennings
7 all i have to offer you is love new song later covered by tanya tucker
8 lovin proof originally by celine dion
9 old habits die hard originally by crystal gayle
10 where is a woman to go originally by kt oslin

one of my favourite dusty albums buy this gem and dont be disappointed

This album is a little different to her others. But who cares its Dusty! We love her. This album was recorded at the time she was diognosed with breast cancer that ended her life, it is a good one. Being riddled with an illness her vocals are alway gold. It was recorded in Nashville and originally going to be called Dusty in NASHVILLE but it seems to be closely resembled to another classic album. Heres a breadown
1. Roll away a nice opener Mid-tempo Dusty sounds vulnerable
2. Fine fine, very fine love, very catchy pop tune, sounds dazzling
3. Whenever I wanna be duet with Daryl Hall from Hall and oates and a cover to cheap trick written by Dianne warren, a very hot tune, those two were amazing.
4. Go easy on me, a slow song and longest worth listening to, I think its her best ballad to date. Perfect for weddings.
5. You are the storm, its hard to chose favorite song on this album, but I can safely say this is a candidate, I love the lyric.
6. I can't help the way I cant feel, Dusty on county? why not she was folk once a pond a time. No matter what she was brilliant in this slow- mid tempo country song.
7. All I have to offer you is love, another decent track mid-tempo rock track maybe it has the Nashville sound to it.
8. Loving proof, Dusty kicks it up a notch with a dancey pop track
9. Old Habits die hard, cover to Hall and Oates, Dusty's version is equally as good or better, depends on taste.
10. Where is a woman to go? Fantastic Blues finale, her final song she recorded ever, excellent way to go.

I have listened to this CD like 20 times, I cant get enough of it. I like artist who are so talented and versitile they can do anything instead of one genre and sing them well. Nevermind of the negativity because it is not the Dusty you knew in the 60's this album was recorded in 1995 and times has changed, Dusty was able to keep up with it.

I hope ypu enjoy this album as much as I have, those damn Columbia records has the gulls to drop her because of lack of sales, its because of the music industry didnt get it, the listeners at the time were into grunge and not Dusty, now tired of the music today? It's time to appreciate real atrist now.

Dusty Springfield's last album, released in June 1995, although the recording took place between January-April'94, this must have been a devastating time for Dusty. During the recording, she was afflicted by infection after infection, and, at one point when her voice failed her completely, she sought the advice of a doctor in the states who told her quite clearly that she must have a thorough examination on her return to Britain, which of course, she did, in May '94, and, as we now know, this resulted in breast cancer being diagnosed. With all this in mind, is it any wonder that on a couple of tracks she sounds tired? How many other artists would have soldiered on, given the circumstances?
Two tracks where Dusty does sound particularly tired; "A Very Fine Love", although still wonderfully catchy, and again on "All I Have To Offer You Is Love", despite her weariness, Dusty manages to inject a sultry fizz into a rather average rhythm.
The album has been criticised as boring, but, for me, the whole thing feels leisurely and comfortable, there is a certain warmth to it coupled with relaxation and passion in equal measures. Although Dusty insisted that this was not a Country& Western album, there is, all the same a C&W feel to the twangy melody of "I Can't Help The Way I Don't Feel", a slow and easy song that warms up a pace or two in the second half, another in much the same vein is "Where Is A Woman To Go" with its relaxed rhythm and backing vocals from Mary Chopin Carpenter, and the songs writer K.T Oslin (co-written Jerry Gillespie), even though the lyrics tell the story of a down-hearted woman drowning her sorrows and wallowing in sadness, Dusty sounds calm and unruffled.
Whatever might have been going on, voice-wise, Dusty still manages to carry us along on the helpless tension of "You Are The Storm", and again in the gentle plea in the haunting and emotional "Go Easy On Me". There is an excellent tempo and harmony on "Old Habits Die Hard", and on "Lovin' Proof", written by Diane Warren, we have a whirling Motown feel, almost like being back in the old days. Another by the same songwriter is a rapturous big ballad "Wherever Would I Be", in which Dusty duets with Daryl Hall (of Hall and Oates fame), this track was used over the closing credits of the film 'While You Were Sleeping'.
Dusty gives a beautifully warm vocal performance on an equally beautifully lazy rolling orchestration on "Roll Away". This song struck a chord with Dusty herself with its lyric, 'it's only time and the river'....it really does make you wonder....did she know? Did she know this was to be her last album? We will never know the answer, i get a strange feeling that she probably did, and this strikes me as a massively brave and professional effort where Dusty tried to push aside her health worries for a time.
This is a beautiful and heartbreaking album, in more ways than one, your Dusty Springfield collection won't be complete without it.

This cd has gotten alot of mixed reviews over the years, I feel this a very good cd, don't compare this to past works, just listen to this on it's on merits, this cd has a nice country\soul mix and Dusty's vocals are great and the songs are strong and the production is very good, 'Where Is A Woman To Go' is the standout track, 'Lovin' Proof' has a nice groove, another favorite is 'Fine, Fine, Very Fine Love', I like every song on this cd what can I say? I guess I'm bias because I love Dusty so much and i miss her!

This was Dusty's last compact disc. I love it also but I miss her singing voice which has left us only 7 years ago. This compact disc allows us to hear her voice in a new age pop vocal range. She has a great range on this disc that you wouldn't believe it was her. She has this pop sound that works for her. Of course, Dusty sung about in so many different ranges. I am sure if we keep looking that we'll find recordings ranging from opera to country. This cd is soft and a compilation of love songs. There are no long ballads but a great sound from one of heaven's angels.