Back to Blues (Ain't Nothin But a Woman Cryin For)

Dinah Washington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Blue Note Records
• ASIN: B000005H7Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,966 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #38 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Vocal Jazz
  • #53 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Traditional & Vocal Pop
  • #57 in Music > Blues > Vocal Blues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Blues ain't nothin' but, March 14, 2006

By 

Leonard Fleisig "Len" (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Back to Blues (Ain't Nothin But a Woman Cryin For) (Audio CD)

A woman cryin' for her man.

So begins Dinah Washington's "Back to the Blues" a wonderful album from a performer of great talent who died too young.

When I was a kid my father, a studio musician, would let me tag along with him when he had a recording date. One year, when I was about 9, he took me along to a session. We got there and waited, and waited. The studio musicians were sitting around playing cards, smoking, and telling jokes. I asked what was going on and he told me that Dinah Washington was scheduled to come in to record, she had a lot of `problems' and usually came in about 3-hours late. The musicians didn't mind all that much since they were getting paid by the hour. Sure enough, Dinah Washington (who I didn't know at all) strolled in and it was apparent, even to a 9-year old that she wasn't quite clear-eyed. But after a while the musician got themselves together and she stepped up to the microphone, opened her mouth and out came these sounds from a place I never knew existed. I knew nothing about music generally or the blues specifically but even I knew that something special was going on. I remember hearing that Dinah died about a year later of an accidental overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills. She was only 39 years old. So when I listen to "Back to the Blues" today I can't help but think that the tracks I heard her lay down that day found their way into this album.

As the title suggests "Back to the Blues" marked a return for Dinah to her blues roots. She was comfortable and very successful in the pop, jazz, and R&B arenas. Sad to say, some of her older fans resented her success as something of a crossover artist. No matter what the reason for her decision "Back to the Blues" is an example of Washington at her finest. The album starts with her plaintive "The blues ain't nothin' but a woman cryin' for her man" and takes off from there. The arrangements, most by jazz arranger Fred Norman and two by Don Costa, are lush as one might expect from the early 60s but Dinah's voice take center stage. Among my favorite tracks were "It's a mean old man's world" and "Nobody knows the way I feel this morning". The album contains three bonus tracks that did not appear on the original vinyl LP: "Don't say nothing at all"; "No one man"; and "Me and my gin". The tracks have been remastered and the sound quality is reasonably decent.

If you are already a fan of Dinah you don't need me to `sell' you on this CD. If you are new to Dinah Washington this CD is as good a place as any to start.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DINAH SINGS TO YOUR SOUL !, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Back to Blues (Ain't Nothin But a Woman Cryin For) (Audio CD)

This cd takes you places some jazz artist just wish they could find! Blues and Jazz fans will enter the dark, sad, smokey world of Dinah when she belts out the lyrics of "Its a mean old man's world" and if you don't "see" the world a little differently when she tells you "Nobody knows how I feel this morning" then you are truly a blessed person. If you've ever loved and lost or had a broken heart then Dinah knows your pain and she sure does sing to your heart. This is truly one of the best blues cd's I've heard in many years. That sweet voice will leave you wanting more and more and more.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tornado in Heat, August 27, 2000

By 

Peter (East of Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Blues (Ain't Nothin But a Woman Cryin For) (Audio CD)

This CD gets better with every listen! Dinah recorded these songs just over a year before her untimely death (age 39!). Though her voice sounds rough around the edges on some selections here, it all works to her advantage because it only adds to the down-home, blues-beltin' mama that many listeners associate Dinah with. Arrangements are usually a large orchestra with occasional strings added in but it's very much Dinah's voice that takes center stage here. Dinah knew her critics were blasting her for leaving the blues world for pop a few years back, so this was her way to make peace with them. But the listeners are the ones who win out because her rich, knowing voice goes thru 15 songs here like a tornado in heat.