A Girl Called Dusty

I love her deep throaty voice. And the songs! So many great ones.

Great voice and range but skipped a lot of them. The songs I liked the most were covered better by others imo. eg The Shirelles cover of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow is much stronger and neither hold a candle to Carol King’s

Not terrible, no real stand-outs on this one, though. Very glad I now know Dusty is not a boy..

Her music is timeless. What a great album, a great singer and what a voice.

So many classics! A true template for music production

What a great selection of tracks. Lovely voice . Classic

You don’t need to hear it from me for it to be true that Dusty Springfield was an icon of her era, and one of the leading characters of the Swinging Sixties. But I’m really not all that familiar with her music. She seemed like a pretty cool person though. Best of all, she was pretty openly bisexual, which was a huge deal considering the standards of the 70s. But it’s interesting how this album resides when looking at it through a historical lens. This album draws heavily on the soft rock and roll, blue-eyed soul sound of the 50s. And in 1964, when basically every notable and memorable release from that year was a jazz album, this is an interesting callback. Plus, when this was made, it had only been a decade and a half since the 50s started. The most notable release from about 15 years ago is probably My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. We have to remember that what seems like history long past for us was once the new, cool thing. Which is wild to think about. But from the perspective of an actual listening experience, this album is just okay. I’ve expressive before that this era of music is sort of a gray spot for me, and that seems to be consistent here. There is just never enough going on in these old school rock and roll albums to keep me entertained. Plus, having her debut be entirely composed of covers maybe isn’t the best way to become familiar with the songwriting abilities and talents of Dusty. But thankfully, the one saving grace of this record is Dusty herself. She actually provides something to the covers, and her voice is wonderful. Definitely justifies why she was such a huge star back in the day. My score has less to do with her, and more to do with the music itself and my general bias towards this genre. Rating: 5/10

“Dusty! Oh my god! Great to see you! Look. Love you, mean it. You know that. But. Uh. Respectfully… what the fuck are you doing here, D? You really shouldn't be in here. Definitely not with this album, Dusty. You know that, right? No, obviously I won’t tell anyone. Just don’t let Keith Jarrett see you. The man tried to make Lou Reed suck on a lozenge earlier - most uptight jazz musician I’ve seen in my life, I swear. And you shouldn’t go out the back way when you leave, I saw Lesley Gore and Dionne Warwick out there earlier and those are two ladies you do NOT want to meet in a dark alley, babe, trust me… Hmm? No, Dusty, I am not on *their side*. I just feel bad for them, that’s all. The poor things didn’t even get on the list, either one of them. And you being in here with your bland little cover album… That has to sting. That’s all I’m saying. Look. Maybe you should head out, hmm? Come back with Dusty in Memphis? You’ll be so much happier with that album. If anyone says anything then you can just point to Son Of A Preacher Man, end of conversation. And you won’t have to worry about Lesley Gore shanking you with that one. Won’t that be better? Hmm? Oh, you will? Amazing! Looking forward to it! See you then, D! Give my love to Aretha when you see her! Okay, then. Bye now, Dusty! Call me!”

Listening to this made me realize: Dusty Springfield was singing bangers while today’s artists are still arguing with autotune.

Favorite Track: Mama Said

Very good album

Quintessential oldies jams.

Lempparit: You don't own me, will you love me tomorrow Vähiten lemppari: Do Re Mi

Outstanding

Jede Menge Evergreens, einfach fantastisch.

A good singing voice, but she didn't write any of these songs. I appreciate that she was popular, but I can't find much to praise here, although Will You Love Me Tomorrow and Wishing and Hoping are iconic.

Just to preface this review I listened to the original UK release track list with none of the bonus tracks to fully take in the record and its sequence as it was originally heard. Firstly, who would’ve thought a Brit could’ve pulled off the Motown sound with such ease. It may be unfair to just define the album’s genre as simply pop because there is a lot going on here musically. This record is packed with straight, to the point, and catchy tunes that really are a good example of the best from its era. The original album sequencing is pretty standard and is overall a cohesive and accessible listen.

Great stuff.

женский блюз 3/10

She has such a great voice. Very 50s/60s style. I loved several of the songs in the album. Since it is a lot of covers, it does knock it down. I listened to the original versions as well, and Dusty did a great job. To play devil's advocate, I think we can honor the merit of covers, since sometimes covers can be better than the originals, or take creative twists which can be enjoyable. In this case, Dusty did not change much overall, just covered them well.

Solid album of covers. It’s odd to me that it’s on this list.

I grew up listening to Dusty as my mum was a huge fan so I am probably biased. I knew every song on this album and even though they are all covers Dusty's voice is just so amazing she carried them all off flawlessly.

Maso

A tremendous voice but on this album she sees trapped singing a lot of songs that are similar.

It's tough to believe this is the same person who sang "Son of a Preacher Man." Nice and peppy with a good voice. Not sure I would call it essential, though, especially considering this is very much not what I think of when I think of Dusty Springfield.

