Customer Reviews

Burnin / Confessin the Blues

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My friend Eddie gave me this CD a little more than a year ago. It was the only CD I played in my HUMMER for the next 2 months.

Esther Phillips was a very talented songstress. For anyone not familiar with her sound, Esther's singing voice is most comparable to that of Nancy Wilson. However, Esther is quite sassy and sings about topics that Nancy wouldn't dare record.

"Burnin" has a jazz flavor, not bluesy. Every song on this CD is a hit and my personal favorite is "Long John", more of a Dr. Feel Good than a dentist.
The CD keeps me smiling, popping my fingers, singing, and rocking when I am on the road as if I were reliving Esther's performance at the Pied Piper over and over again.

I'm purchasing this CD for another friend who I know will enjoy Esther Phillips as much as I do and will want to share this treasure with other friends. The CD is priceless.

A long time ago when I was an undergraduate I heard a cut from this album, the Beatles song "And I Love Him, that had an amazing R&B voice singing. In one section the the flute was imitating her voice. She would sing or hum a wordless phrase then the flute would copy her. I was blown away. I heard it late at night on a distant radio station that I could barely pick up on my radio from the top floor of my dorm. I was a man on a mission but it nevertheless took me several months to identify the singer and the album (there was no internet in those days.) I eventually added the record (yes it was that long ago) to my collection. The album did not disappoint and promptly became one of my favorites. It is a throwback to the times of distinctive voices singing with real emotion on tuneful songs. Like a time capsule it includes some of the hits of its day including the Beatles song and the country hit "Release me," but it also adds old chestnuts like "Cry Me a River" (as an uptempo blues burner,) "Making Whoopie", that R&B hit "Please Send Me Someone to Love and a couple of others. All of them are done with a small, tight R&B group before an audience that remembers when the R&B legend Ms. Phillips was called "Little Esther." Its many jazz moments, Esther's voice and style make these one-of-a-kind versions of these songs no matter how many times you've heard them before. She put out a few records later (the Alone Again Naturally album is pretty good) though they tended to be over-produced with background singers and strings. She was eventually caught up in the disco phenomenon hoping her records would sell for this new audience (you can check out "What a Difference A Day Makes" if you are interested.) They didn't. In my many moves since then the record was eventually lost and other matters made me forget it. Then a few nights ago as I was thinking about what music I enjoyed at that time in my life I remembered this record. Now with the internet and Amazon's huge catalog it has only taken me a few minutes to find it. Even better it was also available as MP3's for about the same the price I paid for it as an LP. Listening to it again has been a pleasure. It presents Esther Phillips' talents in an uncluttered setting and they were immense. This is a classic live album and one I would put among my all time favorites.