Heart & Soul

構成数 : 1枚
合計収録時間 : 01:08:15
Personnel: Dusty Springfield (vocals); Cilla Black, Spencer Davis, B.J. Thomas (vocals); Michel Legrand & His Orchestra. Liner Note Author: Jim Pierson. Is this a valuable release for Dusty Springfield completists? Certainly; none of the 18 songs are too easy to find elsewhere, with seven of them never having appeared in the U.S. before this CD, and eight of them previously unreleased anywhere. Do they comprise a musically strong and pleasurable release? Overall, no, even by the standards of rare Springfield material. In a reversal of the way such anthologies usually work, it leads off with the seven least interesting items, all culled from soundtracks and obscure singles and/or duets from the 1980s and 1990s. Although Springfield's voice is OK or better on these, in truth the material and arrangements -- usually leaning very heavily toward MOR and adult contemporary music -- are not only poor and bland, but ill-suited toward her style. Much better are the ten songs from live television performances from 1968-1973, even if it's unfortunate that the exact sources of these aren't given (though the years of recording are noted for all of these tracks). Among these are a few hits ("Son of a Preacher Man," "A Brand New Me," "The Look of Love") and, more intriguingly, some songs she never released in studio versions. Those include a musically uninteresting medley of Seekers hits written by her brother, Tom Springfield, covers of "Up on the Roof" and "People Get Ready," and a good rendition of "Won't Be Long" from 1971, though she had done that on a 1966 LP. The sound on these TV clips is OK, and the arrangements adequate but sometimes not too inspired; it's hard to tell, but it seems that sometimes she might be singing to a recorded backing track rather than live accompaniment. As a worthwhile bonus, there's an unlisted bonus track of her 1967 radio ad for Great Shakes milkshakes. ~ Richie Unterberger
録音 : ステレオ (Studio/Live)