Customer Reviews

Heart & Soul

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HEART & SOUL is a collection of rarities & live recordings from Dusty Springfield, making this essential for fans of the late singer. The album opens with "But It's a Nice Dream", a smooth dreamy number from the Kiss Me Goodbye motion picture in 1982. Then we have her superb solo version of "Wherever Would I Be", which I prefer over the duet version with Daryl Hall from her 1995 album A VERY FINE LOVE. "As Long As We Got Each Other", the theme from the TV Series GROWING PAINS, as a duet with B.J. Thomas is also here. My favorite track of the rarities though is "Sometimes Like Butterflies", a song penned by Bruce Roberts & Donna Summer, this was produced by David Martin in 1985. Dusty sounds spectacular on this song. There's the title track, a duet with Cilla Black, an upbeat fun number. Those are my favorites of the rarities and duets. The live recordings all range from anywyhere from the late 60s to the early 70's, including songs from her catalog such as "The Look Of Love", "A Brand New Me", "Son of A Preacher Man", and more. My favorite though is her rendition of "Up On The Roof" which is both heartfelt and sung very well. Overall this is a comprehensive collection no fan should do without!

Dusty Springfield's body of work is so hard to find here in the U.S., that any new collection released into stores is sure to make die hard fans drool. This new collection of Dusty gems is no exception. This new disc is a fine collection of rarities and live performances that span from 1971 to 1995. While the previously unreleased stuff here is nothing compared to all of her 60's and 70's work, they are still pleasant and satisfying pieces of work that will please her fans. It starts off with a song called "But It's A Nice Dream", a song that was featured in the 1982 Sally Field movie, "Kiss Me Goodbye". The rest is a pure delight. There is a solo version of "Wherever Would I Be", which was originally a duet with Daryl Hall on her 1995 swan song CD "A Very Fine Love". It's a typical, Diane Warren song, but it's made into something bigger and better because Dusty sings it. There is also duets here. The first is "As Long As We Got Each Other", with B.J. Thomas. It was recorded earlier with B.J. and Jennifer Warnes, but was re-recorded with him and Dusty. It was the theme song to the hit show "Growing Pains", and the version with Dusty was replaced with the Jennifer Warnes one for the remaining 4 seasons of the show. Another duet is with Spencer Davis("Gimme Some Lovin'"), this one is a cover of an old blues song called "Private Number". It's nothing overly special, but it's a pleasant song. The other is a song with her 60's rival Cilla Black, on a track called "Heart & Soul". It's kind of cheesy and sounds more like karaoke, but the two females sound good together. The stand out track here is a gorgeous, epic-like ballad called "Sometimes Like Butterflies". This was a Donna Summer B-side, and Dusty took it home. I think this was a real uunderrated song. The rest are all live performances taken from her appearances on programs like "The Ed Sullivan Show", and "The Bobby Darin Show". Performances of her hits "The Look Of Love", "Son Of A Preacher Man", and "A Brand New Me" are all great, but it's the cover tunes she does here that are the real stand outs. Her version of Carol King's "Up On The Roof" is the best version ever done of the song. Sorry James Taylor. There is also Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready", a pretty song that was also well done by Rod Stewart in the late 80's. Dusty also does the old standard, "Since I Fell For You". Her rendition of that song is priceless. It's a downright shame it wasn't properly recorded and released. It's a song that seems like it was destined to be recorded by Dusty. You will also find a funky tune called "Magnificent Sanctuary Band" that is a true Dusty find. This is a delight from start to finish that showcases the voice and talent of one of the finest, if not THE finest female singers ever.

"Heart & Soul" may not be essential for casual fans but it is "the stuff that dreams are made of" for Dusty's hardcore contingent and completists. Varese Sarabande has aimed H & S straight at this market.

