A Girl Called Dusty

Alright, so here's an album that was released in the mid-60s but sounds like it's from the 50s for the most part. A lot of the records on this list are ahead of their times but that's not the case here. Dusty gets points for some really great recordings of really great songs but they're mostly rips of other people's work. That was common for the time (especially among white performers covering songs by black artists) but it still makes me wonder why this was included in the list. It was enjoyable but nothing groundbreaking. Hence the 3 star rating.

Well-sang album. Unsure why an album composed solely of covers can be included in a list like this. I get it was commonplace in the 50s and 60s, but it's not exactly a spectacular composition.

A Brit stealing American Soul who stole from black people. The Led Zeppelin of Soul. And despite this, this thing is fucking incredible. Explains why the British museum is so good - the secret ingredient is crime.

Incredibly generic early 60s cover album. I have no strong feelings one way or the other.

Not bad, Dusty is a great singer, but I feel like I've heard most of these songs done better by other people.

Pure singers on this list are susceptible to my stubborn prejudice that paints them as karaoke rather than interpreters - the singer-songwriter indoctrination in me is deep. Dusty Springfield's meticulous, intelligent and virtuoso delivery is a remedy: she's besotted with every word. I'm not sure I need the tunes: she could vocalise in a Beckettian void and still mesmerise. This is a good contrast to the Laura Nyro album I cowered under last week, relentlessly belted out. At the two minute mark of "Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa", Springfield does something to the word "and" that briefly cracks the world open. A close listen reveals moments like this on many, maybe most of these songs. I'd read that she sometimes practiced singing a single word over and over again, and I can hear it despite my blithe ignorance of the vocalist's art. She can make "love you" sound newly minted, meant. Sometimes, her voice presses you softly against a pillow, muffles the pistol shot. Sometimes when she hits the loud notes, it's at a distance - the volume is because she really wants her voice to reach you, not to overwhelm you. Sometimes she just sounds like she's having the best time of anyone's life. The tunes suffer from over-familiarity, and I don't believe this is my prejudice piping up: the famous songs all have arguably more well-known versions that intrude. This record needs a close listen. It doesn't work for me in the background, becomes a pleasant soul impression, rather than a tumult of inflection, enunciation and flow.

Wowee! Range is the word for this album. Songs cover a wide range of styles: there are a few covers of tunes made popular by American "girl groups" like The Shirelles and The Supremes, three Bacharach/David numbers, one written by Ray Charles, and one by Kander & Ebb. But Springfield also demonstrates remarkable vocal range, from a deep growl to a chill-inducing soulful belt to a lovely light head voice. (My husband kept asking, "Is this the same person?") The lyrics display sexual and romantic power that must have been unusual in 1964. Even Wishin' and Hopin', which advises us to give one's true self up to get a man ("Do the things he likes to do. Wear your hair just for him."), also encourages us to make the first move since it won't happen if we just sit passively wishing and hoping, etc. And it's fascinating to note the shift in tone when some of these songs, clearly written for men, are sung from a woman's perspective --- Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa hits me very differently sung by Dusty Springfield than sung by Gene Pitney. I absolutely love this album. Can't get enough!

“MOCK-yeah ING-yeah BIRD-yeah” -Lloyd Christmas Exceeded expectations. Very enjoyable.

I'm a sucker for the chanteuse who can make covering any song sound so easy. This album is but a foretaste of the feast to come regarding Dusty. But overall this one still grabs me, even if no one can really agree on song sequencing or even which songs appear on which version (American or British). The first time I ever heard of Dusty Springfield was when the Pet Shop Boys song, "What Have I Done To Deserve This" came on the car radio, and one of my high school friends said, "Ooh! Dusty!" and turned up the radio. I'm still not completely convinced he had any idea who Dusty Springfield was. Or the Pet Shop Boys for that matter.

A perfect Sunday listening album!

Dusty's voice is fantastic, and it's supplemented well by the orchestrated backing on tracks like "You Don't Own Me". Most of the album is decent, and really the only song I didn't somewhat enjoy was "Wishin' and Hopin'." But it's not a genre I'm really a fan of, even if the songs are fine.

