Dusty Springfield - Complete BBC Sessions

Dusty Springfield was the finest female vocalist of her era, a performer of remarkable emotional resonance whose body of work spans the decades and their attendant musical transformations with a consistency and purity unmatched by any of her contemporaries. This wonderful collection compiles her complete surviving BBC sessions onto one CD for the very first time. The first three tracks, by The Springfields, includes their first single ‘Dear John’ alongside two follow up singles ‘Swahili Papa’ and ‘Say I Won’t Be There’. This session and the following solo session in 1964 have only recently surfaced at the BBC, having been considered ‘lost’ for a number of years. The album racks up five Top 10 hits alongside a string of album tracks and b-sides but most excitingly includes 'To Love Somebody', a cover of the Bee Gees classic that was originally recorded in Atlanta for inclusion in the seminal Dusty In Memphis album however that version was destroyed in a fire. This track and 'Tossing and Turning', 'Up Tight (Everything’s Alright)', 'We’re Doing Fine', 'Good Loving' and 'Higher and Higher (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me)' only exist in the BBC’s archives. 22 tracks. Mercury. Album Description

Loose(r) Dusty

Dusty Springfield did everything she could to airbrush herself in a studio situation, so to hear her looser is to hear her rawer, but more real, revealing more of a masculine vocal strength she hid under echo and breathiness if she could in a more controlled situation. For me the great singers are actors (and actresses, which is word that acquired a silly stigma for some reason) and on these recordings, though not technically as well crafted as the studio recordings, Dusty is acting at a higher level on most of the songs, particularly her hits. The arrangements are closer to some kind of jazz combo in a club, at times a pickup one-night stand group feel, but Dusty just reaches deeper - of course. Similar to the way Aretha Franklin sings better on the much-disparaged "In Paris" live album BECAUSE the backup group isn't top notch. AND a full handful of songs totally new to her catalogue. You wouldn't maybe introduce someone to Dusty with this CD, but for anyone else, it's a no-brainer. If they had handed her "O Solo Mio" she would have found a way to do it unforgettably. November 17, 2007

For Dusty Fans this is lost treasure!!

I'm such a Dusty fan I even made a trip to London just to go album shopping...and it was worth it! This album is great just to hear her raw live vocals delivered with all the control, power and verve she had - which was a lot! She's the best and you need look no further than these live recordings to see why. Although the BBC studio bands aren't always up to Dusty's level they do a reasonable job playing her arrangements. This a great album to add to any collection of Dusty's music. August 29, 2007

Hidden gems from the great Dusty Springfield

As the cupboard is scraped bare of all studio recordings by the late great Dusty Springfield, this live set from the BBC is a great find. The majority of these songs previously appeared on a Dusty Springfield Bulletin, fanclub-only CD release. That CD included interview segments which are not included here. In exchange there are several more previously unavailable tracks, including 3 early performances by Dusty's folk group The Springfields and her solo take on "Tossin' and Turnin'," which she never recorded in the studio. Highlights of this collection include three other songs that were either never recorded in the studio by Dusty or have been lost: Stevie Wonder's 'Uptight (Everything's Allright),' the Bee Gee's 'To Love Somebody,' and Jackie Wilson's '(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher & Higher.' Top-notch vocals throughout. Highly recommended. July 30, 2007

A Wonderful Gift to Starved Dusty Fans

Whenever any lost song by the great Dusty Springfield turns up, it's an event for her fans, but when an ENTIRE ALBUM of rare or previously unreleased material hits the marketplace, well, it's a cause for celebration. Okay, so the sound quality on some of these tracks isn't the best, and the performances by the backing musicians might be a bit muddy here and there, or the arrangements similarly cluttered, but none of this takes away from the superb vocal performances. Dusty didn't think of herself as one of the Great Ones, and she was a notorious perfectionist in the studio, but the songs included here show her to be a gifted live performer. There's a rawness and a spontaneity here that makes listening to this a real treat for those of us who mostly know the studio album versions of many of these tunes, and have heard them so many times we have memorized every second of every sound and syllable.

