Search - Esther Phillips :: Best of the Mercury Years

INCREDIBLE VOCAL PERFORMANCES~BRAVO ESTHER!!!

Bradly Briggs | TOLUCA LAKE, CALIFORNIA | 08/30/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Esther Phillips is one of the true musicial legends over the past 50 years who sadly during her short but very musically prolific lifetime never received her just due from the music industry and it even took a fellow artist with true integrity (Aretha Franklin) to be the one to give Esther the "Grammy Award" that she so richly deserved for her masterpiece "From A Whisper To A Scream" which is one of the greatest vocal recordings in music history...fellow artists like none less than The Beatles were so thrilled when Esther brilliantly covered "And I Love Him" that they sent for her to perform in England thus introducing this legendary genius to British audiences!!!

This masterful collection is drawn from Esther's last major recording contract which was for Mercury Records being the home of her personal favorite Dinah Washington...so Esther brought her very best to these classic recordings and as a result is in peak form throughout...hopefully this is just a preview to the CD release of all of Esther's great Mercury Record albums which are her finest as witnessed in this great sampler which is such a tease...these lost treasures which are all masterpieces are just waiting for a great reissue label like RPM or Rhino to discover them!!!

Opening with a cooking version of "Our Day Will Come" makes one wonder why this was not a blockbuster hit which it should have been and it is clear that our lady is in top form with inspired and great musicians...a pulsating "Native New Yorker" contains a brilliant vocal that is all over the place and clearly outdoes the hit version...S.O.S has a gripping urgency to it and the old classic "Stormy Weather" is fresh and uniquely original as a medley "There You Go Again/Stormy Weather". Every song in this tremendous collection is a winner..."Pull Yourself Together" is loose and soulful while "I Hope You'll Be Very Unhappy" is a lost but now thankfully found masterpiece in a collection full of them!!! For a great musical trip that is totally magical nothing is greater than "Changin"...you have to hear and experience this great song and incredible vocal performance for yourself to believe it...one can really tell that the arrangers and musicans loved this once in a lifetime great, great singer!!! Thank you for leaving these great musical treasures behind and you are loved and missed Esther Phillips."