The album format has been viewed as a format that really began to flourish with the Beatles who kicked off a really concerted effort to craft entire bodies of work that express a consistent theme or quality. A Girl Called Dusty is not one of those albums. An anemic and loose collection of covers that makes me question why it was included on this project. Dusty's voice is phenomenal, bristling with passion, sincerity and a frankly intimidating depth of range that is let down by a scattershot selection of covers. The emotive heights of Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa and Mama Said are let down by doldrums of songs and standards that have understandably not stood up to the test of time. while the producer is noted to be inspired by Phil Spector's eponymous 'Wall of Sound', this is rather a poor, cluttered imitation that sounds more jangly and hollow than transformational. There are moments where it shines through, but even then it suggests b-sides of Spector than really standing on its own. As is often the case from records from the 40's-60's, a generational talent and impressive set of pipes that Dusty possesses doesn't save a rather pedestrian sounding album and ends up as a milquetoast arrangement of songs. 4/10, worth listening to pick out a couple of favorites and disposing the rest here

Woah. This was not at all what I was expecting. Ended up loving it.

meh

If you think this is just a white british lady singing some songs you're not wrong. But the amount of hits and amazing songs I've never heard before just blew my mind. Doesn't feel dusty at all!

Wide screen, epic Dusty. Absolutely perfect.

A little corny Songs and production was nice, but no real stand outs

Maybe it’s a generational thing, but this one wasn’t my favorite. She definitely has a beautiful, soulful voice, but all the songs sound the same to me.

great voice, songs are not worthy of it

Dusty Springfield's back catalogue was not well served in the 70s and 80s. This album has been released and re-released with different covers and re-cut into a series of budget label compilations, which means that this album (or substantial parts of it) can be commonly found in bargain vinyl bins. This album is under-rated by history and many record collectors, but that in no way diminishes the quality of this record. I would listen to Dusty sing the phonebook, but here she is playing some tastefully chosen repertoire backed by crack session musos. *Mwah* chef's kiss, love it. Five stars.

Sounds massively modern for 1964. A blueprint for all modern female soul/pop/RnB singers. Think Adele but in the 60s. This album must have been a revelation at the time. Best song: When the love light starts shining thru his eyes.

Wow, what a woman!

Felt very inspired then very critical and now I am here

Was okay. Some good songs. Not typically my sort of music but enjoyed it for what it was. 3/5

It was standard practice for labels to take some talent (any amount and degree of it) and cobble together a cover album to keep selling records. This appears to be one of those efforts. Dusty's voice is competent, but not compelling, and I couldn't help but think that she's better suited for something else (genre). What we get here is a collection of earlier pop hits, that in many cases I think the original artists did better. She didn't detract from them, but she didn't *ADD* to them. The best examples were "Mama Said" & "Will You Love Me..", by The Shirelles, and "You Don't Own Me", by Leslie Gore. "Wishin' and Hopin'", originally by Dionne Warwick, could be the only exception where Dusty's version is better than the original. (2/5) out of respect to her voice, but also because this whole 'cover of black musicians work' (appropriation) trend is tiresome. Reading a bit deeper, this list's Anglo-centrism is on full display, again, as an English singer's (Dusty) generally mediocre covers of hugely talented pop/girl groups gets inclusion OVER said girl groups. Know who's not on this list? The Shirelles and Dionne Warwick. I checked. It suddenly dawned on me and I poked around to see if *any* girl groups were on the list and couldn't find (audible gasp when I realized it) THE SUPREMES (!?!?). What in the actual fuck? Talk about a GLARING omission. Similarly, Martha and the Vandrelles, Ronnettes, etc.. but the real crime here is in exclusion of THE SUPREMES. Instead of them we get Dusty and her mediocre covers. I'm fine not putting all/many of the girl groups -- they quickly suffered from a crippling same-ness in the 'factory' of singles in the early 60s -- but you at least need to acknowledge the genre and the SUPREMES are the best example of that. I'll be spending the rest of the day listening to the SUPREMES to apologize to the legendary Diana Ross & co. (in my head) and to acknowledge their critical part of music history. This album is *NOT* essential listening and should be replaced by any pick of the early SUPREMES albums. Shit, just grab a 'greatest hits' if you have to. EDIT: "When The Lovelight.." was a SUPREMES song. Forgot that. The injustice continues. ... 😡😡...

