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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

Wide screen, epic Dusty. Absolutely perfect.

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

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

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

Wow, what a woman!

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

great voice, songs are not worthy of it

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!

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.

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.

Felt very inspired then very critical and now I am here

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.

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

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

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

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.

meh

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

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.

Sometimes pretty but ultimately forgettable.

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.

Fantastic album! Loved it from beginning to end. 5/5

A fantastic debut just stuffed with great pop songs.

Amazing, so many great songs.

Classic hits everyone knows. Reminds me of my childhood

Epic. Great voice. 5 Stars

Me ha gustado mucho

LOVEDDDD I wish I’d never loved you

BANGER I'd like to own this on vinyl

This is a classic album with songs every one has heard with Dusty singing. Great album

Classic.

Nice soul singer. Also appeared to have song the original mockingbird.

Can never go wrong with Dusty Springfield

Love Dusty… I’m more of a fan of Dusty In Memphis, but I always love listening to a new album!

Probably my bad but I listened to Pet Sounds right after.

Love Dusty with my whole heart

What a fool I am to have never listened to this before. Every song is exquisite, I can't ask for anything more. I've never felt so assaulted by music. Her voice slaps me in the face with emotion. Idk it does something to me, some sort of witchcraft and I'm into it.

Banger!

excellent album that really deserves its place on this list!

Not my favourite version of You Don't Own Me (Lesley Gore), but obviously still a banger. Speaking of bangers, several here, my favourite new song being Summer is Over. Just great stuff.

Just amazing

Really nice album, beautiful voice. I will listen again

Do you really want to listen to something like this? Well in this song Mama Said it has nice instruments and the dynamics are good and it has nice energy in the singing. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Do you really want to listen to something the chill and calming? Well in this song You Don't Own Me it has nice instruments and its calming and it chill it is a good song to listen to. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Do you really want to listen to something that has nice instruments and is chill? Well in this song Wishin And Hopin it has nice instruments and the singing has nice dynamics and it very chill and calming. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Like it! 5 stars

Classic after classic

lesbian excellence

This is just one banger after another. Even the ones that don't grab me immediately remind me of what I love about Burt Bachrach. (Update: it turns out that this is because they were actually written by Burt Bachrach.)

Really surprised me, so many good songs , one of my new favorite pop albums

Starting off with 'Mama Said' is a strong move. Following up with 'You Don't Own Me' gets a 5 star, with the rest of the album having a great sound and showcasing an amazing voice.

No es Dusty en Menphis pero da igual, blue eyed soul de una diva con una vida digna de telenovela a la que redescubrimos en los 80 de la mano de Pet Shop Boys (con What i´ve done y sobre todo con su estupendo álbum Reputation), y luego con Tarantino y Son of a Preacher Man, de Dusty in Memphis apenas unos años después de este debut. Mirando los tiempos esta chica debutó a la vez que los Beatles, compitiendo con ellos y manteniendo el tipo, lo que habla de la magnitud de su éxito. Aquí tenemos soul de Motown dulcificado por la especial voz de Dusty. Holland-Dozier-Holland, Bacharach-David, Goffin-King, Ray Charles... la mano de compositores no es cualquier cosa. Abre un clásico de las Shirelles: Mama said, sigue You Don't Own Me de Leslie Gore (Rihanna bien la conoce), "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa que había sido un éxito de la mano de Gene Pitney (me gusta más su versión), Anyone Who Had a Heart otro éxito de Dionne Warwick y después con Cilla Black en Europa producida por George Martin quien la prefirió a Petula Clark , Will You Love Me Tomorrow también de las Shirelles,... Su mayor éxito está en la versión inglesa: I Only Want to Be With You, un pepinazo imprescindible en los 60. Un tema que llevaba desde el 61 por ahí rodando y que al final grabó Dusty al más puro estilo Wall of sound. Tuvo versiones como las de Bay City Rollers o The Tourist (luego Eurythmics). En resumen, esta chica tenía un don y ltriunfó a lo grande de forma absolutamente merecida. Mención a parte a su imagen, un icono de los 60. Para el recuerdo su actuación en Top of the pops, el primer tema del primer programa fue el suyo. También estaban: Every Day I Have to Cry (que fue un éxito de la mano de Ike y Tina unos años después en su fundamental River Deep, Mountain High) o Can I Get a Witness un clásico inicial de Marving Gaye (que los Stones incluyeron en su debut el mismo año que este de Dusty). Sus mejores versiones de Bacharach no están aquí, son I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself y The Look of love.

This album is absolute tour de force. Hit after hit. This is great.

Pretty incredible debut, so many recognizable songs.

Not a fan of her kind of voice on anyone but her. And I love it on her. Dusty’s always been a fave ever since I heard her for the first time.

