Album Results
Dusty Springfield
Dusty... Definitely
Genre:
R&B/SOUL
Label:
Mercury Records Limited (London)
Release date: 2001
Album Reviews
Recorded in Britain only slightly prior to or at about the same time as Dusty in Memphis in August and September 1968, Dusty Definitely, which was not issued in the US, was a more pointedly pop production. As was the case with several of her 1960s albums, it explored a bunch of directions besides soul and rock, some well, some not so well. The cover of Erma Franklin/Big Brother's "Piece of My Heart" (titled "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart" here for some reason) was excellent and would have been way up to par for inclusion in Dusty in Memphis, and "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone" was pretty storming blue-eyed Motown-styled soul. On the other hand, the covers of Charles Aznavour's "Who (Will Take My Place)" and Bacharach-David's "This Girl's in Love with You" put her forth as an interpreter of popular ballad standards that could have been done for the most mainstream cabaret gig. The readings of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" and the more obscure, but beautiful and lilting, "Morning" fell between the polar extremes, and were quite worthy. John Paul Jones, who was only just joining Led Zeppelin at the time, arranged a couple of the hotter cuts ("Piece of My Heart" and "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone"). All but two of the songs were reissued on the Rhino collection Dusty in London, a 24-track survey of her British sessions from 1968-1971. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Track Listing
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Heartless KanYe West |
| When he announced that he would be putting rap to one side for his latest album and composing the whole thing using an 80's drum machine and singing in the style of Cher via the use of auto-tune software, many onlookers thought KanYe West had lost it. However, the results of KanYe's pop experiments, that on paper looked decidedly dodgy, have already produced one hit single and, if early reviews are anything to go by, one of KanYe's best albums. On his latest single, 'Heartless', KanYe continues the theme of the album '808's and Heartbreaks' by employing the use of the 808 drum machine and singing about, if you hadn't already guessed, Heartbreak. Although, as Kanye himself stated, the use of auto-tune is often associated with being 'wack', the application of the vocoder effect on 'Heartless' adds an extra depth to West's effective but limited speak singing. This proves to be a shrewd move as rapper's attempts to hit notes out of their range can often end in horrendous results; just ask Puff Daddy. Added to this the depth of lyrics, inspired by an emotionally turbulent year that saw the death of his mother and a break up with his fiancé, have more heartfelt punch than any of the predictable Hip Hop/R&B doing the rounds at the moment. Not many artists could pull it off but it seems '808's and Heartbreaks' has seamlessly moved KanYe West from Hip Hop King into the realm of pop pioneer without breaking a sweat. ©2008 Shazam Entertainment Limited. All rights reserved. | |
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