Dusty Springfield - 20th Century Masters: The Best Of Dusty Springfield (Millennium Collection)

There are many facets to Dusty Springfield's career, and this brief set tells only part of the story. But for as much as it takes on--Springfield's hits from the start of her solo career up to (but not including) her triumphant soul album, Dusty in Memphis--it shows an artist of immense talent, range, and self-assurance. From the start, Springfield was very selective about her material, but the songs that she did choose she was able to make utterly her own--"I Only Want to Be with You," an homage to the great girl-group records produced by Phil Spector; her ultra-sultry reading of Bacharach/David's "The Look of Love"; her dynamic, sexually direct take on "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me." The Very Best of Dusty Springfield offers a more generous selection of cuts for a few extra bucks, but there's much to recommend this one, too. --Daniel Durchholz Amazon.com

Very Good Dusty

This is a very good CD of some of Dusty Springfield's best work. Not a complete collection, but has some of her best and special songs. November 15, 2008

great--as far as it goes, that is

20th Century Masters: The Best Of Dusty Springfield is yet another in this CD series of mediocre efforts to make a quick buck by placing as few tracks as possible on the CD. Yes, what we do get is very wonderful material and songs by Dusty; but they could have and should have added at least one or two more songs. The sound quality is rather good and the artwork is typical for this series.

"I Only Want To Be With You" starts off the track set with Dusty at her best and a lush musical orchestration. Dusty never sounded better and this is easily a highlight of this album. Dusty's voice is as clear as a bell and her excellent diction bolsters her performance even more.

"Stay Awhile" is a beautiful love ballad that features Dusty front and center with a very solid group on backup to support her. We again get a lush musical arrangement and Dusty delivers this number with passion; she sings wonderfully of a woman who wants more romantic time alone with her man. Listen also for "Wishin' And Hopin';" this has a distinct `60s light rock beat to it; and the percussion works very well on this number. Dusty takes "Wishin' And Hopin'" and she makes it all her own with her very sensitive interpretation of this fine number.

"You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" has an incredible melody for a torch song that still tugs at my heartstrings every time I hear it; Dusty sings this to perfection and the changes between tempos and keys enhance the natural beauty of this song.

"The Look Of Love" gets a very touching treatment from Dusty, who is able to convey all the romantic nuances of every word she sings. The percussion and strings work very well for "The Look Of Love," too. "What's It Gonna Be" places Dusty's vocals squarely in the spotlight and her backup singers never miss a beat, either! I really like "What's It Gonna Be."

The CD ends with Dusty performing "Give Me Time." "Give Me Time" showcases a woman's pain at losing her man. Dusty sings this with all her heart and soul and it shows when you listen to this. Great!

Overall, I have no gripe with these wonderful tracks by Dusty. My complaint is that there's just no way twelve tracks could ever be considered "The Best Of Dusty Springfield." I will take off two stars for this to make this a three star review. Indeed, this CD is truly best suited for a causal fan who wants just a few of Dusty's best songs; a more enthusiastic fan will never be satisfied with this. These diehard fans can find other CDs with more to them on this website.
March 7, 2008

Excellent Selection of Hits

I've just received this great CD and find that the selection of Dusty's hits to be representative of her career on the top-40 charts. Some on this forum complain that the collection is not 'complete', but the 20th Century Masters series has never claimed to be complete collections of any artist, but a representative sampling of their talents.

The remastering on my copy is pristine. Those who give the album a low rating based on this malady have recourse. Even Amazon will exchange a disc for the same title if it is indeed defective. Since mine isn't, then the problem obviously does not reside in the remastering process.

Dusty's music experienced a resurgence by being featured on the soundtrack of the Julia Roberts' vehicle 'My Best Friend's Wedding', which opened with a breathy rendition of 'Wishin' and Hopin' to great effect.

I think this is an excellent album. 5 Stars out of 5. August 31, 2007

Missing Some Hits!

I would give it a five star but the omission of Son of A Preacher Man is clearly the reason. It was one of her biggest hits of her career. Anyway, they could have used a couple of her more modern rather than just focused on the sixties where she peaked. The obvious hits are still here but the omission of Preacher Man makes you ask yourself why was it omitted. If I produced the biggest hits of Michael Jackson, I wouldn't forget Billie Jean would I? No, of course not, an explanation would be nice like maybe they didn't get the rights to some songs. The Millennium soluting the twentieth century artists like Dusty Springfield and Joan Armatrading are worth the price even if it's incomplete. June 1, 2007

Poor remastering

Very poor sound quality. For example, if you compare Stay Awhile & I Only Want To Be With You on this recording to the originals on the album: "Stay Awhile--I Only Want To Be With You" or the album: "OOOOEEEEE!" you will find that these are muddy renditions with the highs muffled and the very life of the songs squashed. I have several different CDs of many of the songs and I know.

March 18, 2007

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