Colour Collection: Dusty Springfield (International Ver.)

Released in 2006, the entry by '60s U.K. pop and blue-eyed soul songstress Dusty Springfield in Universal Music's Colour Collection series is a thoughtfully selected -- though not thoroughly solid -- 17-song compilation. Although her career spanned nearly three decades, the focus is squarely on her copious hitmaking output during the 1960s. Fairly early as a soloist, Springfield joined forces with producer John Franz. In some cases -- many of which can be heard here -- his greatest asset was a decidedly hands-off approach when collaborating with the artist. And clearly these stacks of solid gold wax are evidence that not only did the anti-micromanagerial approach work, but it demonstrated that there was infinitely more than an angelic face behind her equally cherubic voice. For parties in search of a well-rounded best-of, Colour Collection contains a handful of essentials -- namely "I Only Want to Be with You," "Stay Awhile," "Wishin' and Hopin'," "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," "The Look of Love," "Son of a Preacher Man," and "Windmills of Your Mind." However, as Colour Collection is distributed primarily in the E.U., the track list is unquestionably stacked toward material that would be most familiar to her native audience -- particularly the U.K. Top 20 entries "Little by Little," "All I See Is You," "I'll Try Anything (To Get You)," "Give Me Time," and "Losing You." While certainly a (somewhat unexpected) treat for seasoned Springfield enthusiasts, the three deep cuts from the 1964 Stay Awhile/I Only Want to Be with You long-player -- covers of "Mockingbird" and "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" along with Springfield's own "Something Special" -- are questionable. The space could have best been used for any number of more worthwhile titles, such as "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "In the Middle of Nowhere," "Goin' Back," "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten," and "Breakfast in Bed," just to name a few. ~ Lindsay Planer|