Customer Reviews

Very Best of

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Many people think Dusty Springfield is Britain's finest-ever female pop singer and this compilation goes a long way to show why she has so many fans.

While Dusty was less successful in America than in Britain, she had some notable American successes, occasionally having hits with songs that were not hits for her in Britain. However, this compilation is very strong - the track listing is not very different from what you would find on a typical British compilation, so this will appeal to all customers. Expatriate Brits living in America will find most of what they want here and may therefore not need to import a UK compilation at a premium price.

The big international hits are here, of course, including I only want to be with you, I just don't know what to do with myself, You don't have to say you love me and Son of a preacher man, all of them huge hits in Britain and America. Stay awhile, All I see is you, Give me time and I'll try anything were also hits in both countries for Dusty, though not as big. Wishing and hoping, an American top ten hit for Dusty, is also included. It was not a UK hit for her - the Merseybeats had the UK hit.

All cried out, What's it gonna be, The look of love and A brand new me were American hits that did not chart for Dusty in Britain. I close my eyes and count to ten, In the middle of nowhere, Some of your loving, Little by little and Going back were major British hits that failed to chart in America (the first two bubbled under) but they are great songs and it's good to see them included here. Losing you, another major British hit, made the American top 100, but did not climb very far, peaking at 91. Guess who failed to chart in either country though it bubbled under in America.

One missing song that I might have expected to find here is Windmills of your mind, an American top forty hit. You can find it on Ultimate collection, along with some other songs not included here, including one track pre-dating her solo music and some later stuff. But if you just want her sixties solo music, this is the best American compilation out there, and it's just as good as any of the British compilations I've seen.

The recent passing of Dusty Springfield spurred a recent surge of interest in her music. The surge is welcome, for more people can experience just how good a singer she was, such as in this compilation of 20 of her best.

The album opens with what is unquestionably one of the best songs ever done by anyone, I Only Want To Be With You. Backed by Ivor Raymond's stellar orchestra, Dusty fires off an exhilarating number with power and excitement combined with tenderness - a mixture reminscent of her contemporaries, Mike Smith and Petula Clark.

Wishin' and Hopin' downshifts to sly playfulness and displays her ability to segue from mood to mood, a knack further displayed in such disparate numbers as the bombastic You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, the flirty Son Of A Preacher Man, the desperate What's It Gonna Be, the steadfast Monty Norman-esque (listen for the distinctive James Bond riff throughout this number) classic All Cried Out (contemporary divas like Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes can't come close to projecting the power Dusty displays here), and the Motown-flavored In The Middle Of Nowhere.

Half the joy of these numbers is the sheer power of Ivor Raymond's orchestra, mixing rock 'n roll riffs with strings and horns seemingly more suited to a movie soundtrack.

Sheer joy is the best description of this album.

No one can hear the songs on this collection and remain untouched by the raw talent of Dusty Springfield. She left us much too soon, and only now since her passing is she finally getting the recognition she deserved. Her voice has a foggy texture which conveys a sort of savage yet classy sensuality. And as a supreme vocalist she is always in total control of her art. I always felt she was underated during her lifetime. Although Bachrach is great, the material is not equal to the singer. My favorite cut is "You Don't Have To Say You love Me". The Pet Shop Boys are already forgotten but Dusty's music will remain for all-time!

Let's be honest. Over the years, Dusty Springfield has recorded some really bad songs. Nevertheless she rarely made a bad record. Her voice was so beautiful and expressive that, like Billie Holiday before her, she repeatedly spun dross into gold. Listen to what she does, on this CD, with lightweight, bouncy pop songs like "I Only Want To Be With You," "All Cried Out," and "Little by Little." The songs are forgettable trifles, but once you listen to Dusty Springfield sing them, you won't be able to get them out of your head. And while you're listening, they just sound like classic 60s soul.

This album is an excellent introduction to the wide range of her work. What other singer could go from big Italianate ballads like "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" and "The Look of Love," to the deep soul of "Son of a Preacher Man," "In The Middle of Nowhere," "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself," and "Some of Your Lovin"? Only a few of those songs were really hits, but all of them should have been.

The last song on the album is a real find. "Goin' Back" is wonderful, wise, Goffin-King ballad - it could easily have fit on on Carole King's Tapestry - about growing older and looking back on your life. Never having heard it before, I assumed it was one of Springfield's final songs. I was surprised to discover she recorded it in 1966. The depth she sang with while only in her mid-twenties is astonishing.