The first 8 cuts - all studio recordings - is a skillfully assembled and close to exhaustive round up of Dusty's one off releases including duets and soundtrack recordings from the 80s and 90s (except for "Sea & Sky") that have either not seen CD release or are scattered all over the place in other artistes' products (eg, B J Thomas & Cilla Black). The audio quality of these recordings are for the most part superb (eg, "But It's A Nice Dream"). Even the vinyl transfers of the controversial "Sometimes Like Butterflies" and its B-side "I Wanna Control You" from Dusty's brief but ill-fated liason with Peter Stringfellow in 1985 sound excellent. We also get the full version (not the singles edit) of "Private Number", her duet with Spencer Davis. Other rare Dusty bits which would have fitted perfectly into this segment of the CD had Varese been able to include them would be soundtrack recordings of "Bits and Pieces" (from "The Stunt Man"), "I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore" (from "For Love Or Money"), "Learn To Say Goodbye" (from "Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole"), "Sweet Ride" (from movie of the same name), "The Look Of Love" (from "Casino Royale") and "Six Million Dollar Man" (from the TV series). But that would be expecting too much.

The second half of the CD consists exclusively of live recordings from Dusty's many appearances on American TV in the late 60s/early 70s, all chronologically ordered and seamlessly segued to produce the effect of a live concert (not quite, given the differences in backing....but close). Opening with her 3 biggest US hits (from Ed Sullivan and Music Scene), we then get a rare and uncredited audio clip of her souled up version of the Seekers medley from the Johnny Cash Show, before being treated to "Up On The Roof" (again uncredited, from the Andy Williams Show), one of this live segment's highlights. Her soulful rendition of the Impression's "People Get Ready" (from Rod McKuen's Show) is also a particular treat, as is hearing Dusty belting out "Won't Be Long" in 1971 long after she has stopped doing soul ravers in her full throated voice on TV. That's not all. Dusty has always loved singing "Since I Fell For You" on TV, though she never got round to recording it in the studio. Her version here on Bobby Darin's 1972 show is different but every bit as good as her other known live versions from the Tom Jones Show (1972) and her own UK TV series in 1966. Her cover of "Magnificent Sanctuary Band", a Donny Hathaway original and a staple in her concert repertoire (circa 1972) is simply a great performance and one of my own personal favourites, though it doesn't top her searing rendition of it on "Music My Way", a TV special aired over UK TV in 1973.

Like the sound of breaking glass at the end of "Dusty Definitely", there's also a hidden track at the end from an ad she did in 1967. Sounding exactly like Dusty from the 60s, it's a genuine rarity and great to have.

Like Rhino and Hip-O before it, Varese has done Dusty's memory proud with an excellent and thoughtfully assembled product for her most loyal fans.

They came up with an excellent title for this Compact disc of her greatest hits and some rare recordings like People on a Roof, the commercial at the end, and the extras after you think you're done with the compact disc. Dusty was an amazing influence on people like Cher, Cilla Black, and other female vocalists. I love Heart and Soul with Cilla Black. I love the Growing Pains theme song which she and BJ Thomas recording separately. I love the songs like Sea and Sky, Private Number, Son of a Preacher Man, Georgy Girl, and so many others that this compact disc stays in my car.

Some of the live tracks from the late '60s are really interesting to hear. She sounds almost as good on "Look of Love" as she does in the studio version. But for fans there is one overriding reason to buy the collection of rarities and live shots - her performance of the Carole King/G. Goffin song 'Up on the Roof." Dusty was a huge fan of Ms. King's work (her rendition of "Goin' Back," which is included in other collections) is a piece of art. Get the album for this song alone if you are a fan of this magical and underappreciated songstress. It's pure Dusty.

Dusty Springfield was the greatest pop singer of the last millennium. But even the queen of the beehive had bad hair decades, as amply proved by this collection of crumbs off the table. Assorted movie and TV themes, duets, and uncollected label one-offs will be of interest to completists, but the studio half of Heart & Soul documents a great talent fallen upon hard times. Given that the vast majority of this stuff comes from the '80s (a bad decade for pop music anyway), it's amazing that Dusty comes off as well as she does. Best thing here is the duet with Cilla Black because both of the mod goddesses are having fun and the rhythm track is copped from (of all things!) Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life." Also of interest are the ragged vocals on a Donna Summer obscurity, "...Butterflies." Rarely did Springfield - ever the neurotic perfectionist - allow herself to sound anything less than polished, and it works to good effect here when she is caught off guard. She reportedly hated it and would likely be appalled that it's available again.

