Rolling Stone (4/11/02, p.106) - Ranked #9 in Rolling Stone's "50 Coolest Records".
Rolling Stone (10/31/02, p.135) - Ranked #3 in Rolling Stone's "Women In Rock: The 50 Essential Albums" - "...[A] British soul masterpiece..."
Rolling Stone (11/1/69, p.42) - "...most of the songs...have a great deal of depth while presenting extremely direct and simple statements about love....Dusty sings around her material, creating music that's evocative rather than overwhelming..."
Entertainment Weekly (10/9/92, p.60) - "...her lighter-than-air voice carries the album aloft..." - Rating: B+
Entertainment Weekly (3/12/99, p.71) - "...It's her shining moment and just might be one of the all-time great pop albums." - Rating: A
Q (3/95, p.119) - 3 Stars - Good - "...balances R&B and sensitive pop dramas..."
NME (Magazine) (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #54 in NME's list of the `Greatest Albums Of All Time.'
Personnel include: Dusty Springfield (vocals); Reggie Young (guitar, sitar); Tommy Cogbill (guitar, bass instrument); Bobby Emmons (electric piano, organ, congas); Gene Chrisman (drums); Mike Leech (congas); The Sweet Inspirations (background vocals).
Recording information: American Studios, Memphis, Tennessee; Groove Sound Studio, New York, New York.
Not only is this Dusty's finest work, it is unanimously acknowledged as one of the great soul albums. The secret is in the production. Jerry Wexler, Tommy Dowd, and Arif Mardin enlisted the Sweet Inspirations and the best Memphis session boys for vocal support. Dusty's selection of material is exemplary, choosing songs by Randy Newman, Mann/Weill, Goffin/King, and Bacharach/David. This should have made her an international megastar; instead it scraped the US Top 100, failed to chart in the UK, and started her slow decline. It is a faultless record on which we have, thankfully, now recognized she was far too ahead of her time for her own good.
