Dusty Springfield
★★★★★ Dusty Sings Soul KENT. CD/DL
Dusty sings Aretha, Marvin, Carla et al.
This is Dusty lost in the moment singing her favourite soul songs. She sourced many of them herself from frequent visits to New York’s Colony Records and Dave Godin’s Soul City in Deptford. And when she sang them, she imbued each with an emotional intimacy. They became her life story to tell, her joy, her pain. That this collection spanning 1963 to ’69 contains just 24 tracks is its only flaw – it could easily have stretched to a box set. But still, from her opening reading of Marvin Gaye’s Can I Get A Witness, an energetic and totally thrilling Mod dancer, to desperate but dignified closer What’s It Gonna Be, penned by Ragovoy and Shuman and featuring Ashford and Simpson on backing, this is peak Dusty. And an exception to the rule that the originals aren’t always the greatest.