Dusty in Memphis is the fifth studio album by English singer Dusty Springfield, released on 31 March 1969 in the United States by Atlantic Records and by Philips Records internationally. Springfield worked on the album with a team of musicians and producers that included Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Tom Dowd, conductor Gene Orloff, backing vocalists the Sweet Inspirations, bassist Tommy Cogbill, and guitarist Reggie Young. Initial sessions were recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, while Springfield's final vocals and the album's orchestral parts were recorded at Atlantic Records' New York City studios. Dusty in Memphis sold poorly upon its Read more on Last.fm.
What is there to say? It’s what happens when substance and vision bypass all manner of obstacles to culminate in orgasmic euphoria.
Sultry. Sensuous. Seductive. Those are three words that come to mind when I think of this record. In 1969, there weren’t too many white English girls on the scene who sang like Memphis or Motown queens; now, of course, that sort of thing’s to be expected, but Dusty was one of the first, a pioneer in her field (and she produced a great deal of her records uncredited). On this album, Dusty succeeds in creating a deeply soulful sound that doesn’t sound contrived or forced. There’s nary a melismatic note, no show-off behavior, no vocal straining. Dusty breathes life into songs that, in other hands, might come across as rather silly (I don’t think I could handle “The Windmills of Your Mind” sung by anyone else). She plays the dejected lover, the pleading woman, the advice dispenser, the seductress (I must admit, I was shocked when she sang “What’s your hurry?/Don’t eat and run” mischievously on “Breakfast In Bed”). Ultimately, though, Dusty and her producers should be most proud that they created a masterpiece that would fit comfortably alongside any other classic piece of soul music.