When I began to get into music in the early 60’s I had to be very selective about when and which album or single to buy. Money from a paper round and the odd 2/6d birthday money didn’t go far. Listening to this album today reminded me that at that time there was a series of albums featuring all the chart hits at the time. Not by the original artists but by session musicians and they were very close to the originals. From memory I think they were all called Top of the Pops and featured a bikini clad lady on the front. I bought one of these albums and my favourite track happened to be a cover of Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want To Be With You” which is from this album. That track was on constant replay so the song is permanently imprinted in my brain. Other than that I had no further involvement with Dusty other than she appeared a lot on TV and had a hit with the Pet Shop Boys. I appreciated her vocal talents which is an understatement because perhaps she had one of the finest female voices in pop and soul. It wasn’t until recently when I have become reflective of all the music I may have missed because I was too busy with life, that I picked up a Dusty Springfield greatest hits CD at a charity shop. Thanks to that I am very familiar with mist of the songs on A Girl Called Dusty and I can now really appreciate what a talent she was. A good album. Note to self - Wiki states that the Top of The Pops series didn’t begin until 1968 so there must have been another similar series of covers around 1964 the date of this album’s release. Wonder what happened to that album as it’s no longer in my collection? 3/5 16/10/24

2.5 not bad just not my thing

Ehh.. I really don’t have a lot to say about this. It’s old pop music from the early 60s that really sounds like it’s from the 50s. It sounds nice and has a few decent tracks, but this album is rather unremarkable. It doesn’t really stand out. The lyrics are passable, but most of the time they don’t really offer a whole lot. Springfield’s voice is what makes most of this album, along with a few backing instrumentals. But, they don’t carry the album. This album has its moments, but with it just being (sometimes nice) covers of songs with a 50s - 60s pop sounds it doesn’t really have too much going for it. It’s just rather unremarkable.

A really good album with a lot of Classic Dusty Springfield songs like Mama Said, You Don't Own Me and Don't You Know.

Pretty good album, I've heard it before and I still like it. She has a great voice and the songs are excellent and classic. I'm sure that I will listen to this many more times.

Dusty Springfield is one of the unsung heroes of the '60s. This was an introduction to what was coming, and what followed was amazing music.

If I'm not mistaken, this is basically a cover album. Dusty herself basically seems like a Lana Del Rey of the 60s, so this album is kinda par for the course. It's not amazing, but it does have great vocal performances from Dusty. I would pick other Dusty Springfield albums to have on the list, however. Best Songs: You Don't Own Me, Summer Is Over, Can I Get A Witness Worst Songs: Mama Said, Nothing, Wishin And Hopin

Meh

Peppy! Still not really that interesting, or more than just a kinda OK album. 3/5

Does not seem to be available anywhere anymore in the original format.

3,5*

Not too bad. I don’t see myself listening to it again.

Less good version of good songs

does anyone care

Love Dusty, and this is a good album of covers by a 17 year old. But not great, yet.

60's pop. nice voice

Perfection

Great voice but felt like a pretty generic 60’s female singer album.

2,5

Not many of her well known hits on here but she's got a cracking voice, I was into this alot, it's a 4 because there's maybe a few weak tracks and I think her other album is better

Breaking away from my usual word salad reviews - I don’t really know to describe my feelings on this album in a lengthy manner. So this one will be short. It’s a fun record. The song selection, and renditions of said song selection, is actually quite excellent. 'You Don't Own Me', 'Do Re Mi', 'Mockingbird', 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow?', and 'Wishin' And Hopin'' are all particular standouts. But the true highlight of it all is Dusty Springfield's voice. She sings with a rare kind of warmth that is both relaxing on the ears and engages you with her great technique and how she can flawlessly hit every note that is thrown her way. I give this album an appreciative 3/5. Because as good as the songs are throughout this tracklist, there are better renditions of them out in the world, in my opinion. It's also hard to really look at 'A Girl Called Dusty' as anything groundbreaking or remarkable in the grand scheme of things - as it feels like it merely exists to showcase her vocals; and that's fine. But is it '1001 albums' I must experience before I die worthy? Not really. However, it is a fun listen nonetheless; even if it isn't the sort of LP I would go out of my way to play through my setup.

Utterly mesmerising.

So many classics! Fun listen.

"Mockingbird"

Easy listen. Cool.

I am pleasantly surprised by this record. Some really memorable melodies and hooks, even though it sounds very dated.

This was some classic 50's, early 60's sound. Couple of fun songs on it. As a lot of people call out it is a lot of covers, which is odd for a debut album.

Some songs. Won’t listen again cover to cover.

She can defo sing, overall the album passed by without much to note, went out on a great track though "summer is over" really liked that one

genuinely kind of befuddling that this voice comes out of a little blond british lady. gorgeous, dynamic. fav tracks: all cried out; i wish i’d never loved you; summer is over; do re mi

hmmm I didn't really love this so much. it wasn't bad but I just got kind of bored because the songs blended together pretty quickly to me. I've enjoyed other Dusty albums so maybe this one just isn't for me.

Quality classic and hip stuff. Dusty really was a treasure. It's an almost painful reminder of simpler times.

Several recognizable songs

Fun, old timey

Huh, I had no idea Dusty Springfield was British. I guess that explains why this random white lady is singing r&b and soul songs at the height of Motown? I knew a lot of these songs, but I didn’t particularly love her takes on them. She’s a competent singer, and she sings with a lot of passion — she can definitely belt (used to best effect on the closing track by Ray Charles, “Don’t You Know”). I also like the husky timbre of her voice. But there’s something about her tone I find off putting. It’s like a frog in the throat/country twang thing I can’t quite describe mixed with a bit of shrillness. There’s also often a sharpness that’s just not that pleasant to listen to. I wonder if that has something to do with her lacking the context/understanding of the importance of blue notes in this type of music. “Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa” and “Nothing” seem to have her voice a bit lower in the mix, which softens some of the sharpness (the backing vocals help too). That’s probably why I think they’re some of the better songs on the album. “Anyone Who Had a Heart” is also a decent track, mainly because it showcases her smoother sounding upper register, as does “Wishin and Hopin.” The standout on this album is probably the Carole King-penned “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” though I still prefer the version by The Shirelles. In fact, on most of these tracks where there are more famous versions, I prefer the other artists over Dusty. This wasn’t a terrible listen, but I probably wouldn’t seek it out again. 3/5 (maybe 3.5 on a day when I’m in a good mood)

Decent album. Thought I would like it more start to finish.

