Showing posts with label Dusty Springfield. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dusty Springfield. Show all posts

Friday, October 2, 2020

Dusty Springfield - It Begins Again

Styles: Vocal
Year: 1978
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:07
Size: 95,5 MB
Art: Front

(3:28) 1. Turn Me Around
(3:23) 2. Checkmate
(2:53) 3. I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love
(3:17) 4. A Love Like Yours
(4:16) 5. Love Me By Name
(4:37) 6. Sandra
(3:18) 7. I Found Love With You
(3:40) 8. Hollywood Movie Girls
(5:00) 9. That's The Kind Of Love I've Got For You
(7:10) 10. That's The Kind Of Love I've Got For You - Extended Mix

It Begins Again is the tenth studio album recorded by Dusty Springfield and the ninth released. Recorded during the middle of 1977, It Begins Again was her first completed and released album since Cameo five years earlier. Two of the album's titles, "Turn Me Around" and "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Every Day)", were tracks from the abandoned 1974 Longing sessions and Springfield decided to record new versions of both songs for It Begins Again, placing Chi Coltrane's "Turn Me Around" as the opening track.

It Begins Again, which was Springfield's debut album for the United Artists label in the US and Mercury Records in the UK, was recorded in Los Angeles and produced by Englishman Roy Thomas Baker, at the time best known for helping create the four first albums by Queen. Musically It Begins Again was however geared towards the American adult contemporary, pop and disco markets. Contributing on the album were some of the most renowned American session musicians of the era, such as Jay Graydon, Jeff Baxter, Joe Sample, Ed Greene and David Paich and it featured backing vocals by Pattie Brooks, Dianne Brooks and Brenda Russell all acclaimed recording artists and composers in their own right. The songs on the album were also written by a number of notable composers and lyricists, among others Nona Hendryx, Lesley Gore, Ellen Weston, Dean Parks, Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager. Barry Manilow's "Sandra", often singled out as the highlight of the set, is a gentle piano ballad that portrays the life of a suburban housewife who minutely details her daily chores, all the while assuring both herself and the listener that "I swear I love my husband and I swear I love my kids" yet in the last verse she reveals that she one day found herself cutting her wrists "doing the dishes, quite by mistake. It was real touch and go for a while."

Containing a diverse range of styles, It Begins Again was seen as somewhat experimental by Springfield herself, as well as music critics, who generally gave it favourable reviews. Despite the critical reception, the hopeful album title, as well as a series of promotional performances made in both the US and the UK promoting the up-tempo singles "A Love Like Yours" and "That's the Kind of Love I've Got for You", It Begins Again only briefly made the charts in Britain, peaking at No. 41, and did not chart in the US. Springfield stated that she had wanted to try something different, but felt that she now needed to move into a different style, a commercial, lightweight R&B, which resulted in the following album Living Without Your Love.

In 2002, Mercury/Universal Music UK released the album on CD for the first time, then also including Tom Moulton's extended remix of "That's the Kind of Love I've Got for You", originally only released as a promotional 12" single, which took advantage of the popularity of disco at the time. The song which was the closing track on It Begins Again was, however, the only true disco song on the album. The 12" version was somewhat popular with US deejays and the track in fact managed to reach No. 31 in the US Hot Dance Club Play chart. When the Pet Shop Boys in 2005 released their instalment in the mix album series Back to Mine they both included a Dusty Springfield track, Neil Tennant chose her 60s classic "Goin' Back" and Chris Lowe rather surprisingly the ballad "I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love" from It Begins Again. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Begins_Again

Personnel: Dusty Springfield – lead vocals, background vocals, production associate; Michele Aller – background vocals; Dianne Brooks – background vocals; Patti Brooks – background vocals; Brenda Russell – background vocals; Tommy Vig – background vocals, vibraphone; Rick Shlosser – drums; Ed Greene – drums; Oscar Castro-Neves – percussion; Mr. M. – percussion; Jeff Baxter – guitar; Charles Fearing – guitar; Jay Graydon – guitar; Thom Rotella – guitar; David T. Walker – guitar; Keni Burke – bass guitar; Colin Cameron – bass guitar; Bob Glaub – bass guitar; Chuck Rainey – bass guitar; Joe Sample – piano, keyboards; David Paich – piano, keyboards; William D. "Smitty" Smith – piano, keyboards, arranger; Jai Winding – piano, keyboards; John Barnes – synthesizer, keyboards, electric piano, Clavinet; Bill Payne – synthesizer, piano, electric piano, Clavinet; Richard Tee – piano, keyboards; Jerry Jumonville – saxophone, horn arrangements; Sid Sharp – concert master

