Customer Reviews

The Dusty Springfield Anthology

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Dusty and own an original copy of the "Dusty In Memphis" LP. The reason I give this anthology only 4 stars instead of 5 is because, to be blunt about it, not all of the material she recorded was prime (especially after about 1970), so I find myself wading through a bit too much filler in order to hear the gems. For me, having the entire "Dusty In Memphis" is more important than having much of the stuff on this anthology. So, if you want the really essential Dusty, my advice is to buy "The Very Best of Dusty Sringfield" (the 20-song hit collection) and "Dusty In Memphis".

Having said that, I would note that this is a wonderful collection for those who want everything, and there are some particularly nice cover songs on it ("Other Side of Life", "Tupelo Honey"). By any measure, one of the greats.

I am a Dusty Springfield fan from England, and I have followed her career from way back in 1958 when she was with the Lana Sisters -- even before the Springfields. Many people do not realize that in Europe and England, Dusty is regarded with the same reverence that people in the US regard Aretha Franklin. This anthology does not do justice to Dusty Springfield's career at all! Dopey numbers like "Do Re Mi" and weirder numbers from later on in her career are included, while standards such as "My Colouring Book" "Summer Is Over" her cover of Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get A Witness" and great titles from the "Cameo" "Everything's Coming Up Dusty" "A Girl Called Dusty" and "It Begins Again" are overlooked. Many British B sides of her singles were classics, and not included here. Misses from the seventies are dwelt on in detail, while the famous "Reputation" album which revived the Springfield career in the mid-eighties is given short shrift. The whole anthology seems thrown together by someone who has little idea of Dusty Springfield. Fans will definetely be better served by buying "The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield." Hopefully, someone will eventually come up with a definitive anthology one of these days.

Boy, Dusty Springfield's career was a hard one to figure out! She sang so great, had as wide a fan base as anyone could want and got so much critical acclaim from every corner---and still she never really sold many records after her mid-Sixties heyday. Reissues of her albums are just now starting to be released on CD, but some, like the great IT BEGINS AGAIN, are harder to find than Atlantis. So if you really want a lot of Dusty, this anthology can't be beat. It's got her "hits" ("I Only Want To Be With You," "Son Of A Preacher Man," "The Look Of Love"), it's got a lot of "shoulda-bin-hits" ("What Good Is I Love You?," "I'd Rather Leave When I'm In Love"), it's got a lot of surprises (a steamin' version of Smokey Robinson's "You've Really Got A Hold On Me," a really strange one called "Soft Core") and, yeah, it's got a few clinkers (not many!). You can argue about what ISN'T there, but overall this is a generous helping of tunes from one of the best singers of all time, maybe even THE best.

Oh boy. Where to begin?. I love this woman and her voice. She was definitley one of a kind. A british woman with a beehive and raccoon eye shadow singing soul and pop songs. What is not to love?. This is a 3 disc collection that has pretty much everything a fan, or a new fan, could possibly need. In fact, it probably has more than you need. Best to have it all huh?. Dusty came to fame in the early 60's with her smokey, huskey voice that was unavoidable. It pulled you in and you had to listen no matter what. She shot to fame with such early hits as "I Only Want To Be With You", "Wishin' And Hopin'" and "Stay Awhile". They were huge hits on both sides of the pond. Dusty went thru several more great songs like "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself", "Anyone Who Had A Heart", and the magnificent Carole King penned "Goin' Back". These were songs that were successful in the U.K., but barely hit the radar in the U.S. More great ones include traditional 60's pop ditties like "Do Re Mi", "Needle In A Haystack", and the great "Live It Up". This disc also includes one of Dusty's most important and immaculate recordings. I'm talking about the perfect, epic ballad "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me". Tremendous. A full throttle vocal performance from Dusty that brings chills. Sadly, and frustratingly, Dusty never had the amount of huge icon status and success in the U.S. like she did in the U.K. It doesn't make sense. Disc 2 is full of more treasures. "The Look Of Love", a Burt Bacharach song, is memorable, but a tad...,well, a bit maudlin. There are some cover tunes here like "How Can I Be Sure?" and "Spooky". I have to say that they are both better with Dusty behind the mike. "Am I The Same Girl" is included here. It was a hit again in the 80's by Swing Out Sister. The crown jewel of disc 2, and maybe of Dusty's career, is the classic "Son Of A Preacher Man". A perfect song for Dusty. This was included on the 'Pulp Fiction' soundtrack in 1994. It brought new life to the song and a new generation of fans to Dusty. Disc 3 is mixed. There are some great songs here like "Mama's Little Girl" and "You Set My Dreams To Music", but the rest is questionable. Not bad, but not up to the usual Dusty standards. There are some catchy early 80's stuff like "A Love Like Yours", "Don't Call It Love", and a cover version of the old Smokey Robinson classic "You Really Got A Hold Of Me". The voice was different too. The late 70's and early 80's weren't a good time for her voice. It seemed used. Tired. As if she didn't have the life to breath into these routine numbers. Things changed by the late 80's when in 1987 The Pet Shop Boys called on Dusty to come out of retirement to do a duet with them on a song called "What Have I Done To Deserve This?". It was a typical 80's synth pop dance number, but it was fun and pretty catchy. Dusty's warm vocals were back in shape and, naturally, buried the robotic like voice of lead singer Neil Tennant. The song was a top 5 smash in the U.S. and U.K. The disc ends with her 1995 song "Where Is A Woman To Go". It's a bluesy barroom type song written by country singer K.T. Oslin, who sings back up on it along with Mary Chapin Carpenter. It's fast becoming a Dusty classic. Her voice was back. She also did the theme song for 'Growing Pains' with B.J. Thomas called "As Long As We Got Each Other". Okay okay, so it's not essential and isn't on here, but I just thought I'd point it out. Dusty is easily one of the best singers ever. No question about it. That voice and style is unmistakeable. Sadly, Dusty died from breast cancer in March of 1999. She was 59 years old. What a tragedy. We and the music biz lost a true treasure. May her music live on.