80% Best: Mama Said; When The Love Light...; Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa Must-Hear? Maybe

Happy to listen to but I wouldn’t say it’s revolutionary

This album wasn’t on Apple Music, but I was able to add all songs in order. She has a great voice and some fun songs. With that said, I doubt I’d put it on.

Some outstanding tunes, but also some duds. Which is a shame - at 20 songs, it comes in long, and cutting the four or five songs that aren't quite up there with the rest of them would still have been an album's worth of material. A bit curious in retrospect how much she sings about boys/him/he and it does sort of make you think about her image at the time and how she must have felt about that.

Great album. I was not familiar with Dusty Springfield at all and that seems like a crime. What a great voice and what a great interpretation of that 60's sound with a wide range of songs and killer vocals! Will definitely listen to again.

Really enjoyed it. Nothing that blew my socks off but great vibes throughout. 3.5 stars

Didn’t know anything about her beforehand. 1964. This album slaps! Yes, it has some sing-songy girl loves boy tracks, but the production on some is unique and beautiful. There is the harrowing strings on “You Don’t Own Me” and then the absolutely awesome harmonies on “lovelight”. And even the kitschy chorus on “wishin and hopin” made me chuckle and sing along instantly. Feels great to hear this music 60 years later and get to appreciate it. Stuff I’d incorporate into a party playlist. Fav track: When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes

Nice Soul/60 Pop Sound 9/10

No shade to Dusty, but this is a compilation of others’ hits and can’t stand up against the other great stuff here in my opinion. I don’t love her voice enough gor it to make up for anything either.

Had never listened to this album before. Loved it!

Gostei de algumas e outras achei bem fracas

All covers, and not particularly interesting ones.

Dusty Springfield is so much better than this. Her singing is great, but this is just a collection of underwhelming covers I'll never listen to again.

Lyder egentlig godt, men holder sig under middel fordi den føles ret uessentiel… kunne bedre lide den sidste vi havde med Dusty

Lækker produktion med vildt god dybde, var helt overrasket over at læse at det *ikke* er Phil Spector, det lyder ret Phil Spector-agtigt. Fed stemme.

Quite nice

To each their own but I couldn’t get into it.

An artist I've never really heard before, apart from the big songs. Not for me really. I found listening to the whole album meant the songs all blended together. Sounded too similar

It turns out I’m a real dingus. I went into this album thinking that Dusty Springfield was a country singer. I was wrong. She is an R&B would singer and a fantastic one at that. Prior to this, I’d have been at a loss if you asked me to name any tracks by Dusty, but when I listened to this album I found I was already very familiar with six of them. I think maybe when I was a kid, my mum might have played music like this at my birthdays because it’s (maybe) what she heard when she was a kid. Either way, this brought a lot of nostalgia. I love this album a lot and it will be in regular rotation from here on.

Okay, so here's an album that combines every song that I hated from the era but had no idea who that was that sang all these songs. Really great that they are all packaged up together on one album so that I'll never step on this musical landmine again.

Not sure why everybody is hating on this album… this is completely different for me and I quite like it.

As with "Dusty in Memphis," a great voice. But instead of a parade of songwriters on this one, it's a parade of covers. Not sure this warrants a second inclusion for Dusty on the list.

Its hard for me to rate an album of mostly covers but I do love her voice on these tracks with more soul/motown flavor.

Dusty sounds great on this set of cover songs.

This is such a great album. Nice lyrics, nice music. Just a real classic

dramatískt og yfirkeyrt en ég fíla það. 3,5.

This album wasn’t available on Apple Music so I had to cobble all the songs together into a playlist. Unsurprisingly, I knew most of these songs already, as my mom always had the radio on and set to oldies. Dusty has an amazing voice and I enjoyed this much more than Dusty in Memphis. There are some real classics on this album.

Fun to listen to and obviously great singing, but shouldn't albums on this list bring a little more? Original songs, say, or at least significant reinterpretation?

****A wonderfully pleasant album.

An enjoyable album, with a few belters in there. Too long though, with a bit of filler.

Recognized a lot of these songs from working in a retail environment 20 years ago. 2.1

Great album, would be great for sampling for music production

I really enjoyed this one! It was energetic and fun. Using some pretty emotional strings and a complex, orchestral/big band sound, without feeling over produced. At times dreamy, but consistently pop and soul based. Lyrically it was very one dimensional, but on par for it's time. It's an uncomplicated white girl heartbreak album. Some anguish at times, but for the most part the pop elements kept it upbeat and empowering. Fav Track: All Cried Out, I'm Gonna Leave You Least Fav: My Colouring Book (reminds me of another song, but I can't put my finger on it) Ratings Personal: 4/5 Critical: 5/5 List Approriateness: 4/5

Like it

Great album from a great singer

I had heard a lot of the songs on this album growing up, and didnt realize they were all one artist! Dusty kills it- het voice is alluring and at times haunting, and I liked the themes about being an independent woman in a time where it was difficult to be one. Overall- very good motown album

No particular opinion. Not great, but not bad. Recognizably boring? Sad Dusty, died to young. Had she come around in this era, she’d have been a superstar.

It's alright...After listening to Coat of Many Colors, I think my standard got a little too high. This one didnt reach it.

White girl’s got soul. You can’t not like this. 5/5 Highlights: Mama Said You Don’t Own Me My Colouring Book Every Day I Have to Cry Can I Get a Witness Summer Is Over

Not as refined as, and quite different from, her 1969 album Dusty in Memphis, which I liked. This one had an old school Doris Day feel to it - in terms of quality of the recording, song choice, style and subject matter. Far less enjoyable than In Memphis.

This was awesome. Gorgeous voice, songs by turn catchy and romantic. It really makes you want to sing along

She's a great singer, but the songs don't hold up. They all have better covers elsewhere. It's also a bit anachronistic - this is a 1964 album with mid 50s songs.