If you want a single, low-priced CD of Dusty Springfield in your collection, then you have a choice of two; "the very best of" and "Ultimate Collection". They are both great collections but unfortunately there are some indispensable tracks that are not common to both. Here's the analysis:

On both are:
I Only Want To Be With You, Wishin' and Hopin', You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, Stay Awhile, Son of a Preacher Man, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, What's It Gonna Be, All Cried Out, All I See Is You, The Look of Love, A Brand New Me.

Specific to 'The Very Best of' are:
In The Middle of Nowhere, Little By Little, I Close My Eyes and Count To Ten, Some of Your Lovin', I'll Try Anything, Losing You, Guess Who?, Give Me Time, Goin' Back.

Specific to 'Ultimate Collection' are:
Silver Threads and Golden Needles, Something In Your Eyes, Mama's Little Girl, Oh No! Not My Baby, Breakfast In Bed, Tupelo Honey, A Love Like Yours, The Windmills Of Your Mind, What Have I Done To Deserve This?

Eleven tracks is a big overlap. Clearly, purchasing both, doing some judicious ripping and burning, and re-selling one of them, is very much in order. Alternatively, get "the very best of" for a representative selection from Dusty's prime years, or "Ultimate" for a broader view of her career and her remarkable range. There are other compilations if you want to pay more. The important thing is to have some Dusty, any Dusty, in your collection. She was phenomenal.

In my opinion, one of the greatest pleasures of listening to a new CD is the opportunity to find new songs to add to my all-time favorites list. Like many other people, I enjoy looking past the "hits" that everyone loves, and finding my own private "hits". Is there any greater thrill to a music lover than discovering a great new song that just blows you away and makes you push the replay button several times? That is exactly what happened to me with this CD. I bought it because I am a fan of Dusty Springfield, and it was a nice collection of many of her best and most familiar songs. In other words, it was your typical "greatest hits" package. The first 19 songs are classic Dusty Springfield, and have a somewhat similar style that clearly identify them as being from the 1960s. However, buried at the very end of the CD is the true treasure. Track 20 is a song called "Goin' Back", and it does not sound like anything else on the CD. I had never heard this song before, but I immediately fell in love with it. To me, it is Dusty's best vocal performance on the entire CD, and it has a timeless, haunting beauty.

This 1998 collection from Polygram is okay but nothing special. In my opinion Dusty deserves better. You will find all of her important Philips hits here like "I Only Want To Be With You", "Wishin' and Hopin" and of course her terrific 1966 hit "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me". Polygram even managed to secure the rights to her two biggest Atlantic hits "Son of A Preacher Man" and one of my all-time Dusty favorites "A Brand New Me" from 1969. However, one glaring omission here is Dusty's marvelous 1968 recording of "The Windmills of Your Mind". No Dusty Springfield collection can be considered complete without that one. The remastering job on this disc is acceptable but I found the liner notes to be quite disappointing. This is not a bad collection but in my opinion there are better options out there.
You just might want to take a look at Hip-O records 2001 release "Ultimate Collection". For about the same money you will get all of her big Philips and Atlantic hits as well as a couple of gems including the funky "Mama's Little Girl", a great single from her short stay at Dunhill records in the early 1970's that for some inexplicable reason just never took off. You will also find her fabulous 1987 comeback hit with Pet Shop Boys "What Have I Done To Deserve This? on the Hip-O collection. And for those of you who are huge Dusty Springfield fans and also have a few extra bucks to spend I would highly recommend the Philips British collection "Goin' Back...The Very Best of Dusty Springfield". The remastering job is superior and the liner notes are a cut above the Polygram offering. This disc also includes 3 tunes from Dusty's early work with the folk trio The Springfields. So as you can see there is no shortage of fine Dusty Springfield collections to be had. Just pick the one you like the best and enjoy!!!

If you are new to the sounds of Dusty Springfield, just listen to the introduction of 'I only want to be with you'. This is typical of her musical range. Dusty has always had the power to inspire and this CD is an excellent example. When we lost her in 1999, many began a new resurgance in our favourite artists music. This can only prove that despite some tracks being over 40 years old, the tracks are as fresh as if they were recorded yesterday. A truly wonderful singer, a truly wonderful cd.

Just a correction to D.Schmittdiel's review... The song called "Look of Love" by Lesley Gore is a completely different song than the Bacharach/David song on this collection! Sorry, I just couldn't let that one go.

This CD is a great collection of Dusty's performances. She had great presence and a fabulous voice. Recording quality, or mixing quality, is poor, however... It sounds like it's done in a metal can. Not worthy of Dusty's performance at all.