It was solid. Didn’t like enough for a 3

I can't finish describing what it was like to listen to this album. It has been frustrating and horrible. I expected something better. Only 5 songs out of 20 seemed pleasant enough to me. I think it was a waste of time listening to it and I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think Dusty has a bad voice, but with each song that passed, I got more bored. The dull and lackluster way she sings, as if she had been forced to do 20 covers of songs from the time. And I think that makes it worse that it's an entire album of covers. Notable songs: You Don't Own Me, Do Re Mi, When The Love Light Starts Shining Thru His Eyes, Nothing and Anyone Who Had A Heart.

just by listening to this i grew a perfect updo and a winged eyeliner

First female lead vocals! I liked it, she’s great. Spooky? Yes please. 1960s bop

Fun album for an early walk! I do love those 60s strings. Favourite track: Anyone who had a heart

Pretty damn good for 1964. The mix of Brill Building and Mowtown is fantastic; this is an eclectic mix of tunes perfectly crafted to showcase the genius that is Dusty. Man she moves me whatever she does, as a debut this is damn fine listening, great selection deadbeats.

This was really, really, really good! Her voice is just amazing, the songs are all good and there’s some absolute belters in there too that I didn’t even know was Dusty! Absolutely tremendous album and will definitely be purchased in the future! Loved it!

Loved Dusty ever since that scene in Pulp Fiction - Go make yourself a drink and I'll be down in two shakes of a lambs tail. Summer Is Over makes me feel like I'm riding off into a desert sunset after victory at a high noon duel.

Love this!

Classic oldie. Some great songs.

A cherry collection of tasty tunes for my doll and me to cut a rug down at the Sock Hop or the local juke joint.

Love Dusty, no absolute classics on here but some great renditions.

A Girl Called Dusty is a perfectly pleasant listen—smooth, polished, and full of classic 60s pop charm—but it rarely feels like more than that. Dusty’s voice is, as always, warm and expressive, but the album sticks pretty firmly to safe, straightforward arrangements that don’t leave much of a lasting impression. That said, 24 Hours from Tulsa stands out as a clear highlight—melodic, emotional, and a glimpse of the more dynamic material she’d tackle later in her career. The rest is fine background listening, but it doesn’t demand much attention. Nice enough, but not exactly essential.

Probably wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it again, but it’s an inoffensive album, I wouldn’t turn it off either

Dusty had a great voice: powerful, but always with a slight edge of melancholy. As with all cover albums, everything hinges on how well that voice suits the material. There's a whole bunch of tracks on Side B I already knew and loved through cultural osmosis: Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa, Anyone Who Had a Had a Heart, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Wishin' and Hopin'. Nothing else really hits in the same way, despite the fantastically stereotypically groovy early-60s orchestra and backing vocals.

Even if it’s comprised of covers of already well known songs, A Girl Named Dusty is an impressive showcase for Springfield’s vocal talent.

The last Dusty album we reviewed  ]had "Son of a Preacher Man" which is a song that can positively influence your rating and cover up a lot of blemishes. For this LP,  we will find out what we really think of her. When this starts, I can't help but think she was influenced by white musicians from the Bobby Sox era. There are some songs where she tries to embrace Motown influences but she sure does sound white when she does this. If she wants to venture to Motown, shouldn't she get a guitar player and someone who can play either the trombone or sax rather than continuing with the orchestra?  It's hard to pull off a Motown sound when you're relying on a dude in a suit with a baton.  For perspective, this LP was released in 1964 and the Beatles didn't release albums with their first covers of Smokey Robinson until 1963/64 so it's not like there was a lot of guidance on how to adopt the sound. While I can cut her a bit of slack, there is no excuse for the baton still being in the house.  Side 1: Anyway, "You Don't Own Me" is a very good song and there is no denying how good her voice is. The LP then moves onto the second tier songs. "Do Re Mi" and "When the Love Light . . ." have decent melodies although it's hard not to label Do Re Mi a weiner song. "My Colouring Book" put me to sleep but "Mockingbird" is fun.  Side 2: The song "Nothing" is quite good and demonstrates she can sing songs that are uptempo and loud (by Dusty standards). "Wishing and Hoping" validates my point on her needing to move on from the suit with the baton. "Don't Ya Know", the Ray Charles cover that concludes the album,  is fabulous and the best song on the LP.  She is accompanied by band that can play this type of music and they sound like they are having a whack of fun.  Final thought: She wasn't born with the name "Dusty Springfield"; she picked it and it's an incredibly cool name. How could she pick a name that cool and a hairstyle that lame?  Ringo looked cool with that hairstyle but Dusty, not so much.  My feelings about this album are really mixed. She has a great voice and I really want to like her more.

Fantastic! Those pipes are legendary, can't wait for more Dusty.

