Search - Dusty Springfield :: The Dusty Springfield Anthology

That Voice!!

Barry | 07/08/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: MASTER VOCALIST

S. Sittig | Washington, D.C. | 07/17/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."