Those who are unfamiliar with the name Dusty Springfield are missing out on a vital part of music history.

This FANTASTIC but LONG OVERDUE 3 CD retrospective of the work of the most gifted vocalist of her generation, is a gem!

Disc 1, contains most of the early/mid Dusty hits from the classics "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" to "Wishin' & Hopin'" and "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself"(both written for her by Burt Bacharach).

Disc II contains tracks recorded in the mid/late 60's...and it carries such well known ditties as "Son of A Preacher Man" and "The Look of Love" Sensual, smooth, sophisticated, pure silk...

This is the Dusty that most people remember.

But as this compilation demonstrates, that was merely ONE of her faces. (A 1972 compilation LP of Dusty's work wasn't titled SEE ALL HER FACES for nothin').

Disc III is a surprise. Why? Because it contains material from the 1970's to the! present day, a period in which popularity and chart topping success had all but eluded her, until her surprise duet hit with the Pet Shop Boys on "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" in 1987. Although a difficult period in terms of popularity, the 70's are perhaps the most interesting decade of Dusty's amazing career. Her voice is as vulnerable and full of sensitivity as ever...her phrasing is impeccable and her insight into lyrics is sublime. So what went wrong?

Public tastes changed and Dusty, although producing top notch work was left behind and people stopped listening. She refused to cater to public taste, and instead ventured into her own musical worlds, and even stopped singing solo all together from 1974-1978. When she did attempt to return to the music scene in 1978 with IT BEGINS AGAIN, she was not taken seriously enough. Hence, much of her work from the late 70's to mid 80's did not chart or sell well outside of her cult following.

A true sh! ame, since, Disc III contains some of the most beautiful mu! sic recorded by a vocalist in the last 30 years. It proves what makes Dusty a living legend.

It's not just that she is a pop singer with a nice voice, it's her ability to sing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING from Pop to Rock to R & B to Disco to Techno-Pop to Country that makes her an icon.

No other singer has sung so many different styles of music so well. NONE. In an era that contains such great song interpreters as Sinatra, Garland, Minnelli,Bennett and Streisand that is no small feat. When reviewing the scorecard, Miss Springfield may not have had as many hits or as much widespread popularity as her compatriots, but when it comes to sheer vocal ability, interpretation and range, she takes the prize, easily.

Dusty is different. Disc III proves that...from the pop majesty of "Let Me Love You Once Before You Go" to the rock raucousness of "Don't Call It Love" to the Marlene Dietrichesque "Soft Core" to the country twang of "Where Is ! A Woman To Go?"...Dusty proves she is the reigning chameleon of chanteuses. Just when you think you can label her "this" or "that"...she surprises you with a radical interpretation of some off the wall lyric.

While some singers sing, Dusty throws curve balls of sound.

Because Dusty's style and tastes are so eclectic, this set has something for EVERY music fan out there...to not own have it in your CD collection would be like owning an Encyclopedia set without the "A" section.

A must listen for any fan of female vocalists. This 3CD masterpiece that covers over 30 years of Dusty Springfield's career is a colossal effort right down to the liner notes and amazing colorful insert booklet.

Of all the vocalists out there, Dusty reigns as the supreme master.

Dusty Spingfield was the best, even if she was not the most commercially successful, of the British female vocalist in the 1960's. I first became aware of her in my teenage years in the mid 1970's through the occasional "oldies" which were played on BBC Radio 1. Trying to obtain any of her records, at that time, was very difficult as her original albums had been deleted and all that was available was the odd track in dreadful "reprocessed" stereo. Scouring second hand record shops eventually yielded a handful of 45's but my desire remained unfulfilled until the early 1980's when compilations of her better known songs began to be released.