A debut album has no right to contain this many classics. Brilliant.

Packed with classics

another artist who I didn’t realize wrote so many of my favorite hits she’s like the female Bob Dylan

So underrated

Sixties pop perfection.

Solid golden oldies, blues and more

I really liked this! This was the first album I’ve saved a song off of.

Lots of great classic songs here.

how can you go wrong with a gay icon pop diva with the name of an old texas bluegrass guy? the answer is you can't. thank god for dusty springfield. without dusty there is no chappell. as a trans woman i'm contractually obligated to rate this a 5 and i have absolutely no problem with that. the only issue with this album is how much it must have sucked for her to put her whole ass into singing about loving men. 5/5 simple as

Second time Dusty has been offered up as part of this project and always a pleasure to listen to.

Beautiful album forms tart to finish. So many hit singles that were later covered by other artists.

Really good

This is just a fun album filled with nice 60s pop songs sung by someone who has a phenomenal voice. This album isn't particular groundbreaking in any way, but it's a perfect capsule of its time period. Plus Dusty Springfield has a fantastic voice that elevates every song she sings. I just love this album so much.

So good. Wonderful voice, evergreen melodies, wide range of sounds and emotions. So many good songs on this album.

Banger after banger, what a voice. Had no qualms about her before but didn’t think about how good this album could be

I've only listened to a couple of isolated songs by Dusty Springfield. Apparently I've been missing out - this is great! Pretty much every song is a triumph. Her voice is great, with just enough little rough edges to give her an expressive and authentic sound. The style ranges from classic pop to soul and R&B. I like the Motown influenced tracks and the darker ballads the best. The music, backing vocals and overall mix sound a little rougher than I expected. Wikipedia mentions that the master tapes were lost and the digital editions are a mix of vinyl transfers and patch-up jobs using outtakes. Not sure if that's what I'm hearing, but it would be cool to hear the original vinyl sometime. Anyway it's a great album, 5*.

One of the greats. Personal enjoyment: 5/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5

Cute music, pretty vocals, and relaxing vibe.

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.

Yes, iconic really.

Dusty is THAT girl

Duh. Dusty has an amazing voice and the arrangements are great.

What a voice! Great song selection by the producer, Johnny Franz. .The production is like taking a time machine back to 1964. You can smell the cigarettes and booze in this recording. A gem.

10000x better than bruce

14/01/25 I have never listened to Dusty before and this was a good album that I enjoyed.

Dusty Springfield if you are reading this I love you please call me

Man, that voice is something special. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 5. This is the second time we’ve gotten a Dusty Springfield album – after “Dusty in Memphis”, I thought of her as more of a rock girl, with a little bit of soul influence. Going into this one, I was sort of expecting more of the same, even with a decade gap. Obviously, I was a bit wrong – this is much more doo-wop / R&B oriented than “Dusty in Memphis” was, and it’s a style that I honestly think worked better here, at least for my tastes. Once again, it should be quickly noted to say “give black artists their due”, as this is an album entirely comprised of covers. It’s not all from black artists, but a good chunk of it is. The parts that aren’t lean a little closer to that fabled “Great American Songbook” style, which I think works really well with her vocals. If anything, my biggest compliment I can give to this album is that despite this being a 60s album, so much of this, at least production-wise & in the structure of each track, feels pretty modern. Sure, not everyone nowadays is crooning R&B to grand bombastic orchestration, but the core of the album, in her vocals, the choruses & the melodies, feels like a blueprint for what would become the pop music of the 70s & 80s. Not all of that credit can go to Dusty, obviously, but her voice really opens up a lot of the tracks for me. The power in her vocals, which was already present on “Dusty in Memphis”, simply feels bigger here, in part because of the instrumentals, which do a much better job of working in conjunction with her as opposed to sort of stealing her shine like they did on “Dusty in Memphis”. That improved harmony is why I’m at a 5 – this album just glides to a really smooth 32 minutes, and while it’s not quite the same feeling as hearing Aretha Franklin absolutely belt out a track, there is something in the air when her voice & the instrumentation blend wonderfully, which happens enough times for me to feel like I'm justified in giving this a 5. It’s a fun album, and I don’t think there’s a single dud (well, maybe Mockingbird). It might hit a little less if I had heard most of the original versions of these tracks, but I think Dusty Springfield & the band performed them with pretty good justice. I think it’s no less than a 4 (or a 2, if you really hate cover albums being on the list), and for my tastes, I have no problems giving it a 5. I liked it a lot, what can I say?

classic

Dusty is a hit maker. So many defining 1960s hits. In high school, I was the stage manager of a play based told through basically Dusty’s repertoire. This album made me nostalgic for that time.

Never listened to Dusty Springfield much, but this was great! Certainly an album I plan on revisiting.