Come a Little Closer

Etta James

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 19, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1974
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Mca Special Products
• ASIN: B000002OCO
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #101,601 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Come a Little Closer is a surprisingly effective mating of a distinctive singer with seemingly incongruous material and production. Helmed by Gabriel Mekler, who'd produced Steppenwolf and Three Dog Night, the record features Etta James supported by a slew of hotshot L.A. session men (including Little Feat's Lowell George). The song selection ranges from "St. Louis Blues" to Randy Newman's perverse "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield" to the dramatic, melismatic "Feeling Uneasy," in which the junk-hungry James improvised wordlessly over an otherwise blues progression. Here's more evidence that Etta is one of the most versatile vocalists of her era. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Etta's second best recording, March 31, 2000

By	jack Hist (Canada) - See all my reviews

Whenever one is to discover Etta James...they first must complete the sampling of 2 recordings. Come a Little Closer and Deep in the Night. Without, you haven't heard what Miss James is really all about. Come a little closer captures her raw, with a deep delta feel that is enhanced by song writers, producing and as always, background singers.

Particular to this Cd is the title track, come a little closer....deep growls, fierce vocal affectation that is souly Etta and a production which is only slightly polished. It, at it's best lets Etta sing...after all that is what she does best. The orgasmic sound of Feeling Uneasy is the only true song the lets you know that a true lover hesitates at nothing to believe...and to believe in Etta James, one need to listen to no other recording to hear her at her most vulnerable and unigue best!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE FUNK DIVA HAS ARRIVED. ALL OTHERS MUST BOW DOWN., February 12, 2005

By	NATHAN PRINCE "FUNK FANATIC" (NEW YORK, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I ORIGINALLY BOUGHT THIS CD BASED UPON HEARING ONE SONG: "OUT ON THE STREET AGAIN". THIS SONG IS A MASTERPIECE; MUCH LIKE THE SONG "MASTERPIECE" BY THE TEMPTATIONS, ONLY THIS SONG GOES MUCH MUCH DEEPER. THE FUNK IS UNMATCHED, AND COULD BE LISTENED TO A THOUSAND TIMES IN A ROW, AND YOU'D NEVER BE BORED. NEXT, THERE IS "FEELING UNEASY". THIS IS A BLUESY NUMBER THAT SNEAKS UP ON YOU, GRABS YOU BY THE GUT, AND DOES NOT LET YOU GO. THIS IS SONG WHICH HAS ETTA JAMES MOSTLY MOANING, BUT IT'S A GOOD MOAN. IT IS A BLUES CLASSIC THAT EVERY HUMAN BEING SHOULD LISTEN TO WHEN THEY'RE FEELING A LITTLE BIT DOWN AND OUT. IT WILL PICK YOU RIGHT BACK ON UP, AND MAKE YOU REALIZE THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE--ETTA JAMES IS RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. THERE ARE 12 SONGS IN ALL IN THIS CD, AND 11 OF THEM ARE COMPLETE WINNERS. IN ADDITION TO DOWN IN THE VALLY GUTBUCKET BLUES, FANTASTIC RHYTHM AND BLUES, AND FUNK OVERLOADS, THERE IS ALSO A GREAT NEW ORLEANS STYLE JAM ("GONNA HAVE SOME FUN TONIGHT") ON IT, TOO. I REALLY CAN'T SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS CD, EXCEPT I PASSIONATELY LOVE IT, AND I'M SURE YOU WILL LOVE IT TOO. ETTA JAMES ALWAYS ROCKS THE HOUSE!!!