I purchased this anthology to compliment some of the analogue discs I have and am generally very pleased with it. It tracks Dusty's career from her time in the Springfields to the mid 1990's before illness caused her to retire.

Particularly pleasing is the inclusion not only of all her hits but also many of the more obscure album tracks and b-sides of her singles which show the way these recordings developed from album-filling pot-boilers to often defining versions of famous songs.

The collection is well presented on three compact discs with a copiously illistrated colour booklet, as well as, comprehensively researched notes by Rob Hoerburger which give far more of an insight into Dusty Springfield's music than Lucy O'Brien's appalling biography from the late 1980's.

My only quibbles are one, the inclusion of the Phillips recording of "The Look Of Love"; the original of which is available on Rino's Burt Bacharach box set which has the same name and frankly knockes the re-recording out of the CD player and two, the lack of inclusion of rare recordings of such songs as "I Am A Poor Wayfairing Stanger" and "A House Is Not A Home" that were featured in the "Dusty Spingfield; Full Circle" TV special which in spite of their possibly inferior sound quality do add another dimention to Dusty and richly deserve to be in the public domain.

To the person with only a casual intrest in Dusty Spingfield three discs may be a bit much to take in (try one of the single CD compilations) but if you do have more than a passing interest in Dusty this anthology the best one available...so far!

When she died last year, I didn't really know much about her. A friend bought a copy of "Dusty in Memphis" and we listened to it. I just melted. I couldn't believe how *amazing* it was. So, I bought the anthology. I am really, really glad I did. Her versions of "Oh No, Not My Baby!", "Chained to a Memory," and "Goin' Back" are worth the price alone. In a way, I feel cheated that I didn't know how great she was until she died. But having her greatness close at hand via the Anthology helps a lot. There is a lot of music here, so take your time listening to it. The third cd contains more recent performances. Some of the mid-seventies arrangments sound like, well, air pudding. But Dusty transcends them for the most part. Her performance of even something like "It Goes Like It Goes" makes the song sound better than it ever was. I would suggest that a listener who is new to Dusty and wants to be taken somewhere only Dusty can take you--somewhere deep in the windmills of your mind-- get this and "Dusty in Memphis." You won't regret it. I promise!

I hadn't listened to Dusty in several years before hearing this collection. It took me ages to get through all 3 CDs because I kept playing tracks over and over again! As always, Dusty totally blew me away... Songs for every mood: romance, despair, love, ennui, you name it. Let Dusty be your therapist! Listen to the Burt Bacharach/Hal David tunes and marvel and what an amazing musician she is and how well she communicates the emotional content of every single word. A collection of staggering genius. Buy this set!!! Dusty will be like an old friend. Play her often. She'll always amaze you. What a voice.

(Note to Shelby Lynne fans: This box-set contains 7 of the 9 Dusty songs Shelby recorded on her tribute CD "Just A Little Lovin", and 70 other Springfield classics)

Even with an artist you love, 77 songs stretched out over 3 CD's can be a bit much. But that's not the case with Dusty. Believe me when I tell you that I play it all the time, and there's not one bad song.

This spans her entire career. Listen and you'll hear fine examples of folk/pop, lushly orchestrated dramatic ballads, uptempo pop, Motown covers, soft soul music, quiet ballads, and even some semi-disco dance music. Dusty could do it all. When a song needed to be "belted out", she was more than up to the task. When a song required subtlety and nuance, she could do it - and with so much expression in her voice.

Sight unseen, many people hearing her for the first time thought she was black - so soulful was her sound. I knew differently (I'd seen her album covers), but was shocked to learn she was British. I would've sworn she was an American southerner!

For me, Dusty's warm, sensual vocals have never been equalled by anyone. No one can put across a lyric like Dusty Springfield. She's the Queen, and this box-set and "Dusty In Memphis" deserve a place in everyone's collection.

On only three compact discs, there are about 70 + songs which are hits, classics, and memorable. Dusty's voice was really one of a kind like a musical instrument given to her by God. SHe paid attention to every syllable and letter. I wished I still had mine but I left two of them in the box on British Airways flight to London from Newark in August 2003 but I would love to see this anthology reissued again. For the price, it truly is a bargain and a wonderful tribute to a special lady. Her voice has a range which is not only versatile ranging from country to folk to rock and roll. She inspired many musicians like the Pet Shop Boys and Sir Elton John who adored her. In reality, Dusty was a perfectionist who sought perfection in her art and was known to be difficult because she chose perfection over mediocre. Maybe that's why she is still a powerful influence in the music industry. There are people trying to get a movie made about her life. Of course, the best tributes to Dusty are these anthologies and musical packages based on her performance. I don't want to know about the sad Dusty who was depressed, lonely, and seeking the right partner in life who was usually a female at a time when it was frowned upon. Dusty will always be one of my favorite songstresses. She can sing anything in my opinion and her death was a great loss to the music industry.