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Considering the musical landscape of the early Sixties that she inhabited, as well as spearheading the female contingent of The British Invasion, it is clear that Dusty Springfield is not to be taken lightly. All that being said, what we have here may in fact be one of the first acclaimed female-voiced pop albums as we would recognise it by today’s standards.
Tracks on here range from the breezy to power ballads that are all subtly tinged with soul and Motown. So while she was obviously an impressive woman to be able to get her foot in the door, it is nice to know that there was a more playful side that was able to be show in tracks like ‘Mama Said’, while maintaining the artistic prestige on ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’. While Dusty is also noted as being the voice that has become associated as the inspiration for the likes of Duffy, it is fair to say that when it comes to this there is no need to accept any imitations (especially when they choose to caterwaul quite a few of their album tracks).
While I am quite aware that Dusty In Memphis was meant to be her masterpiece, I would have to admit that this album comes mighty close to that status. In A Girl Called Dusty there is a nice variety of songs - granted they are all covers - but still there is plenty of variation in the material that she has decided to include. This is rather refreshing for this era, something which is now expected of major artists, since major albums could be made with little variation around the theme. Dusty, however, is here standing on her soapbox in her high-heels (due to being 5’3’’) and is proclaiming to the world that there is now a woman on the scene and she can play this pop-game better than any of the boys.
The production values here are also something to be noted. The productions here resemble Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound technique, but are slightly muted in comparison as a means to completely showcase Dusty’s vocals. This can be witnessed on ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’ where she sings as clear as a bell over layers of strings, percussions and backing singers.
This is an album that is truly knee-deep in classic songs. I would actually challenge anyone to go through this album and not recognise at least 3 songs from this, my personal count was six. When you listen to songs like ‘Wishin’ And Hopin’’ and ‘Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa’, and then consider that this was actually a debut, this effort becomes so much more laudable. Through looking at the song choices her on this album, the image that is portrayed is a proto-feminist who will not be tied down and demands to be treated as she would want to treat her partner; as such she remain her own woman (‘You Don’t Own Me’) while still advocating smothering your lover with affection to show that you care (‘Wishin’ And Hopin’’). Not so bad for a girl called Dusty is it?
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