An R&B/Soul album released in 1964 by a blonde haired, blue eyed brit? Sure, why not. No doubt I needed to listen to another album full of cover songs whose original artists did it better before I died. Especially one whose tinny and generic production value makes it sound like it was released a decade or so befor it was. Don't get me wrong, it's hard to blame Dusty directly for much of what was standard practice in the music industry at the time, and her voice and efforts are more than servicable on many of these tracks and worthy of at least a 2.5/5. But this wasn't something I was likely to put on without prompting in the first place, and isn't something I'm likely to revisit after, so I'm rounding down.

Variety: 2 Adequacy: 4 Listenability: 3 Uniqueness: 1 Emotionality: 2 = 2.4 rounded down to a 2 "Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby/ Ain't nothing like the real thing (oh, honey)" I remember some of these on the radio as a kid, but had no clue who Dusty Springfield was. And probably didn't hear her name until High School at least. I just assumed she was a Motown artist. Whatever that was. I was also familiar with a lot of the other songs, but through their popularizers ( let's be clear that even a lot of the hits of the era were more successful covers that often left the original artist in the dust). I've since heard a lot by Springfield, and while I can't claim to be a superfan, I've appreciated much of it. THE TRACKS Side A "Mama Said" - Dusty does such a good job with the material here. That smoky, distinctive voice is perfectly suited for it. I can't help but compare it unfavorably to the Shirelles version though as that one is pretty burned into my brain. The Dusty version, through no fault of hers, just sounds... off. "You Don't Own Me" - Dusty carries herself here with a confidence missing in the Lesley Gore version. That unsurety though gives the Gore version a different vibe where it sounds much more doubtful and conflicted, especially once Gore's vocals fall away. Dusty's feels more like a one sided conversation where she's laying down the law. An improvement in my opinion. "Do Re Mi" - I had never heard the Earl King version until this listen, but in comparison I can say I don't really care for either of these. Perfectly fine, forgettable stuff, but I do always cringe a bit at songs in the tradition of where a kids song, nursery rhyme or popular saying is expounded upon. The 50s and 60s was rife with this garbage. One of the few examples of this working extremely well is the Jackson 5 with "ABC". Yes, even Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle" bothers me. Dusty even sounds sleepy on this one. "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" - Once again, Dusty is fine here. She's got some ace material to work with even. But man, how can this hold a candle to The Supremes version? "My Colouring Book" - Ugh... I'm not even going to bother looking the original up. This is exactly the kind of sentimental pap ( sentimental music I have no issues with if handled well) that makes my spine itch in the same way that the worst of Pat Boone or Engelbert HUmperdink does. Once again Dusty handles it as well as she can, but I doubt anyone could make this weepy, sappy third rate musical wannabe number soar. "Mockingbird" - Inez and Charlie Foxx BARELY manage to pull this one off through sheer enthusiasm and energy, but it falls into that same class of "nursery rhyme"-inspired stuff that "Do Re Mi". Dusty doesn't have a chance. Arms tied going into this, she even feels low energy. This is the type of thing you gotta commit to 1000% to even have a chance of it working for me, and this one doesn't. Side B "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" - Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who had much success writing for Dionne Warwick penned this one little southwest flavored ditty for Gene Pitney. I can say that Dusty's version is a VAST improvement, and while I can admire the craft in this one, it's just not my bag, baby. "Nothing" - This one I think is an original to Dusty? It's perfectly down the middle, solidly constructed placeholder, where the almost-hook of the chorus fails to become any sort of real ear candy. "Anyone Who Had a Heart" - This was very good. I like Dusty's interpretation, but once again it falls just short when compared to the Dionne Warwick original. Warwick's version is sad and vulnerable where Dusty's feels ... less so. Warwick is a champion at getting those tears to flow though, so it's hardly fair. The arrangement here is much more polished and it moves at a slightly faster pace too. It feels epic where Warwick's feels intimate and confessional. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - Solidy capable, but the sense of urgency present in the Shirelles version is completely gone. This is the same material by rote. Where Shirley Owens sounds doubtful, this is just a rhetorical exercise for Dusty. She knows her man is going to stick around. The arrangement here is slicker, but more lifeless. "Wishin' and Hopin'" - Now we're talking. This one is a rare case where the interpretation is actually superior to the original. Somehow the advice sounds more believable coming from Dusty who comes across so much more assertively. The arrangement swings along a lot more nicely as well, and soars equally with Dusty's vocals. "Don't You Know" - C'mon. Who are we kidding here. She didn't have a chance with this one either. This Ray Charles original is not even well-suited to Dusty's strengths, so not sure what the thinking was here other than they must have already owned the rights and why not? Etta James or even Janis Joplin would have killed this though. Poor album closer to be sure. HIGHLIGHTS - "Mama Said" - "You Don't Own Me" - "Anyone Who Had a Heart" - "Wishin' and Hopin'" MIDLIGHTS - "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" - "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa" - "Nothing" LOWLIGHTS - "Do Re Mi" - "My Colouring Book" - "Mockingbird" - "Don't You Know" FINAL THOUGHTS I completely understand the adoration of Springfield, especially in the UK. She had a great voice, and why would you not have some pride in such an undeniable homegrown talent. That said, she suffers ever so slightly when you stack her up against a Diana Ross, or even a Dionne Warwick. During the Motown boom the U.S. had a surfeit of talent. We were spoiled and even some of the greats got shuffled to the side in the rush to constantly be crowning a new queen of R&B. It could be argued that Aretha came out on top, but Miss Ross has just as good an argument. Dusty I think is let down by a good half of the material on this and, much like Elvis, has the stink of taking other people's arguably better songs and making watered down ( though I would say she acquits herself well) copies. She does a better job than most though, just as Elvis did. The originals written specifically for her is where she truly shines, and I think either her greatest hits or Dusty in Springfield would be a much better entry point for those interested. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Just the highlights, please FURTHER LISTENING - 50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection 1961–1969 by Diana Ross & The Supremes - Tonight's the Night by The Shirelles - Tell Mama by Ette James