Reminds me of My Best Friends Wedding. She has some pipes.

so many hits. are these covers? need to research.

It was a good album a couple of sonemgs I didn't know were hers. It was fun.

Yep, this sounds like music that was popular in the 60s.

Not for me

I love her song "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" but her debut lacks the density that her top hits do. She still had a lot of growing to do, and her cover of "Wishin' And Hopin'" is low-key awful.

I like her voice and really enjoyed this album although there isn´t a single hit on and it mostly contains cover-versions. favourite: "You Don't Own Me", "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" 2,5

One of the best voices of all time singing classic songs - does it get better than this?

It's really easy to forget that Dusty had PIPES. This was a nice reminder, even if none of the selections are definitive for her or the songs.

I've always had a soft spot for Dusty Springfield, a folk singer who came to the US, heard soul music, and never looked back from that. It's fun to hear her takes on R&B songs well known and not, as well as to hear a British take on the sounds coming from places like Motown (a personal highlight of this album for me might honestly be the background vocals of the group the Breakaways) but I like Dusty best less when she's belting and more when she sounds totally laid back compared to the larger than life sounds around her, as on her masterpiece which I can't wait to get to.

I love her voice - though this is pretty straight stuff

Something about music from the 60s gives it all more soul. You feel this music in your bones.

Today we go bee-hiving all the way back to the first album by Dusty Springfield, released in 1964 after she’d been exposed to soul music in the US, and put her time performing folk-pop in groups firmly behind her. “A Girl Called Dusty” throws together reliable standards of their day (a mixture of Motown and more traditional pop) with not a single original or tailor-made composition. My biggest struggle with this album has been the inevitable comparison exercise. Of the standards I’d heard before by other artists, I often felt the “originals” did it better (Springfield’s “You Don’t Own Me” has none of the same power as Lesley Gore’s classic version, “Anyone Who Had a Heart” lacks the punch of Dionne Warwick and even Cilla Black, and so on.) The arrangements also play it safe, staying very true to the original songs. If the likes of this album were released today by, say, Michael Buble, I’d raze it to hell. All that said, it’s still good to hear so many great songs all in one place, and Springfield is still an exquisite vocalist in her own right. I’ll also credit this album for introducing me to plenty of tracks I hadn’t heard and really enjoyed: “When The Love Light Starts Shining Thru His Eyes” is a riot from start to finish, and “Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa” boasts a gorgeously direct, melodramatic chorus. “Wishin’ and Hopin’”, perhaps the only track here to be predominantly associated with Dusty Springfield, is excellent too. And it’s a thrill to hear Springfield absolutely let loose in “Nothing” and even more so, “Don’t You Know”: let it put any doubts of her vocal power (have there ever been any?) to bed. The more upbeat and urgent the songs were, the more I enjoyed them. In the other camp lie the likes of “My Colouring Book”, a syrupy and sleepy ballad complete with cloying strings and church bells. But these weak spots are fairly few and far between: on the whole, “A Girl Called Dusty” boasts a great set of covers which rightfully placed Springfield on the map. Even while they may not match some of the originals, the songs are very well chosen and performed with enough oomph to elevate this to four stars.

Mostly a cover album which is kinda standard for the time. Love her voice tho

I love Dusty. I had a massive Dusty period around the early 2000s.

Actually loved this. It’s never going to be core to my library of course, but would happily listen again

I find it kind of tricky to work out how to score these 50s/early 60s albums where artists sang songs written and sung by others previously, mixed in with some stuff they got to sing first. Am I just marking the voice alone in this case? I did enjoy this album (which I appear to have listened to some extended version), but primarily the upbeat numbers, the corny ballad stuff not so. And yes she had a great voice and the delivery full of vigour and enjoyment. I don’t usually comment on it, but it’s also a really cool album cover. I scored her other album on here a 3, but this was a bit better. However I’m not sure I can go much higher when ultimately most other artists have written their own material. As a slight aside. In this case it does feel a bit awkward that a British white girl is singing soul and mowtown type numbers. Must have been a stack of black artists with as good a voice who could have recorded it. However, if that’s the music Dusty liked then I guess nothing stopping her. Interesting to note the attitudes and marketability of things at the time. Now it’s more about looks.

Perfect way to end the week, fun sing-a-long style album.

She has some memorable old time tunes (Mama Said, Mockingbird)....I just don't like this particular style of songbird.

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

Starkes Album, das den soliden Sound der Mitte der 60er Jahre perfekt einfängt. Dusty Springfield bringt mit ihrer markanten Stimme und dem prägnanten Soulcharakter eine besondere Note in jedes Lied. Das Album bietet durchweg brauchbare Songs, die alle ihre eigene Geschichte erzählen. Besonders hervorzuheben ist der Evergreen “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, der mit seiner emotionalen Tiefe überzeugt. Das humorvolle “Wishing and Hoping” bringt eine leichte, beschwingte Stimmung, während “I Only Want to Be with You” als echter Goldie glänzt. Mein persönlicher Geheimtipp ist “The Summer Is Over”, ein Lied, das mit seiner melancholischen Melodie und tiefgründigen Texten berührt. Insgesamt ist A Girl Called Dusty ein starkes Album der 60er-Jahre-Souls das mit Dusty Springfields einzigartiger Stimme veredelt wird. Wiederhören gestattet.

She's got a great voice and there is just classy 60's/70's singer songwriter instrumentation (full orchestra/fun rock/jazz influences). Also I guess the white stripes covered one of her songs on this record.