Better is the live stuff, but it offers no insight into or improvement over the superior studio versions where available. Only Dusty's take on "Up on the Roof" is essential, but even that is not her best live version of the song.

Anyone new to Springfield is advised to start with any of the numerous best-of collections.

I really appreciated this new collection - the material of the first part of the CD I had not found elsewhere, and the collection of "live" recordings is appreciated... why didn't Dusty ever record a live CD? The recent re-releasing of her various albums has been great - and i have collected many of them, and have other "best of" CD's, but this one is still a welcome addtion to this Dusty Sprinfield fan's collection.

Plain and simple, this CD of rare masters, duets and live recordings should be precious
to anyone who appreciates the singular, soulful singing talents of the late Dusty Springfield.

Many of the tracks on this CD are not available anywhere else and since Dusty only recorded
about about fifteen albums over her nearly 40 year career -- which also included dozens of songs
originally only issued on singles -- this is a very welcome addition to her discography.

A few of the selections on this CD are in mono (not stereo) sound because they originated from
live performances on television programs in the 1960s and 1970s, but they are sourced from master
elements and are clean and clear.

Dusty's solo version of "Wherever Would I Be" from her final sessions in the 1990s is wonderful as
is the debut release of the stereo mix of "(But It's A) Nice Dream" -- a Peter Allen rarity that was
heard in the soundtrack of the early 1980s Sally Field film "Kiss Me Goodbye." Dusty and B.J. Thomas
blend together with much power on "As Long As We've Got Each Other," which was used as the theme song
to the televsion comedy series "Growing Pains." It's a catchy John Bettis-Stephen Dorff tune.

This is also the only place you'll ever hear Dusty's spirited version of "Magnificent Sanctuary Band"
and there's an amazing ballad version of the Carole King-Gerry Goffin classic "Up On The Roof."
Dusty's voice never sounded richer than it did in the early to mid-1970s when these were sung.

If you love Dusty Springfield, you must get this collection.

When you first start to listen to this compilation of rare and some previously unreleased Dusty Springfield tracks, the fear is..."not another haphazard compilation of songs I already have."

And at first, it seems that's exactly what it will be, as we are presented with 8 tracks that have been released before on CD on some other compilation or box set previously.

But, all fears are dispelled by the time you get to the "live" tracks starting with track 9. Special live performances culled from her various TV appearances in the late 60s and early 70s,on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show, Music Scene, The Rod McKuen Show and The Bobby Darin Show. Some stunningly beautiful live rendtions of "Son of A Preacher Man","A Brand New Me", "The Look of Love" and many others, prove that Dusty Springfield was not just a marvellous recording artist, but also a thrilling and versatile live performer!

The live versions continue, with "Wont Be Long" (stunning in its power--move over Aretha!), the gentle tenderness of "Up On The Roof" and the gospel-soul of "People Get Ready". Dusty proves in track after live track, that she was perhaps the only white singer of her time that could credibly cover gospel/soul classics and make them come from the heart. She had the pipes as well as the soul/rhythm.

The sound quality is quite good, considering some of the source material was probably not in the best of shape.

The only bad thing about this compilation is it's too short!

Where are the other unreleased "live" recordings? Her fans deserve more! Don't make us wait!

In the meantime, this should be enough to tide over the hungriest of her fans and also prove that the White Queen of Soul more than deserved her title.

This package smacks of crass commercialism. I can't fault Ms. Springfield, as she never knew these tracks would be assembled, much less in this fashion. The studio material, consisting of film themes and collaborations, is assmebled from a number of small labels. The remaining tracks are lifted from t.v. specials of the late 60s and early 70s, and the consumer should be warned they are presented in mono. This is definitely an item for Dusty completists only, as no attempt at coherence is made in the presentation, and any non-fan would be ejecting the disc by the fourth track.