Customer Reviews

A Brand New Me (US Release)

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4 star:		(1)
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Dusty Springfield can sing. No question about that. WHAT she sings is a different story altogether. For years, this icon of music has tried on every hat in the business. From Country to Italian Ballads to R & B to Funk to Techno and even Showtunes...if you can dream up a musical style, Dusty has sung in it.

This LP, A BRAND NEW ME (1970), is particularly interesting because, when originally released, it was meant to usher in a "new" Dusty, void of the big panda-eyed make-up and the bouffant wigs. For the only time in her career, Dusty sang 10 songs (the original tracks, not including the bonus CD tracks), all written by the same composers, the Gamble & Huff team from Philadelphia that after this album would make the "Philly Sound" a hit. As always, Dusty was there first.

Her rendtions of "Never Love Again", "Lost" "Let Me In Your Way", "Bad Case of The Blues", "Silly Silly Fool" an! d "A Brand New Me" are unparalleled by any other vocalist, black or white.

The only problem with this LP is that Dusty has always been frenetically eclectic, and the music on this LP, while well assembled, is far too mundane and single minded for an artist of her range.

Here is where the bonus tracks, taken from later sessions really spice up the CD and make it a MUST buy.` All 9 bonus tracks are special and make the CD completely worthwile. Especially outstanding among them is the fervent "What Do You Do When Love Dies?" and the gusto-filled "What Good Is I Love You?". She even tries her hand at some Ashford & Simpson with "I Can't Give Back The Love" (track title incorrect on AMAZON's listing) and she succeeds at making A & S sound less sappy than most, even A & S themselves.

All in all, when I listen to this CD, I play the last 9 tracks more than anything else.

If for no other reason, this CD should be purchased ! for Dusty's rendering of "A Brand New Me" which r! eached #24 in the top 40 Billboard charts when released. Aretha Franklin later recorded the song, after hearing Dusty's version. Her version did not chart. (the same occurred with the famous "Son of A Preacher Man") When a white woman outsings the Queen of Soul, it's time to sit up and listen.

It had been a long, long time since this writer last listened to this album. While attempting to remix and catalogue my record collection, I found myself knee-deep in vinyl. "Brand New Me" just happened to jump out at me as if it were begging for a relisten. And, relisten I did - over and over again.

Poor Dust - to have every other work she did compared with the masterpiece for the ages, "Dusty In Memphis", helped to kill her recording career for at least 17 years. It was like telling Michelangelo "that Pieta is nice but it's no David".

In many ways, "Brand New Me" is a much more "soulful" offering than "Dusty In Memphis" - just listen to "I Believe In You"; and, tell me Dust couldn't "get down". The Gamble-Huff touch makes a few more songs on this album outdistance several songs on "Dusty In Memphis" - "Joe"; "I Wanna Be A Free Girl"; and "Never Love Again" certainly dwarf the inane "Windmill Of Your Mind" from "Dusty In...". The lyrics by the late Linda Creed give the whole production a very nice woman's emotional perspective.

"Let's Get Together Soon" was later released as "Hope That We Can Get Together Soon" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. It's a nice track made interesting by the sound of Dusty clearning her throat at about 1:50 into it - go figure.

All in all, "Brand New Me" would have to qualify as Dusty's second best album - not too shabby for a singer of her calibre. There was only one Dusty Springfield and we lost her way too soon. Thankfully, she left us with her gift of music.

A BRAND NEW ME

After the critical acclaim shown to Dusty In Memphis, Atlantic Records decided to further Dusty Springfield's exploration of R&B stylings and suggested she work with the Gamble & Huff production and songwriting team. Dusty grabbed this opportunity since she was already familiar with and loved Gamble & Huff's music. Their sound would soon become known as the Philadelphia Sound (aka "Philly Soul").

Whilst it's predecessor Dusty In Memphis had a connection to classic pop, A Brand New Me is very much a hip, 70s Philly Soul album. The musical arrangements from Thom Bell (who later arranged The Delfonics and The Stylistics) would make many of the tracks feel at home on a Quentin Tarentino soundtrack (check out tracks like I Wanna Be A Free Girl, Never Gonna Love Again and I Believe In You).

Dusty's vocals are very impressive on this album - she combines her dynamic approach to 60s dramatic ballads with her R&B edge (most evide! nt on the sweet soul ballad called Joe).

The album A Brand New Me was another commercial failure for Dusty, although the title track went into the US top twenty.

In 1969, the Philadelphia Sound, was not yet the fountain of Soul music that it would later become. By the mid 70s, after working with legendary artists such as Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, Patti Labelle, The O'Jays, Lou Rawls and The Three Degrees Gamble & Huff's would be hailed as legends on the Soul music landscape forever.

But Britain's Dusty Springfield got there first !!

Best played late at night after watching Tarentino's Jackie Brown.