She sure can sing, but I've never really got into the idea of a full album of standards. 2.5/5

Lots of covers of my favorite songs. Great voice. Dare I say reminds me a bit of Adele?!?!? 🫣

I’ve always kinda hated the term “blue-eyed soul… you don’t hear the term “brown-eyed soul” because it sounds silly; soul doesn’t have anything to do with race. Dusty’s vocals in my mind were “soulful” enough that she’s in the same room as the queens such as Aretha, Dionne, Eartha, etc. and that’s all that matters; she brings it on every performance. And that’s my love for this album; the lead vocals, the background girl group harmonies, the mid-sixties “Shindig!” vibe, mixed with some Motown flavored grooves, and you got a winning combination. It’s the inconsistency of some of the covers that make this weaker than her sexy, sumptuous, “Sunday Morning vibe after a night of lovemaking masterpiece of an album. But still, no slouch this one! I think if she would’ve cut some of the “meh” tracks this becomes her 2nd masterpiece in my eyes; a shorter, tighter album would flow better, I think. But the gems? At their heights, it meets the highs of her best work, no doubt. Just a touch below what she’ll do in a few years when she makes her way down to Memphis and makes magic there. I like what she accomplishes here, knowing like Dr. Seuss, all the amazing places she’ll soon go. Glad to be educated about this part of her journey.

Classic 60s sound. No auto-tune, just a woman singing along to some music. It's okay, but not something that would catch me for a longer time.

It was ok, but not really for me

Just a touch of twang, nice easy listen.

An album very much of its time but well worth a listen

Langweilig, sehr alt

rustigggg en degelijk i like

Dusty has an incredible voice and does it as good, if not better, than most. This album is full of classics, a great Saturday morning listen with the family. Added six tracks to the 1001 Experience playlist, could've easily added more.

A lot of classic songs on there.

4 - I liked this more than I expected for how old it is. Some tracks like you don’t own me aged incredibly well into blending with new-er sounds, but others really really didn’t, overall a good listen

This whole album screams "Amy Winehouse" - Dusty Springfield must have been a strong influence. And who can blame her? Dusty has a very strong voice that fits perfectly into the material, which is mainly 60s pop, but with strong melodies and arrangements. I'm glad that I can now appreciate Dusty Springfield a bit more. 4/5

Dusty Springfield is a legend and a treasure. It's lovely to hear her young voice, I love that era of girl group style music.

Extremely demure - collection of thoughtful bangers, range is much more expensive than I thought and holds up against later work. 3.7.

It's hard for me to interpret this as anything but a whitewashing of soul and R&B music. The music feels flat, and the vocals lack substance.

Assigned to me close to two years ago and well worth the weight. Solid songs end to end. Thoroughly enjoyed and did add to my collection.

I love this oldies sound. Oh! You Doin't Own Me is on this album. I like that one, man that was a whole other time the 60s. These songs are happy and all about love. So many hits on this album. Will you Love Me Tomorrow, Wishin and Hopin, I think I'll give this one 5 stars

I gotta say, I was legitimately not expecting A Girl Called Dusty to be this good. When i was first exposed to Dusty Springfield with Dusty In Memphis, she seemed pretty good but this album truly brought out what she is capable of. The music was very good for a lot of these tracks and of course, the vocals and lyrics were incredibly top notch, the album also ran at a good pace so it never got tedious at all. I guess some of the ideas that Dusty tried didn't always pay off but for the most part, the album succeeded in what it was trying to do. Best Song: Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa Worst Song: Wishin' And Hopin'

4.0

Sleepy.

Love her!

I don't dislike Dusty Springfield, and the songs are great, but sometimes she sounds like my grandmother singing the songs of her youth. This is a good example of this.

Well sung covers but not really my thing

This album is filled with great old timey classics and it was a very fun and enjoyable listen.

Maybe not in the mood

I enjoyed this quite a bit for being mostly covers. Not groundbreaking but she was easy to listen to.

First listen. Ok.

continuing my mid streak with a perfectly fine slice of blue-eyed soul 6/10

Lots of great songs

Some amazing tracks (all covers of course). But great voice, love this era. Just nothing overly special at the end of the day

Eh.

A Girl called Dusty beweist auf diesem Album ihre Vielfalt, ihr Können und zeigt Stimme und Meinung. Sehr beeindruckend und melodisch. Mir gefällt das.

meh

Not unpleasant, would probably go up with a more attentive relisten but it's not my current vibe

no.

2/10

Love love love this, love Dusty. Iconic lesbian 🧡🤍🩷

She's a great singer and she has a lot of great original songs. I guess your first album used to be covers to show off how you could sing and then people wrote songs for you? Some of these sound to me like she's trying to sound like an African American woman. But I guess if Elvis could get away with it. This is good I guess, I'd just expect to have an album on this list that was an album of Dusty originals instead of all covers

Awesome, just awesome! What a set of lungs on this lassie! Beautiful, sultry, emotional and soulful.

great vibes and something you can jive to, dusty is a classic for a reason

A solid soul / Motown style album - always loved Dusty but never sat through a full record. This one is lovely - well balanced and beautifully sung - with the right feel and groove and sound. Loved it.

i wish this thing had half stars because this is the most two and a half stars album i've ever heard, but for the sake of you don't own me i will round up

Yeah, it is one of those two gigantic releases of hers. Filed to the brim with short immediate sounding pop songs, each having a bright bulging "hit attempt" written all over them.

classic ez listening

A nice debut with a handful of classics including several covers. However, Dusty does not yet have the emotional depth and sensuality that would later characterize her voice.

I thought Dusty was a country singer! This midmodern pop masterpeice is really beautifully done.

Thoughts before listening: A Dusty Springfield album that isn't the Memphis one? I've never seen any of her other albums getting praised so this is a little surprising. British female soul music is what I am expecting with this. Review: So I recognize a ton of these songs, but I don't think Dusty is the original artist. I am pretty sure that most of these songs were originally done by American artists, with many of them being done by black singers. Dusty has a great voice and these songs are arranged very well, which makes for an enjoyable listen. This is a 3-star album cause its not really my favorite style, but I can definitely hear that its high quality.

