Liner Note Author: Jim Pierson.
This release is actually Dusty Springfield's first and second American albums compiled on a one-CD package, with many of the tracks appearing in true stereo for the first time. Hearing "I Only Want to Be With You" in two channels is to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen, a bit like listening to the sound of universes colliding.
The first set contains mostly covers. Recording other people's material was a standard procedure in 1964, but Springfield's honeyed, uniquely soulful vocals did full justice to early hits by the Supremes, the Shirelles, and Dionne Warwick. Dusty comes totally into her own with "Wishin' and Hopin'," her first collaboration with songwriters Burt Bachrach and Hal David. The second album improves on her earlier work with gorgeous tracks like the Brit soul classic "I Wish I'd Never Loved You," and the achingly melodic Bachrach/David gem "I Just Don't Know What to Do Myself." Essential listening.