Dusty In Memphis

DUSTY IN MEMPHIS - Dusty Springfield (1969) - 10?/1001 Shit was clean. That's all I really had to say. Portishead before Portishead.

Album #231: Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I don’t know what the odds are of getting the only two Dusty Springfield albums on the list in a row, especially at this relatively early stage in the project, but they must be very slim. But! This was welcome. I loved A Girl Called Dusty yesterday, and I love this album even more. While her debut has a certain whimsical innocence and schmaltz, this album tones down the latter and obliterates the former. It’s a deeply mature soul album performed expertly. At this point in time, nowhere in the world had better musicians than Tennessee. It’s also helped by having several songs written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, one of the greatest songwriting partnerships there ever was. They’re the best songs on the album, with No Easy Way Down being my favourite. But honestly, outside of Just a Smile, I can’t fault a single song here. It’s carried by one of the greatest voices ever recorded. Her voice is just so fucking cool. It’s literally perfect. It’s obviously indebted to Aretha Franklin, especially in her phrasing, but she reminds me a lot of Al Green. That quiet intensity. She’s never loud, but carries the emotion without the need to wail or moan. You just get the sense she was an absolute master of her craft. A stunning baroque pop-soul classic with a Southern twist. A tour de force.

Despite her ability to actually sing, the sweeping orchestral music is too saccharine for my tastes

Obviously the standout here is Son Of A Preacher Man but the entire album is pretty decent. Great vocals.

2,5

other than the single, nothing is memorable on the entire record.

Meh

13 Oct 2026 · 7/10 Short and sweet, nice and relaxing, great performance. But nothing special you know?

Sounds gorgeous and timeless!

4.5995/5

Yay, more Dusty! Lovely as ever.

She really has a beautiful voice. But I can hear the bouffant coming through some of those 60's songs.

I'd always confused Dusty Springfield with Buffalo Springfield, but I'm glad I know they are not the same now because she's good.

Not my thing, but sounded nice...

This album is best when it is at its most soulful, bluesy mood. The rest—not so much.

Good album. A "problem" with this album is that it contains "Son Of A Preacher Man", which is actually too good and popular. However, I really enjoyed some of the other tracks. In particular, I enjoyed: "Just A Little Lovin'", "Don't Forget About Me", "Breakfast In Bed" (my second favourite), or "The Windmills Of Your Mind". Her voice is also very good, and the arrangements are great. Overall, this is between 3 and 4 stars for me, though I'm inclined to award 4 stars to this one.

If only this could do more for me than be soft and leering, but alas, it's just fine.

Great to have a female in this list at last! The first of many I hope 🤞 Overall Dusty’s style isn’t my thing, and it took me a couple of listens to warm up to the album. There’s no denying she has a wonderful voice, and I can imagine quite a stage presence. I found a lot of the lyrics quite basic and not super engaging - apart from Windmills of Your Mind. That was a stand out track for me! I also cannot believe Dusty is British! Been conned my whole life!!! Not my fave by far, but a chilled listen nonetheless. Highlights: A beautiful voice to introduce me to the Swingjng Sixties. Lowlights: Land of Make Believe - felt too high for her voice and really forced. AND THE FADE OUTS. Top tracks: So Much Love, The Windmills of Your Mind Rating: 2.5

I like it it wasn’t my Style

Nice calm album a bit more interesting than the last one.

Lovely smooth voice and 1 or 2 good songs but feels kind of dated. 1.6/5

1000% more interesting than yet another male led record A nice mix of up tempo and slower numbers but hey 60s, a 3 second fade isn't how you end a song.