But I’d rather be listening to Dionne Warwick.

Does not deserve 5. 1/5

She has a good voice but too many covers and blah presentation brings this album down several notches. Didn't work for me.

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

Good album.

Blue eyed soul. Impossible not to get swept up in her singing. Fun to sing along with. More subversive than you might think. Excellent. 4/5

Solidly fine. Good for doing the washing up to.

A perfect snippet of 60's. It's incredible to think this was her first album, she really was a very natural singer.

I must not be aware of the significance of this album. I won't be giving it a second listen

Sounds like a drive around town on sunny weekend day!

A British approximation of some of the best American RnB & Soul songs and sounds of the early 60s. She brings a lot to the material - a charismatic performance and a wide ranging rich voice that's as comfortable belting out a powerful anthemic chorus as whispering a soft hushed line. The production is great too - nothing original really, but a solid recreation of the Stax, Spectre sound - lush and maximalist: gospel singers, horns, swelling strings, crispy clean guitars, jazzy drums, and a propulsive bass. The album is at its best on the uptempo RnB tracks that are brimming with energy, the slow soul ballads get mired in the mush of sentimental strings. Favorites are the ones I instantly recognized, incredible hits: Mama Said, Will you Love Me Tomorrow, I Only Want to Be With You

Great voice, great songs.

would

Unsurprisingly loved this as I have been a huge Dusty Springfield fan for a very long time. Didn't know this album but knew about half the tracks from various compilations. Rest was equally excellent. Dusty's version of Twenty-Four hours from Tulsa is now my new favorite version of that song (previously that had been the much slower Mari Wilson version).

She's got a great, soulful voice and did a great job executing so many popular covers making them her own. I'm more impressed than I thought I would be even though this type of thing isn't really my jam. Nice, but probably not a repeat listen.

Available through YouTube but not Apple Music. Good, not great, early pop

Great songs

This has no place on this list. A covers album by a 60s torch singer is really not one I need to listen to. Not 1 star dogshit, but absolutely 2 star dogshit.

enjoyable 4/5

1964 - R&B

Gear: DCA ÆON 2 Noire Artwork: 👖➕👖 Mix: 🔊🤫 Musik: 🤷‍♀️ Wertung: 👖(👖)/5

Wishin' and Hopin'. I found it! The one single that stood the test of time. ... that somehow means the entire album must be heard before I died...? It's not a bad album, but I don't think I would have listed it as a timeless classic.

I have nothing to say about this really. It is exactly what I expected from a self titled 1964 album. Not bad, and not innovative.

Good voice, but thought it was a bit boring

Better than expected but that's not saying much. Pretty voice but the 1960s style isn't my jam.

This is fine. She has a good voice and some of the tracks are decent versions of classics. I don't have much else to say about it and probably didn't need to hear it that much

First of all, this is damn near impossible to find on streaming. Secondly, great voice. I'd think Adele picked up on it here and there The songs range from okay to sappy... Like super. Ok album that goes way too long.

Solid '60s pop. Could listen to this stuff all day. Reminds me of being in high school and having a car with only a radio in it. Just drove around all day listening to "oldies". Good vibes only.

Lot's of well known songs on this album. I only have the Silver Collection album of her. This is quite a nice album.

A little old-school for me. I was four years old when this album came out. My family was listening to classical music in the home for the most part. I just wasn’t exposed to it. But the more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. 3

Very solid.

Favourite tracks: you don't own me; mama said; will you love me tomorrow

This album had some songs I really liked! "Mama Said", "I Only Wanna Be With You" and "You Don't Own Me" in particular were very good.

I loved this album! It was so perfectly retro, yet so many of the songs still hit for me! Mama Said and You Don’t Own Me were my favorites.

p70. 1964. 3 stars. The source of all white female blue eyed soul. Mostly covers, and the production is horribly dated - but that's offset by THAT voice. When this is good it's excellent. Better quality control on the material and this could easily have been a 4 or a 5. When this is good it's excellent.

As with a lot of 60s artists, their debut is basically a lot of covers and while it all sounds really good, its still cover versions.

Ok

Second Dusty album. I feel like “Dusty in Memphis” is better but this album is nice as well. 4/5

Surprised to read other reviewers bemoaning this being an album of songs not written by Dusty herself, as if Frank Sinatra or Aretha Franklin were singer songwriters. Especially given the wave of second rate cover versions we seem to be suffering recently. Admittedly this album is a vehicle for Dusty's voice and personality which are fantastic and deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the artists above. Very contemporary to Dionne Warwick and sharing some of "her" songs. But really Dusty herself is the reason for this album, amazing and unique voice, naturalistic phrasing on a bunch of generally good and in some places classic tunes. Pop goodness personified.

Highlights: Mama Said

Listened to this while playing Paperback Adventures. I lost...but this album was a winner! I couldn't believe how many of the songs I knew. My partner grew up with his dad listening to this music, so he sang along to a majority of the songs. The arrangements are great...so many solid anthems. Solid 4.

It was okay. Nothing amazing, nothing terrible 3/5

Very cool 60s sound

2nd of her albums that I've had, & I have to say the other left a better impression- while her version of "Son of a Preacher Man" (from the other album) is unbeatable, the covers on this album don't really stand out. "Mama Said" and "Will You [Still] Love Me Tomorrow" were both done better by The Shirelles. "You Don't Own Me" was done better by Lesley Gore (at age 17!) -- and later by Klaus Nomi (who put his own unique spin on it, & notably keeping the line "with other... BOYS!"). The rest of the tracks are unfamiliar & unremarkable, even as someone who grew up listening to "oldies" radio (when "oldies" still meant 1950s-1970s). Ironically, the only song I associate primarily w/ Dusty's version, "I Only Wanna Be With You," is only the extended reissue (I'd even meant to skip the "bonus" tracks but this was the first one). Welp.