It Begins Again

Friday, April 15, 2016

Dusty Springfield - The Look of Love

Styles: Jazz, Vocal
Year: 1967
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:55
Size: 92,0 MB
Art: Front

(3:36)  1. The Look of Love
(3:07)  2. Give Me Time
(2:29)  3. (They Long to Be) Close to You
(3:53)  4. If You Go Away
(1:55)  5. Sunny
(2:06)  6. Come Back to Me
(2:14)  7. What's It Gonna Be?
(2:41)  8. Welcome Home
(2:08)  9. Small Town Girl
(2:25) 10. Take Me for a Little While
(2:39) 11. Chained to a Memory
(2:53) 12. I've Got a Good Thing
(2:41) 13. I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face
(2:27) 14. I'll Try Anything
(2:35) 15. It's Over

A true mixed bag, from the sensual title track to the melodramatic "If You Go Away," and some fine soul stylings in between, most notably "Small Town Girl" (check out the choruses) and "I've Got a Good Thing." This is the last of Springfield's Philips albums to be released in America (she signed with Atlantic in the U.S. soon after, and the label declined to release most of her Philips' output here).
~Bruce Eder http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-look-of-love-mw0000235702

The Look of Love

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Dusty Springfield - Dusty In London

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 75:48
Size: 173.5 MB
Styles: R&B, Blue eyed soul
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[2:35] 1. Take Another Piece Of My Heart
[3:37] 2. This Girl's In Love With You
[2:45] 3. How Can I Be Sure
[3:24] 4. Mixed Up Girl
[3:20] 5. I Will Come To You
[3:06] 6. I Only Wanna Laugh
[3:32] 7. A Song For You
[3:00] 8. Crumbs Off The Table
[3:41] 9. Let Me Down Easy
[3:03] 10. Who (Will Take My Place)
[2:44] 11. Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone
[3:39] 12. Yesterday, When I Was Young
[2:59] 13. I Start Counting
[3:27] 14. See All Her Faces
[3:25] 15. Wasn't Born To Follow
[3:29] 16. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life
[2:09] 17. Love Power
[3:13] 18. I Think It's Going To Rain Today
[2:47] 19. Morning
[3:20] 20. Girls It Ain't Easy
[2:13] 21. Another Night
[3:32] 22. Come For A Dream
[3:11] 23. Sweet Inspiration
[3:24] 24. The Second Time Around

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Springfield had an unusual arrangement whereby Philips released her records everywhere in the world except the United States, where they appeared on Atlantic. Atlantic chose to release only 1968-71 material that was recorded in the U.S., meaning that quite a few tracks she recorded in Britain during this time went unreleased stateside. This collects 24 of those songs Springfield recorded in the U.K. between 1968 and 1971, only a few which had appeared in the U.S. before. Although this is not as soul- and R&B-oriented as the material Atlantic recorded with her in America during this era, in truth it's not always that far removed in sound and spirit from what you'll hear on the Atlantic albums Dusty in Memphis (1969) and A Brand New Me (1970). You can't get much more soulful than "Piece of My Heart," for instance, a good cover of which leads off the collection. Overall, though, it takes in a broader range of pop styles than Springfield did with her American/Atlantic recordings, from covers of the Rascals ("How Can I Be Sure") and Goffin-King ("Wasn't Born to Follow") to Charles Aznavour, Leon Russell, Jimmy Webb, Bacharach-David, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Most of it's taken from the British albums Dusty Definitely (1968) and See All Her Faces (1972), and it's lower on standout performances than the familiar Atlantic albums are. The singing is almost always involved and committed, but sometimes the material is pedestrian. The highlights are very good, however, including Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today," the beautiful string ballad "Morning," and the bossa nova spiced "See All Her Faces." This is worth hearing if you like Springfield a lot; just don't gear up for an extraordinarily consistent or essential listen. ~Richie Unterberger

Dusty In London

Friday, August 21, 2015

Dusty Springfield - A Very Fine Love

Styles: Vocal, R&B
Year: 1995
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:14
Size: 96,7 MB
Art: Front