Reading the story that she moved from country music to soul music after being exposed to it while on tour in America softened my view of this record. I can respect that, I moved on from country music myself after growing up around it and then finding something more my style. I was not high on this album today at all and I don’t anticipate returning to it for any reason. She is a competent enough vocalist and I enjoyed some of the tracks slightly. However, I am still perplexed as to why this album is included in the project. That lead to me being consumed by a “Why this album and not X?” Or “why is this artist represented and not another?” That’s never a fun game or one that ends in resolution. All that said though I can see why she became such a popular icon. She’s got a voice for the masses. It is a pleasant and bouncy thing and you get the sense she enjoys singing these songs. Lots of folks were putting out albums full of curated songs. I’m learning that was just a product of the music industry at the time. Can’t fault her there. I’m told her Memphis album is worthy of inclusion. When we get to that one I will give it an honest measure. This one gets a 2/5 from me.

Not to my taste at all but I had a few moments when I enjoyed it because of the voice.

There’s no denying that Dusty Springfield is an incredible vocalist, and the instrumentation here is impressive. But as for my personal taste, this doesn’t do much for me. It’s not bad by any means, it just sounds like very typical 60s pop music.

Pretty far out of my usual wheelhouse, but this album explodes right out of the traps with energy and melody. The "wall of sound" is spacier and darker than you'd expect from contemporary pop, and suits the woody/grounded vibe to Dusty's voice. What is exactly as expected is the eclectic mix of styles (although a definite lean towards country-infused doowop) and moods - it feels more like a collection of singles than a cohesive album. An absolute time capsule, but only a couple of songs really stuck with me. Favourite tracks: You Don't Own Me, When The Love Light Starts Shining Thru His Eyes, Nothing

Sometimes pretty but ultimately forgettable.

I mean... it's OK... but there's nothing innovative nor even original here - and that latter point pretty much kills it for me. I don't think this 1,001 list contains soundtracks, compilations, greatest hits, etc. (no matter how "must hear" some of those truly are). So, why include an album of nothing but covers? Oh, that's right. Dusty's English. This is a protest vote and nothing against Dusty. If these songs are "must hear", then the original artists should be on here instead. And if it turns out those artists are also on here, then this entry would still be unnecessary per its redundancy.

This should be called Dusty sings karaoke. This is just white washed versions of Motown songs. Do yourself a favor and seek out who originally performed these songs and listen to the superior recordings.

Just as an experiment, I listened to all these songs followed directly by the originals being covered. My findings: not only do these versions add nothing whatsoever to the source material, every single one of them is also inferior in terms of sound, arrangement and personality. Really, you could listen to a compilation album of the original tracks and be much better of. How this got to occupy one of the precious 1001 places in this list is completely beyond me.

Love Dusty!

