Sometimes memories distort or inflate the quality of recordings deemed legendary, but in the case of Dusty in Memphis, the years have only strengthened its reputation. The idea of taking England's reigning female soul queen to the home of the music she had mastered was an inspired one. The Jerry Wexler/Tom Dowd/Arif Mardin production and engineering team picked mostly perfect songs, and those that weren't so great were salvaged by Springfield's marvelous delivery and technique. This set has definitive numbers in "So Much Love," "Son of a Preacher Man," "Breakfast in Bed," "Just One Smile," "I Don't Want to Hear 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.