(4:13)  1. Roll Away
(4:10)  2. Fine, Fine, Very Fine Day
(3:58)  3. Wherever Would I Be
(5:36)  4. Go Easy on Me
(4:16)  5. You are the Storm
(3:41)  6. I Can't Help the Way I Don't Feel
(3:48)  7. All I Have to Offer is Love
(3:42)  8. Lovin' Proof
(3:36)  9. Old Habits Die Hard
(4:11) 10. Where is a Woman to Go

In 1993, Dusty Springfield journeyed to Nashville and, working with producer Tom Shapiro, generated this jewel of an album, illuminated by as soulful and passionate a performance as the singer gave in her post-'60s incarnation. Indeed, the performances and the songs here stack up favorably next to, say, Brand New Me, her early-'70s intersection with Philly soul. One song here, "Where Would I Be?," which features a duet with Daryl Hall, got a little play for being in the movie While You Were Sleeping, but otherwise, sad to say, this album passed relatively unnoticed for most of the public. The sounds are fairly diverse, including relatively subdued songs such as "You Are the Storm," showing the softer side of her singing, but Springfield is at her best going full-out, backed by strings and a full band, as on "Roll Away" and "Lovin' Proof," which make this a very fine album, indeed. ~ Bruce Eder http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-very-fine-love-mw0000121488

Personnel: Dusty Springfield (vocals); Biff Watson (acoustic & electric guitars); Dann Huff (electric & classical guitars); Michael Thompson (guitar); Dan Dugmore (steel guitar); Jerry McPherson, George Cocchini (electric guitar); Steve Nathan (piano, B-3 organ, keyboards); Brian Tankersley, Walter Afanasieff (keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Carl Marsh (keyboards); Glenn Worf, Jimmie L. Sloas (bass); Lonnie Wilson (drums); Gary Cirimelli (programming, background vocals); Judson Spence, Guy Penrod, Kristina Clark, Audrey Wheeler, Kimberly Fleming, Chris Willis, Claytoven Richardson, Skyler Jett, Jeannie Tracy-Smith, Sandy Griffith, Conesha Owens, Ron Hemby, Dennis Wilson, John Wesley Ryles, Cindy Walker (background vocals).

A Very Fine Love

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Dusty Springfield - The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 55:49
Size: 127.8 MB
Styles: Blue eyed soul, AM Pop
Year: 1998
Art: Front

[2:34] 1. I Only Want To Be With You
[2:53] 2. Wishin' And Hopin'
[2:46] 3. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
[1:55] 4. Stay Awhile
[2:25] 5. Son Of A Preacher Man
[2:59] 6. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself
[2:10] 7. All Cried Out
[3:01] 8. Some Of Your Lovin'
[2:46] 9. In The Middle Of Nowhere
[3:20] 10. All I See Is You
[3:32] 11. The Look Of Love
[2:16] 12. Little By Little
[3:07] 13. Guess Who
[2:58] 14. I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten
[2:30] 15. I'll Try Anything (To Get You)
[2:58] 16. Losing You
[2:30] 17. What's It Gonna Be
[2:25] 18. A Brand New Me
[3:04] 19. Give Me Time
[3:28] 20. Goin' Back

Mercury records, which controls the Phillips records catalog, has compiled this Dusty Springfield set by referring to Springfield's U.K. and U.S. chart successes from 1964 to 1967, then licensing her two biggest hits for Atlantic records, "Son of a Preacher Man" and "A Brand New Me." The result, in terms of song selection, is an excellent 20-song, 57-minute disc that includes most of her best-known material. (The major omission is "The Windmills of Your Mind," a U.S. Top 40 hit, which was on Atlantic.) The more questionable elements on the album are the sequencing and the choice of mono and stereo takes. These problems are interrelated: if the compilation producer had opted for a chronological sequencing, the drastic aural differences between the early mono tracks and the later gimmicky, extreme (and, in at least one case, apparently fake) stereo tracks would not have been such a constant distraction to the listener. (So many tracks, even from as late as 1967, are in mono, that you wonder why they didn't just make the whole album mono.) And Springfield's stylistic evolution would have been more coherent, too. Why, for example, put the 1968 "Son of a Preacher Man" its full stereo, American R&B-style glory, as the fifth track, then follow it with the 1964 "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself," in boxy mono with orchestral accompaniment? Of course, you can re-sequence the album on your CD player, but you shouldn't have to. ~William Ruhlmann

The Very Best Of Dusty Springfield