Golden Lights＜限定盤＞

Q (1/02, p.123) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...the only female singer of her generation--Cilla, Lulu, Dusty--to write her own material....echoey, doom-laden arrangement..."

This is a slightly expanded edition of the Golden Lights compilation that came out on RPM in 1993. Like the previous anthology, it includes both sides of her six 1964-1966 singles, two tracks from a rare 1965 EP, her 1969 Immediate single, and a late-'60s outtake. This upgrade adds a German version of her 1965 single "Tommy"; her 1974 single "Days"/"Caroline"; three songs from an unreleased film/album project called Michael Hannah, from the same era as the "Days" single; and the 1982 B-side "For Sale." There's also enhanced CD film footage of her performing "Terry" at an April 1965 NME poll-winners concert. Does all of this add up to a must-have, if you already own the first Golden Lights CD? That depends on how fanatical a fan you are, though presumably it's mostly fanatics who bought the first reissue. The '60s material, even by '60s British girl group standards, is featherweight poppiness, but big fans of (for instance) Sandie Shaw could do worse than seek this out. The five 1970s tracks are better than you might expect: The songs are serviceable pop/rock without the gross faceless facade typical of much production from the era, sung in an innocent voice very much like that heard on her '60s stuff. The sound quality is a little subpar on the three previously unreleased '70s outtakes, due to unavailability of the original tapes, though it's not hard to listen to. "For Sale" suffers from mechanical early-'80s production, but again has more personality than much straight pop of the time, by virtue of her sheer guilelessness. ~ Richie Unterberger