Dusty in Memphis

Dusty Springfield | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 18, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B0000032UK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,059 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Just A Little Lovin'

2. So Much Love

3. Son Of A Preacher Man

4. I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore

5. Don't Forget About Me

6. Breakfast In Bed

7. Just One Smile

8. The Windmills Of Your Mind

9. In The Land Of Make Believe

10. No Easy Way Down

11. I Can't Make It Alone

12. What Do You Do When Love Dies (bonus track)

13. Willie & Laura Mae Jones (bonus track)

14. That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho) (bonus track)

Editorial Reviews

This CD is an out of print collectible! It is the original 1992 remastered release.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dusty - Britain's Memphis Belle, July 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dusty in Memphis (Audio CD)

DUSTY IN MEMPHIS

After the success of Dusty's single Some Of Your Lovin', Atlantic Records (Dusty's US label) decided to encourage her exploration of Soul music.

When Atlantic suggested to Dusty that she record with the legendary Memphis Sound production team (who had already worked with most of the 60's Soul Legends such as Aretha Franklin and Wilson Picket), they probably expected the result to be an extremely well sung and authentic reproduction of an Aretha Franklin-type album.

However, nobody could have predicted the unique result of teaming Dusty with the Memphis Sound; an amazing blend of classy compositions (from Goffin / King, Randy Newman and Bacharach / David) and authentic Southern R&B.

The famous Memphis Sound's rhythm and horn sections, coupled with intricate orchestral arrangements, give a lush, textured and "down-home Southern feel" to a lot of the album (on tracks such as Son Of A Preacher Man, So Much Love and Breakfast In Bed). ! Yet, tracks such as I Can't Make It Alone and I Don't Wanna Hear It Anymore have quite complex arrangements that show the Memphis Sound stretching into new musical territories. Commenting at the time, Dusty said that she was amazed the Memphis Sound musicians could extend their musical range so much further than the R&B sound they were renowned for.

There were certain Black artists of this era (the 60s) who regarded Dusty as a white singer who imitated the Black R&B vocal style. Jerry Wexler (one of the Dusty in Memphis producers) disagreed and has explained (in Lucy O'Brien's biography) that Dusty was not mimetic in any way - Dusty's voice had a naturally soulful quality of it's own which enabled her to enter the R&B arena in her own way.

Whatever the debate about her voice, the vocals on Dusty in Memphis are smoky, emotive and dynamic but also often express that unique vulnerability which became one of Dusty's vocal hallmarks (most evident on Just One Smile! ).

This album produced the US and UK Top Ten hit, Son Of ! A Preacher Man. Aretha Franklin was first offered the song by Jerry Wexler, but turned it down because she didn't approve of the song's risqué lyrics. However, after Dusty's success with the song, Aretha then decided to cover it !!

Dusty in Memphis is a timeless classic. This was the album that lead to Dusty being crowned (in Jerry Wexler's own words) the White Queen of Soul. Elvis Costello hails it as being one of the most important albums ever produced by Atlantic Records.

Best regards,

A Guy Called Michael

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Extreme sibilance, December 10, 2010

By 

Sascha (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dusty In Memphis (180 Gram Vinyl) (Vinyl)

I would not recommend this pressing from '4 Men With Beards'. Sound quality is bad an there is extreme sibilance.

Find another pressing, as the songs are worth having!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply one of the finest albums of the 60s, December 27, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (John Anthony Barrett) (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dusty in Memphis (Audio CD)

Rated by everyone and his dog as among the finest albums of the whole of the 1960s, this CD set is quite magical in that it all adds up to much more than the sum of its parts. Take the Sweet Inspirations, add the Memphis Cats, sprinkle with a liberal dash of Gerry Wexler, Thom Dowd and Arif Mardin, then add the magic ingredient that is Dusty Springfield and you've got yourself a little piece of musical heaven.