Customer Reviews

Cameo

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

 

 

Released in 1973, this was unfairly not a commercial hit. However, its one gorgeous album. Probably one of the most underated albums of all time. Even though the album does not have the importance of her "in Memphis" album, in someways,
the arrangements and production of "Cameo" are more appropriate for the emotional outpour Dusty provides. Where "in Memphis" at times one hears very few instruments, in Cameo the gaps are filled with warm strings. Don't pay so much attention to the cover versions of this album, the real deal is the original song "Who gets the love".

THIS IS THE LP DUSTY SHOULD HAVE RELEASED POST MEMPHIS - PURE 70s SOUL AT ITS BEST. THE TRACK TUPELO HONEY IS WORTH THE PRICE OF THE CD. ENJOY>

I remember watching Susan Hayward's last and great motion picture "Say Goodbye To Maggie Cole" and hearing Dusty sing "Learn To Say Goodbye" and feeling that this was one of the best ever from Dusty...I was then eager to see if a new album was comming out and pleased when "Cameo" was released!! Complete amazement is how I felt when I listened to another masterpiece from this great singer but completely disappointment when I realized that this strong album was not getting any airplay!! The radio programmers where falling all over themselves grabbing for anything that a "singer-songwriter" of any caliber was releasing yet completely ignoring a masterpiece such as this soulful collection of great songs and masterful performances. The opening "Who Get's Your Love" is a solid funky soulful groove which Dusty takes to the max..."Breakin'Up A Happy Home" has a wild rhythm track and a brilliantly soulful vocal from Dusty that is stunning. "Easy Evil" features Dusty at her seductive best and given any airplay this would have been a major hit!! Haunting and soulful are the vocals on "Mama's Little Girl" and Ashford & Simpson's "I Just Wanna Be There" becomes another soul classic in Dusty's hands! Pure funk is "Who Could Be Loving You Other Than Me? and this would have been a huge R&B classic hit if promoted properly and given any airplay at all...programmers were spaced-out letting this masterwork slip by. Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" is a smooth and sulty masterpiece where Dusty oozes with passionate soul that would have gone to #1 if given release on a single...talk about missed opportunities. Hypnotic and ethereal is the gorgeous "Of All The Things" which is one of Dusty's best ever silk & soul vocals...if you are not moved by this haunting vocal then have your pulse checked!!! The closing "Learn To Say Goodbye" is in my Top 10 list of Dusty classics and this beautiful song can bring one to tears...in life saying Goodbye is always hard and never has this been so brilliantly espressed in a song. Finally everyone get's a chance to experience this lost masterpiece so don't miss the opportunity...love and miss you Dusty!

This was Dusty's first MOR album, and her first album for ABC Dunhill. She is probably at her vocal best on this album, the production is top notch thanks to Barri, Lambert & Potter producing, the band is more vibrant and alive than on past records, the songs are all winners, however CAMEO simply failed to catch the hearts of listeners. As one reviewer suggested if it had been released a little later, it might have caught onto listeners. It always seemed like Dusty was ahead of her time. The album opens with the stunning "Who Gets Your Love?". There is also the soulful "I Just Wanna Be There", and a cover of Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey". Other highlights include the stunning ballads "Learn To Say Goodbye", "The Other Side of Life" and "Of All The Things". Not a bad song here at all, be sure you don't pass up this album, it's truly a gem.

This 1973 Dusty Springfield effort is perhaps her most overlooked work. Coming 3 years after the critical acclaim of DUSTY IN MEMPHIS and 2 years after her foray into Gamble & Huff's Philly soul with A BRAND NEW ME, CAMEO has a lot to offer listeners who love Dusty's voice and enjoy her eclectic song choices and delivery.

While not as unified as her 2 previous albums, this album, produced by the team of Lambert/Potter, has a decidely mid 70s pop MOR feel to it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the problem is that Dusty, as she often was, is once again ahead of her time here. Had this album been released in 75, when lite-AM-pop-rock was at its peak, it perhaps would have attracted more mainstream attention.

There is not a bad track on this album, and they are all beautifully interpreted and brilliantly sung by Dusty, but the highlights are: a very feminine take on Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey", a stunning "Who Get's Your Love", "Easy Evil" (which has enough sensuality to rival Dusty's earlier cooing on "The Look of Love"), the high energy Ashford & Simpson tune, "I Just Want To Be There" and the wonderfully vulnerable "Of All The Things."