I'm not sure why my initial thought was Meh when this popped up. I love Bacarach-esq music and Dusty's voice is amazing. Enjoyed it!

Some bangers but one tone and dated

Hits

Nice voice but album is mostly covers of others' hits. Feels unoriginal to me.

Really hard to rate. Dusty has an incredible voice that is still relevant today whilst other singers might fall into the category of old fashioned. Turned out that I knew nearly every other song as well! I wouldn't sit and listen through this again, but I enjoyed nearly every song on here.

I like Dusty a lot. She has a wonderful voice and has some all time classic songs on her discography, but I don’t think an album consisting of mostly covers warrants a spot on this list.

A pretty amazing voice and some great song choices.

Highlights: You Don't Own Me, 24 Hours From Tulsa, Anyone Who Had A Heart. In a nutshell: the debut from of a 60s pop queen. As a debut, it's good. Not perfect. I got the feeling it was a rushed recording. Mockingbird could have used a different singer to do the call and response then carry on with backing, because it feels weird to have Dusty singing with herself. PS. I stan Hal David and Burt Bacharach. Overall: 5/10

Dug it!

Typisk 60-tall. Helt ok start. Liker my colouring book 🙂

60s pop album with some soul influences. Nothing too spectacular as far as instruments go, but what elevated this album for me was the vocals. Dusty can sing! I enjoyed it.

Great

Great old time vibes

Very enjoyable 60s energy

Too short of songs and they all sound too similar

Love Dusty’s voice but not many of these songs landed with me. Maybe she’s got better albums?

Classi

So I actually really enjoyed this, Dusty has a nice voice and this list is pretty desperately light on early female vocalists. It's a very '60s pop sound and while it definitely sounds dated now, it's nice. Maybe this shouldn't be a huge knock, but (basically?) everything on here is a cover. That's not completely out of line for the time I guess, but it does take it down a bit for me. It's also worth noting that a lot of the covers are of black artists (the Shirelles, the Supremes, etc.). She seems to have been really influenced by early soul music (allegedly why she launched a solo career, her early work was with with a few folk-pop trios). There also seems to be a bunch of different versions of the album. The Spotify version is missing a bunch of songs and is slightly different from what Wikipedia says. I guess the original record was never released in the US, then she released a different version a few years later, and there's also been a bunch of singles releases and later CD releases. It makes it a bit confusing, but you get the vibe pretty quickly. For the second day in a row, this is probably a 3.5, but I'm leaning towards rounding down. It's very nice, but probably won't stick with me a ton and it's a bit less cohesive than a lot of other albums on here. Favorite song: You Don't Own Me Other: Mama Said, When the Love Light Starts Shining Through His Eyes, My Colouring Book, Anyone Who Had a Heart, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, Wishin' and Hopin' 6/17/24

40min of I’m just an innocent girl and you’re an evil man playing with my heart. Nothing stands out here musically.

The instrumentation in the background was really good, but I found the singer’s voice kind of insufferable. The songs all felt pretty generic as well.

I theoretically shouldn't have a problem with this music, I just don't like Dusty.

I just finished a Dusty Springfield album for the 1001 Album project and wasn't expecting to enjoy it all that much, but I did. I really enjoy her voice and style that the brings to most of these songs.

When someone is listing classics this better be up there - none of the songs miss! Before this I wouldn't have been able to tell you a song Dusty had sung and now I know she's responsible for so many hits with just this one album? In awe. Favourite track: You Don't Own Me.

Nice and retro but not really something I’d listen to

ok

Like it

This was a good listen. Had no idea she was British

So good. Much better than i was expecting. Very strong 3.

You Don't Own Me Wishin' And Hopin'

Better than a 3, not quite a 4.

la mejor es when the love light starts shining thru his eyes sin duda (larguísimo el nombre eh)

Beautiful voice, lovely pop songs. Not really a stand out for this list as I don't think it has much creative merit but I pleasant listen.

Not my Stryle

Classic songs. Never knew who sang them

bleagh

A- Mama Said 3 You Don't Own Me 5 Do Re Mi 3 When The Lovelight Starts Shining Thru His Eyes 5 My Colouring Book 5 Mockingbird 3 Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa 5 Nothing 4 Anyone Who Had A Heart 4 Will You Love Me Tomorrow 4 Wishin' And Hopin' 4 Don't You Know 3 I did NOT see this coming. Sheeesh Dusty!

Dusty Springfield brings a nice blend of classic country crooner and 50s/60s doo-wop pop vibes with this album. While there are a lot of so-so songs and covers on this record, there are a few that stand the test of time and are still played and referenced to this day. Shoutout to Dusty for serenading me during many a shift at Walgreens with the classic "Wishin' and Hopin'". A light, pleasant listen for a Friday morning. Notable Tracks: You Don't Own Me When The Love Light Starts Shining Thru His Eyes Wishin' and Hopin' 6/10

Einige Coverversionen dabei. Also Lieder, die später gecovered wurden.

Fine mid-century pop rock

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this album half as much as I did! I'm not sure if it had much to do with Dusty herself or just the fact that there were some great songs I recognised from all over the place. It seems odd that a covers album would make it to this list, especially considering that the tracks weren't interpreted much differently from their originals. This is like a Karaoke album! But I liked it all the same

I quite enjoyed this one!

A Girl Called Dusty is the solo debut of Dusty Springfield, who may be the most acclaimed British soul and R&B Singer. She recorded songs with full orchestrations and rich arrangements, but the most notable sound is her strong, rich voice. This is a great collection of songs with the grandeur of early 60s pop song, with a timelessness that comes from Dusty's incredible voice.