Regards,

A Guy Called Michael

This is one of Dusty's Best Lp's! Produced by Gamble & Huff, with some arrangements by the incredible Thom Bell made this Lp a winner!!! It's a shame this lp didn't do well because it showcases Dusty at her most soulful yet tender, i love her voice on this record, as much i love the 'Dusty In Memphis' lp, i think on this one she is more soulful....
Highlights? the whole cd!!.

Dusty Springfield combined with early Gamble and Huff. Really demonstrates the soul side of Dusty. A worthy acquisition at any cost!

without comparing every other dusty album to "dusty in memphis", this is a great, consistent album, and dusty's voice sounds as good as ever. her timing and technique here is impeccable. there is a consistent sound to all the songs, which is the sound of catchy, mid-tempo but tastefully arranged and performed pop. "lost" is a great opener, and for me the highlight is the pleading "joe". i also like "bad case of the blues" and "let me get in your way". hell, i like all of them. they're all so hip for its time. no really big ballady things here, just dusty at her beautifully understated, tasteful best. the bonus tracks are great too. i like upbeat stuff, so i really like "Haunted". "i'll be faithful" is also in the ABC/Dunhill collection, and the un-overdubbed "what do you do when love dies" is in the remastered "memphis." anyway, this is a great album.

The first few bars of this CD are great. Some quick guitar work lifts off the first up-tempo track, "Lost." The first song makes for an excellent start. But after listening to the entire album (released in 1970) for the first time, I thought, "this is good, but it's no 'Dusty in Memphis.'" It takes time, perhaps, to appreciate "Brand New Me's" nuances. It isn't quite as impressive as the superb "Dusty in Memphis." Yet, "Brand New Me" is still a great record; I would say it is Dusty's second best album. In 1969-70, she was at her peak. Although her vocals were always top-notch, sometimes her arrangements weren't worthy of her soulful voice. Almost all of the songs here were written by one composer, Kenneth Gamble. Because of that, the album is very consistent from an arrangement point of view. Gamble's compositions certainly accommodate Dusty's talents. Strings, horns, and keyboards abound, but the album is never overstuffed in a Phil Spector sort of way, and approaches (though recorded in Philadelphia) the heights that the Memphis Sound achieved on "Dusty in Memphis." None of the tracks here are weak. And the bonus tracks, although I had heard some of them on the extended "Dusty in Memphis" CD, are very good. Any Dusty fan should own this album, which, unfortunately, is out of print. I was able to get this one for about ten bucks at Dr. Wax in Southside Chicago. I'm glad I made the purchase. I've listened to "Brand New Me" dozens of times since I bought it.

When Dusty Springfield appeared on the "Tonight Show" one evening in the early 70s, substitute host John Davidson gave her a most flattering introduction, adding that one his all time favorite Dusty songs was "A Brand New Me" released just a few years earlier.

Well, she didn't sing the song that night, but the song is one of my all time favorites as well. I played the single repeatedly until I purchased the LP, which I liked immediately.

For her second LP on Atlantic, Dusty went from Memphis soul to Philly R & B. Although the single was a moderate hit (remember when she sang it on the Tom Jones Show when it was climbing the charts?) the LP was a commercial failure. I always felt that, like her previous LP, it was ahead of its time.

So many good songs, too. "Lost" has such an irresitably infectious beat that I can't listen to it sitting down. Dusty sings "Never Love Again" so passionately, and "Star of My Show" just oozes with soul.

The ten songs of the original LP left me wanting so much more. On this CD release, my wish was granted with the bonus tracks, some of which were issued as singles, but hard to find.

The record may not appeal to all Dusty fans, especially those who favor her earlier 60s material. But I'm sure that after a more than a few spins, the album will grow on you. It should receive more recognition than it has.

A Brand New Me was my first exposure to Dusty Springfield's artistry. I must have been seven years old. I played that album till the grooves wore out! When I saw it on CD in 1992, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. I didn't know "You Don't Have to Say Love Me" or "Dusty in Memphis" so I didn't have a point of comparison. Dusty's intimate, right-in-ear style in on ample display in each of the tracks on this disc. When you add the discovered treasures of songs such as "I Want to be a Free Girl", "Haunted" and " Nothing Lasts Forever" you have a display of range and interpretation that serves as an inspiration to any singer who wants to learn how to reveal the spirit of a song and their inner soul in one deft stroke. I lost my copy of "A Brand New Me" during Christmas holiday and I was very sad. Now if I can get my hands on a used copy, I'll be a very happy person, playing "Never Gonna Love Again" and "Let's Talk It Over" until everyone hates me!

I was crushed to hear that one of the world's great voices had been silenced too soon. While this album isn't up to the standards of "Dusty in Memphis", her rendition of "Lost" is one fantastic song--uplifting and butt-shaking, with some really strong (but not overwhelming) singing. Yep, she was one of the very greatest.