Dusty
Springfield was a bit of a musical schizophrenic. Most of her hit singles were
bubblegum pop ("I Only Wanna Be With You" anyone?), but the lady
herself was more interested in the soulful sounds of Motown and Atlantic.
This was her debut album in the UK (it wasn't released in the US until the '90s), and arguably her best. It features a Supremes cover, a Shirelles cover, and two Dionne Warwick covers. It also features the first collaboration with well-known songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David, as well as Gerry Coffin and Carole King, whose songs Springfield continued to record for the rest of her career.
I'm not a huge fan of the opening track "Mama Said," but it's not all bad. The album definitely picked up with track number two, the Lesley Gore cover, "You Don't Own Me." But by track seven, "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa," I was hooked.
If she had never recorded another LP, Springfield would have still been a legend, based on this album alone. Luckily, she did record others, and I'm really looking forward to Dusty In Memphis.
Favorite Tracks: "You Don't Own Me," "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa," "Anyone Who Had A Heart," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Wishin' And Hopin'"
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