LOVEEEEE

Strange to read some bizarre criticisms of this. She covers songs written by others but that was the norm when this came out, particularly for a female singer in her style. And while she includes a number of songs written or made famous by black artists, there are a large number by white artists, so the claim this is an album of stolen songs, again, makes no real sense. It's certainly true that it's an album that sounds like it's of it's time, but it's an outstanding example of its kind.

So many classics that I never knew the artist but deeply enjoyed.

Mock… Yeah! …ing… Yeah! Bird. Yeah! Yeah? Ye-ah! Who can resist these songs? So many reviews here say this wasn’t influential, or it was outdated even in its own time, and if you’re saying this, you must be new to this music thing. Turn on an oldies station and see if you can go for a one hour without one of these songs (Dusty’s version) coming on. As a kid, we always had the oldies pumping, and I had no idea that all of these songs I loved so much were sung by the same artist, nor did I know they were from the same album. Love her or hate her, Dusty was a major presence in the sixties, and this album solidly belongs on this list. As for influence, would we have Adele without Dusty? To me, they’re a direct link.

I own (and absolutely adore) Dusty (Not Actually) in Memphis, but I think this album is even better overall.

Sweet Dusty

I'm a sucker for a song in 6/8.

Super bueno

Incredible Hard Rock from the 90´s

Great singer

I’m learning that I’m a massive Dusty fan. Like her voice is incredible and her range is breathtaking. Not to mention the fact that she’s a soul singer which is surprising for the obvious reason. But man she has got some crazy talent, like she makes singing seem so easy and effortless. I don’t understand how I’ve gone my whole life and NEVER heard of her. Like I had heard son of a preacher man before but I didn’t realize she was like a generational talent. Genuinely Dusty might be the greatest artist I’ve discovered from this list, so far her albums have both been absolutely perfect. Cant wait for more!!

Holy!!! She was one talented woman. Great album.

Love Dusty... Incomparable

Loved this.

Legend of an album, will be playing this again.

I mean so fun!

I had no idea how much I needed this album! I know several of the songs but didn’t know Dusty.

When to listen: hating men, loving men, feeling like an empowered gal. This album is hit after hit, with lots of new to me songs to enjoy. Love.

Love Dusty! She had some bangers in here.

Good artist

Loved it! I already knew a couple songs, like You Don’t Own Me. Quite a statement for her time. What a queen. Always love rhythm and blues.

Beautiful, haunting and soulful. Loved it all.

Blue eyed soul from the swinging 6ts! A great selection of songs sang with so much fire n skill that she'll knock you over song after song! A great ride of an album and above all a fun listen.

I adore Dusty Springfield. Always hits for me. 5/5

Hey kisigz, gotta respond to your note on all-cover albums - I realize you're questioning whether Dusty brought anything new and significant to already great songs, and not saying covers have no value, but it's a really interesting point and one I've thought about a lot and moved around a lot on. For a long time I wouldn't even listen to cover albums, it was all about original artists for me. But then that dismisses the value of Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, Joe Cocker, most blues players, jazz musicians, and virtually all classical musicians other than the composers, plus most actors and nearly everyone involved in theatre and film except the writers, as well as most of what the Shirelles and Dione Warwick recorded - Carole King and Bachrach and entire stables of writers wrote songs specifically for artists and still do, making those artists the interpreters of the music not the writers, so I don't see the difference between their first recordings and the covers that followed. And yet that said, 90% of what I listen to is originals, and yeah, I probably still value the originals more than the interpreters. Sorry to go on so long about music from 60 years ago, I'd love to hear anyone chip in about all this in music of the last couple decades. Back to a Girl called Dusty - This album is such a box of chocolates surprise treat to me, I had no idea about Dusty earlier than the great smokey, sultry Dusty of Son of a Preacher Man and Spooky, but this is something different - white bread tones but the edge of blue-eyed soul was already there belting rock and roll, sounding so immediate, almost careless, this middle class English Catholic girl channeling Aretha like she's just singing for her own pleasure when nobody's watching, ripping it up on Nothing like she's ready to tear someone's clothes off, even if its 1964. Damn I love this album, so, 5.

Dusty’s voice is enchanting and this album had me dancing in my kitchen.

I had only heard the singles and this album is absolutely amazing and must be one of the best solo debuts of all time.

