Search - :: Simply Dusty

Amazing

J. Mostoller | Ohio | 12/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have plenty of boxed sets, but none of them compare to this. The packaging is remarkable as well as the photos and the music. Dusty could make choking noises sound beautiful."

The White Diamond in a Superior CD and Book Package

Gary F. Taylor | Biloxi, MS USA | 02/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"She was born Mary O'Brien in 1939, the daughter of a tax accountant and a housewife, in London. In the 1950s, like many other English teens, she became enamored of American music--and in 1958 became a member of a girl group known as "The Lana Sisters." In 1960 she left the group to form "The Springfields" with brother Dion and Tim Field, who was later replaced by Mike Hurst. The trio met with significant chart success in both England and America, but by 1963 "The Springfields" had run their course. By this time Mary was known as Dusty Springfield, and she embarked on a solo career that would launch her to international fame as both a singer and a personality.



Although Mary O'Brien had been an ordinary-looking young woman, Dusty Springfield was an astonishing vision, sporting a blonde bouffant, light make-up, and heavy eye-liner--a look that became known as "Panda Eyes." Her gowns sparkled; her gestures were broadly melodramatic; her life as it unfolded was a riot of scandal that included alcohol, drugs, and whispers of lesbianism. She rode the rocket of fame throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, self-destructed more than once in the 1970s and 1980s, and made a stunning return to the public eye in the 1987. She died of breast cancer in 1999.



Now that swinging London, panda eyes, and all the trappings of her heyday in the spotlight have passed into myth, it has become possible to more clearly assess Springfield's gifts. And by any standard her work was and is exceptional. Springfield was clearly influenced by the folk and soul movements of the 1960s as well as various jazz artists, most particularly Peggy Lee--and in light of this many critics have attempted to define her by genre. But as Burt Bacharach so famously said, "you could hear just three notes and you knew it was Dusty." Her vocal stylings often reflect her influences, but she was never less than herself, unique, specific.



Likewise, Springfield's choice of material tends to defy genre. She did indeed do a host of recordings that most people would describe as "soul," but at the same time she did everything from lounge-style to Broadway to blues-inflected. It is extremely difficult to think of another singer with such broad tastes: from "the wall of sound" effect of "Stay Awhile" to the smoky, nightclub-ish "The Look of Love" to the super-clean style of "Goin' Back," she encompassed virtually every 20th Century pop idiom.



SIMPLY DUSTY suffers from the usual complaint one always has about collections: what to keep in and what to leave out. I am personally frustrated by the failure to include "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" recorded with The Springfields and the Bacharach "24 Hours From Tulsa." But such quibbles aside, this is a remarkably effective collection of ninety seven cuts (the opening cut, "Dusty Springfield," is a tribute by Blossom Dearie)--including bits from The Lana Sisters and The Springfields and continuing right up until the last recordings she made before her death. The recordings are crisp and clean and have tremendous clarity.



The accompanying book is also quite nice, offering a brief but accurate biography, overview of her career, a history of each song included in the set, and lavish photography. I am sure there are more comprehensive collections, but even so, this may be the best available. Worth the price and strongly recommended.



GFT, Amazon Reviewer"