Especially noteworthy is Dusty's vocal magic on "Who Could Be Lovin' You Other Than Me", a song that could be overlooked by a lesser vocalist, becomes a shiny gem when given the Dusty treatment. Vocally, Dusty is truly at her peak on this album, hitting some beautiful highs and some even more effective lows throughout. While perhaps not as ethereal and other-worldly as on DUSTY IN MEMPHIS, she is more confident here, with a stronger attack.

Unfortunately, this album languished on shelves and was practically ignored by listeners when it was originally released. Perhaps it was the cover, one of the least attractive ever for a major artist? (Apparently it was meant to be in felt, to resemble an actual cameo,but a last minute budget cut changed it to regular cardboard.) Or maybe it was the ahead of its time production style? For whatever reason it simply didn't take off. But luckily for us, it has now been released on CD for the first time, and we can finally listen to what the 1973 listeners missed-Dusty singing her heart out and meaning it.

Something very few singers today seem to be able to do convincingly.

Dusty Springfield couldn't make a less than moving LP, even when she was singing disco (she and Nina Simone). Only one caveat with this CD - buy "Beautiful Soul" instead which includes the whole 'Cameo' LP and the unreleased (and partially unfinished) recordings for the never-issued 'Longings'. There is a masterpiece or two there, and actually a better LP than "Cameo" even in it's incomplete state. The title song is perhaps the most moving song she ever sang.

Dusty Springfield's CAMEO is an underrated album! Easily one of her best albums, that often gets forgotten. The production is top notch, the music is great, and Dusty sounds wonderful! There are a lot of top notch tracks here, a lot of highlights include "WHo Gets Your Love", "Breakin Up A Happy Home", "Comin and Goin", "Who Could Be Loving You Other Than Me", "Of All The Things" and "Learn To Say Goodbye". A nice MOR album in Dusty's catalog!

"Cameo" was Dusty's first MOR album. Nothing she did prior to that could have been labelled MOR because that musical genre hadn't been invented yet. After her two qualified chart successes experimenting with soul on Atlantic ("Dusty In Memphis" and "A Brand New Me"), she signed with ABC-Dunhill in 1972 in the hope of cracking the mainstream pop market.

With Barri, Lambert & Potter producing, there was every expectation that she might achieve the success enjoyed by labelmates The Four Tops after they left Motown. Lambert & Potter even wrote 5 of the 11 tunes for her. On her first outing with ABC-Dunhill, Dusty hired top flight session musicians from LA and worked with a band that created a bright new commercial track featuring a dominant keyboard sound with loads of busy strings that was nowhere as subtle as that created for her by Atlantic.

Although Dusty turned in performances suggesting she was at or near her vocal peak in the early 70s, the album was a flop. While the material wasn't always impeccable - there were the odd fillers like "Easy Evil" and "Coming & Going" or a bit of harmless nonsense like "Mama's Little Girl" - there was also plenty that was worthy and memorable.

The opening cut, "Who Gets Your Love", for instance, is a gem that still exudes class today. Also impressive are her soulful rendition of ravers like Ashford & Simpson's "I Just Wanna Be There" and the breezy "Breaking Up A Happy Home". Revisionists today point to "Tupelo Honey" as the standout track that should have been released as the lead single. I can see why. Dusty's soulful reading of this Van Morrison classic is simply phenomenal. The two ballads "Of All The Things" and "The Other Side Of Life" on the other hand show off Dusty's plaintive touch with a song that spells sheer magic. For those who like a bit of old fashioned kitchen sink melodrama, there's "Learn To Say Goodbye" to cry to. Dusty also always sang above the quality of her material. She even turned a nondescript song like "Who Could Be Loving You Other Than Me" into something distinctive and memorable.

"Cameo" may not be a classic like "Dusty In Memphis" but there's much in it to enjoy.

Dusty Springfield, what can I say? I was pleasntly surprised that I could even find this particular CD! the price was affordable! Thank you so much. I'd buy from you again.

The first shock is the sound - to all of us,used to her grandiose 1960s arrangements and melodramatic ballads,this is completely new,toned down and basically very simple approach - little backing band and clear,precise,unfussy arrengemts.
Than Springfield comes along with her willowy & whispery siren-like voice and it's Dusty all over again,instantly recognisable and adorable.
Compared with her such heavy-weights like her previous two albums ("Dusty in Memphis" and"From Dusty,with love") this one sounds little paler because it's not her particular blue-eyed soul brand but curiously conscious step into mainstream pop land,radio friendly and somehow weaker material.
She sparks on Ashford & Simpson's "I Just Wanna Be There" and Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" but it's not enough to lift the whole album from its MOR base - which is pity,because Springfield is great artist and I wish she had better luck with the songs.
It's pleasant ,but too muc of it sounds like a safe bet,a true sign that something's wrong.