As a trans woman, I never really got to have a typical girlhood, not like the ones you see on TV or in the movies or whatever. None of the gossiping about crushes, none of the slumber parties, et cetera. And though a lot of that vision of what "girlhood" should be is a media creation that isn't true to the experiences of many cis women either, it sometimes still feels a bit like I missed out, you know? Instead, in the privacy of my own room, I'd listen to a lot of girl groups and girl group-adjacent artists. I listened to Skeeter Davis, I listened to the Shangri-Las, and I listened (of course) to Dusty Springfield. And in singing along to their peppiest songs (with a hairbrush for a microphone, naturally), I could reach an approximation of the girlhood that the media was telling me I should be having. I don't think there's really that many people out there that would have A Girl Named Dusty as her best work. Most would probably say Dusty in Memphis, and in all honesty, it *is* a better album than this one. If you were picking her best song, you might go with "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me", which again isn't on this album. Most of the songs on here were unmistakably done more definitively by other artists (we've got, for example, songs by Lesley Gore, the Supremes, Dionne Warwick, and the Shirelles). And yet, A Girl Named Dusty unmistakably has the greatest hairbrush factor of all her albums. Strictly speaking, we're not supposed to consider "I Only Want to Be With You" one of the songs on here, but it's there as a bonus track and it's her best song of the era, so we'll count it anyway. Listen to that, and you'll know exactly what I mean by "hairbrush factor"; it's got this massive amount of momentum to it that keeps it rolling along and basically forces you to grab your hairbrush and dance around your room, singing (or lipsyncing, if you're shy) along. And pretty much every single song on the album has been picked specifically to produce that same effect in you. I mean, I guess not "Wishing and Hoping", but that's one where you can slow it down and think you look the part of a coquettish ingenue, but really you just look silly, and that's honestly just as important to the whole vibe? Now, years later, I've settled into a fairly normal womanhood. Of course the fact of being trans continues to affect my life and my interactions with others, but I've got my friend groups, and most importantly, don't usually feel like a total outsider anymore when those friend groups are mostly women, cis or otherwise. It turns out there's no arbiter of womanhood who turns you away if you didn't have a girlhood! (Well there *is*, but we don't listen to people like that, now do we?) But then one of those old girl groups comes on shuffle, and I reminisce about the bits of girlhood I was able to give myself.

Just classic!

We loved this album. She was so influential

Hey so turns out Dusty Springfield might be the greatest artist of all time, who knew?

Dusty is the Queen Bee, the blackest-sounding white soul woman there was, whose voice is so honeyed she can take any song and make it her own, forever Dusty. I could listen to her albums on repeat all day, and the only reason I don’t is that I have to sleep sometime. I love Dusty Springfield and I invite you to join my cult.

bellissimo

What a magnificent album! "Once Upon a Time", "He's Got Something", "Mockingbird", "My Colouring Book", "Do Re Mi" and "Mama Said" are all amazing.

Truly a remarkable voice.

Great album. Wide range. Lots of energy. No skips.

I had no idea Dusty was the singer for so many of the classics I was familiar with.

Iconic, loved!

Wow 1964... Stimme. Lyrics. Musik. Einfach runde Sache. Liebs.

Tolle Stimme, abwechslungsreiche Reise. Perfekter 60s Vibe.

absolutely wonderful. I just love that sixties vibe, and this album is exactly what every period piece about the '60s tries to emulate. Mama Said alone is just the perfect time capsule. Her cover of You Don't Own Me is amazing, My Colouring Book is silly but powerful, and Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa, while another cover, was my favorite by far. she just sounds so good. got bored with a few tracks but the impact and the vibe are an instant 4.5/5

such a complete album made by an incredible artist. she has been able to reach her public only by telling her story, without the use of complicated methaphors or else. i find this simpleness truly amazing, as it influenced so many other female signers of the time. her vocals and vocal range extention are extraordinary, she did such an amazing job. i love this album and all the songs so much. dusty gave us a way to show her true self in the most beautiful way possible

Brilliant record, my favourite so far. Once again I’ve heard most of these songs but not in this order, I wasn’t aware of how stacked with hits this is.

I didn’t appreciate what fabulous voice Dusty Springfield had until I tried singing her songs myself. They sound simple but her voice is so strong and perfectly on pitch, it’s really hard to match her standards. Plus the songs are great. Can’t go wrong with this album

Cool 60s

So much of this is my childhood listening to oldies radio. Mama Said and Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow bring me back to sitting in the backseat of my parents car while running errands. Not something I'd put on regularly but it has a definite place in music history. Dusty had an incredible voice