The first three tracks, by The Springfields, did not overwhelm this listener, and impatience began to set in almost immediately. Then, a rushed, almost frantic rendition of "La Bamba" (with poorly pronounced Spanish lyrics) threatened to sink expectations for a sublime Dusty experience. But what followed was a surprising, energetic Motown-styled version of "Tossin' And Turnin'," and these ears began to perk up. An emotionally bare and intimate reading of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" set up the rest of the CD, and from there it never let up.

Two very different performances of "I Can't Hear You No More" are included here, and it's a toss-up as to which is better. On the first one, the band really gets it going, The Echoes do their backup vocals just like they do on the record, but Dusty's singing is just shy of breaking apart. It's a powerful moment. The second version is a tad slower and more laid back, and has less of a wall of sound behind the vocals. It's also more like the album version. In between, a perfunctory "Wishin' & Hopin'," never a particular favorite of mine, manages to gain some interest by having a slightly kickier beat than the original single, and after that a beautifully sung version of her hit song, "Losing You" keeps this collection on the beam. The bass and drums on this one almost make it better than the original recorded studio version, and the backup vocalists are perfection itself. Another song that doesn't add any new ground is "In The Middle Of Nowhere," but it's typically well done by Dusty, and then she follows it up with a fun performance of the Charley & Inez Foxx hit, "Mockingbird," which features one of the Echoes in place of the second Dusty heard on the album version.

The final ten songs bump this CD up to the stratosphere. "Little By Little" is crystal clear and, I think, much better than the hit single version, which always sounded to me like it was recorded in a bathtub. Soul classics never put to vinyl by Dusty, "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," "We're Doing Fine," "Good Lovin," and (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher And Higher" are all given the typical, devoted Springfield treatment. She clearly loved doing this kind of music. Two of Dusty's best known hits also come in this final stretch, an impassioned "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me," and "Son Of A Preacher Man," which may not include the perfection of the Memphis musicians, but Dusty sings it even better here, if that's possible.

For me, there are two transcendent moments on this CD: "Chained To A Memory," which is sung with heartbreaking immediacy, and Robin Gibb's "To Love Somebody," which was recorded during the Memphis sessions but lost in an infamous Atlantic warehouse fire (that also robbed the world of many other great artists' master recordings). It's a truly wonderfu gift to starved Dusty fans everywhere, not only to have this song at last, warts and all, but to have each and every one of these recordings.

I'm sure I'll wish that I could get rid of the announcer's voice at the beginning of many of these tracks, after I've listened a few times, but on the other hand, this is pop music history, so I guess I really don't mind too much. The mono and sometimes mirky recording quality of this CD made me tempted to only give it four stars, but that would be unfair, since these imperfections were anticipated. The songs, and Dusty's one-of-a-kind voice are what make THE COMPLETE BBC SESSIONS so special.


June 17, 2007

LIVE DUSTY MAGIC

Having collected Dusty's records since the 60's, it's always great to have something different to add to your collection.

Most of Dusty's solo tracks on this cd were released exclusively through the Dusty Springfield Bulletin some years ago but on this new commercially released cd we had the addition of some of The Springfields hit rsongs and how well they sound LIVE!

All the tracks on the cd are from radio broadcasts and the quality is excellent, there are some of Dusty's huge hits like Son Of A Preacherman, Losing You, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myselfg and her worldwide smash You Don't Have To Say You Love Me.
Tracks that Dusty never recorded in a studio such as Tossin' & Turnin' have a great early rawness that really adds to the performance, we also have The Bee Gees hits To Love Somebody - Dusty did record this but it was lost when there was either a fire or flood in the Atlanic studios.
Another point of interest is the inclusion of two different versions of I Can't Hear You (No More).
The Jackie Wilson hit (Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher & Higher is also another great performance from Dusty and the whole cd is such a welcome release.
Look out for the companion dvd to this set, it should be released late August so go ahead and treat yourelf to both! June 7, 2007

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