I definitely expected more albums older than the '80s when I started this list so it's good to see something from the '60s again. I've also noticed that my reviews are more often about how terrible the list is than the albums themselves.

Wonderful voice for soul. I just wish these were originals.

i like dusty but why is an album composed solely of covers on a list like this?

was gonna give it 3 but gets 4 for reminding me of dumb and dumber

I was always familiar, but I found myself getting really endeared to Dusty S. over the course of this album. So many iconic songs that she covered and many of which became the iconic version. Easy to see why, through her very full voice and approachable overall feeling, she felt like an old friend immediately.

It was good. Typical 60s pop, nothing special.

very long, couple good songs, overall decent. not exactly my kind of music though

What an odd choice for a list of albums that everyone should hear before they die. First, its not available on apple music. Second, its all cover songs. Third, its an album out of time - Its mostly songs from the 50s recorded in the 60s. Dusty has a good voice, but its an ultimately forgettable album. 2/5

Não deixou nenhuma recordação.

Great voice.

A DEBUT album of a former group singer, of nothing but covers, sung in a style a decade old, with verve and resonance. Virtuoso performance yes, but deserving of being on this list? Unsure. Lyrically very clear. 2 stars. Unlikely to listen to again.

I don't know. It's fine. The problem inherent in this list is that albums didn't develop until about 1966 so they were looking for something to represent this genre which was basically all singles. This would have been better served by a compilation album of singles, but they opted to not do that. So either stick to essential albums or don't.

great voice, good songs, nothing too special but good

Decent but a little long.

I listened to this and imagined someone like Amy Winehouse singing it instead. Now that would have been a great album. Too many of these old timers put no emotion into their music, this is flat and sleep inducing.

Not available

For the time, this seems like it was a pretty banger album.

Lot of bangers on this one. It's a pretty impressive debut album given the number of classics on here. I'm not sure that there is anything that really sets Dusty apart from some of her contemporaries, but she picked a thing, did it as well or better than the rest of them, and found a lot of success with it. Great album, definitely worthy of the list.

A very sweet record Dusty has a great voice and smooth delivery. I don't think it's the best song selection, though I love the second half with the Bacharach songs in it

Just a set of covers, with no real personality added to anything, but Dusty’s voice really elevates everything. I enjoyed it but there was nothing special enough about this to put it on the list. Then again if there were no Dusty albums on the list that would be bad too, so maybe they just picked one more or less randomly. 3.5 stars

May 16, 2024 HL: “You Don’t Own Me”, “Love Light”, “Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa”, “Anyone Who Had a Heart”, “Wishin & Hopin”, “I Only Want To Be With You” (bonus) I don’t love every song (“Do Re Mi”, “My Colouring Book”), but I love a good majority of them. I associate “Mama Said” & “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” with the Shirelles, but Springfield has cracking versions of both, particularly the latter.

This type of music reminds me of being a kid in the back seat on road trips, when it gets late and the only thing that picks up is Oldies on the AM radio. Good tunes, great voice.

Sultry

This was a sweet listen. The songs here have a certain "rare" quality, you don't hear this sound so often any more. I particularly enjoyed You Don't Own Me, Mockingbird and Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa. I wouldn't consider it to be a repeatable album but it was nice as a one-off.

Good singer, but way too 60's sounding for me.

"A Girl Called Dusty" is Dusty Springfield's debut studio album, released in 1964. It features a collection of soulful and sophisticated pop tunes that showcase Springfield's remarkable vocal talent. Tracks like "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" and "All Cried Out" are particularly memorable, with Springfield's emotive delivery shining through. The album's production, while somewhat dated by today's standards, has a charming quality that adds to its nostalgic appeal. Springfield's voice is the star of the show, effortlessly gliding over each track with grace and power. While "A Girl Called Dusty" may not have the same level of polish as some of Springfield's later work, it remains a strong debut that highlights her incredible vocal abilities. It receives a rating of 3 out of 5.

Love it!

mama said you don't own me when the lovelight starts shining through his eyes twenty four hours from tulsa anyone who had a heart will you love me tomorrow

Amazing voice, absolutely love these type of old school pop albums. 4/5

Despite some ….dated (and inconsistent) views on male/female relationships, this is a punchy debut album. Great variety in the backing tracks with a lot of disparate musical elements coming together in organic ways. Dusty’s not yet at the height of her vocal prowess, but her range and control are still impressive here and the vocal layering is ahead of its time. Listened to: shopping at Target. Favorite tracks: Nothing, You Don’t Own Me

The album is not available on YouTube Music nor could I find it on Spotify so I created my own playlist of the songs and listened to it on Spotify. Who knew I'd know (remember) so many of these songs! Just goes to show how old I am. ;-) 3 stars

Good music. Very nice vocals.

very meditative. once upon a time we could hold each other tight but that loving paradigm has been shattered without purpose. i know its not a crime to say bye without a rhyme but you didnt leave a dime or a letter for my person. you think i try to whine but the words that here i cry are not tears for a grey sky, but for my womanly brethen. girl he might leave you behind, but life flows like the nile, because the contract we sign is written with and old pencil. i like it

So many bops on this album. "Mocking Bird" from Dumb and Dumber is on here! I've never heard the original! "Wishin' and Hopin'" from My Best Friend's Wedding" and "24 Hours from Tulsa" are great, too. "Do Re Mi" is super catchy. I love this album.

I liked the music. I am just rating the music. Please don't hate me :(

I liked the songs, but the misappropriation made me feel icky. I was like is this a female Elvis?

colonizer

Great voice! Easy listening!

Fun Dusty Springfield songs I hadn’t heard.

Feels very much like a collection of singles. Love her voice

This was a really fun throwback. Quintessential doo wop album