1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 43. Dusty Springfield – A Girl Called Dusty (1964)

 


The British Invasion continues, although it’s noteworthy that, as yet, all three British artists have produced albums that are mainly covers of American songs. Springfield has a glorious voice, and although I’ve heard her more famous tracks many times, this is the first time I’ve truly listened, and it’s just gorgeous. Soulful, able to ring out with bright sustained notes but also drop to a raspy growl, with a vulnerable edge to it that made me realise that this is the first album to really make me feel the emotions in the song. 

Take Springfield’s cover of the Bacharach song 24 Hours From Tulsa, for example. This has always been just a song to me, but Springfield embodies the ache of loneliness and suddenly you realise that the song has always been about heartbreak and not just being on the road. I don’t think there’s a track on here that is one that is exclusively associated with Springfield. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and Mama Said (which I can’t help but hear as being about “my marmoset”) were done by the Shirelles. Anyone Who Had A Heart is perhaps more famous for the Cilla Black version (sorry, Dionne Warwick). You Don’t Own Me, that one’s Lesley Gore. That’s not to say that the Dusty versions are inferior – far from it, they are all glorious and lush. She does funky quite well too, with a layered version of Mockingbird. 

The bonus track version does have You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me, which is one of her more famous tracks. But it’s all good R&B, and I hope she crops up again in this list. 

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