Enjoyed. Obviously recognised a few songs. She was a beautiful voice which sounded quite different on a few tracks. 3.3/5

I have to admit, on first listen I found Dusty in Memphis quite old-fashioned, and the style of music didn't immediately grab me. However, after a couple of listens I definitely started to warm to it and found myself enjoying it on its own terms. I think the more soulful tracks are where the album really shines, particularly when Dusty shows a bit more variety in her vocals, which makes the songs feel much more exciting and engaging. Son of a Preacher Man and Breakfast in Bed are both absolutely superb. I love how effortlessly sexy they are, and there's something about Dusty's delivery on these tracks that really draws me in. Not an album I instantly fell in love with, but definitely one that grew on me, and I can see myself enjoying it more with further listens. Will defo be revisiting this one. Rating: 3.5

Amazing voice, cool chord progressions. Nice instrumentarium. Overall enjoyable album with few skips. A-side slightly more interesting then the B-side

3.7/5 fun

Eh

Dusty Springfield rocks, what a great album. My one issue is that I really don’t like son of a preacher man.

Well, two things are true. One, A Girl Called Dusty is not a very good album. Two, I knew this was going to be different the second I got it. "Son of a Preacher Man" is known as one of the better soul songs sung by a white girl, and the rest of the album… glory, does it follow suit. Pretty much every single song is a direct improvement on everything Springfield displayed on her debut. I mean, from the covers alone you can tell that they’re very different albums: the debut is this innocent, cheery picture of Springfield, in down-to-earth clothing, and this solid blue color. It’s bright and it’s positive. I’ve seen two versions of the cover for this album, one is displayed on the 1001 website, and it sees Springfield’s headshot, with a knowing, almost sultry smile, framed by this olive-green color. The other cover, the one that’s known more widely, is Springfield with her hands to her face, in this yellowish lighting. Both covers push a more obstructed, mysterious aesthetic, one that’s backed up by the musical choices on the album: heavy strings, softer songs, more mature singing and topics, it all communicates a grown-up-ness. The album’s obvious peak is “Son Of A Preacher Man,” which is also the album’s most innocent song, and the peak of energy for the album. Instantly iconic, phenomenal, beautiful, energetic, lovey-dovey, love it. The other big highlights, “I Don’t Want To Hear It Anymore,” a sad ballad that really fits well in the album, “Breakfast in Bed,” an easygoing, surprisingly dear song that I adore, and the haunting “Windmills Of Your Mind.” This album is phenomenal! Absolutely listen! 10/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: ABSOLUTELY REASON: quality, significance, place in catelogue

Love her

In which our heroine sets out to make an Aretha Franklin record, but is ultimately limited by being a white English woman. Still, there are some very soulful tunes here, mixed with an equal amount of MOR pop tunes. Probably a 3.5 star listening experience, I’m going to round up and give her credit for trying this approach.

I only know Dusty's big singles, which are true pop classics., but have never heard a while album its a departure from my usual listening. Liking so far, this is lushly orchestrated and she has an undeniably fabulous voice. Lazy Sunday morning coffee music for sure. It's not an album pf great variety or contrast (sadly she never had a sparse dub-step period), but thats not the point, it's all about that buttery smooth voice and US radio airplay. I may well buy this record just so I dont have to play Paul (bloody) Simon and Cat (flippin) Stevens whenever Nina's parents come for dinner, Oooh, Windmills Of Your Mind, i didn't know she did this. Love this song and this version. Had a slight panic when I thought In The Land Of Make Believe was The Land Of Make Believe (the anti Thatcher polemic recorded by Bucks Fizz , written by Pete Sinfield from King Crimson bizarrely) but it isn't, which is a very good thing. "Hey Dusty, we're a tune short of a full album" "Just stick Preacher Man on again at the end, it's a proper banger, i doubt anyone will notice and anyone who does won't care" A solid 4 stars, it would probably be 5 if I drank more than one cup of coffee on Sunday mornings... Fnal thought: What is it about ride cymbals in the 60's that made them sound so much better than those today?

Really enjoyed this album. Lovely arrangements throughout, sublime vocals, 2 absolute classic songs in Son Of A Preacher Man and Windmills Of Your Mind and a fine selection of other songs in support. I wasn’t sure if this was a 3.5 or 4 but I thought I’d be generous for once and give Dusty 4

Firstly, what a great sounding album, well performed and of course her voice, buut the quality of it all is pretty amazing, so kudos to the sound engineers. The music is absolutely quintessential for the era, no wonder so many are staple in period soundtracks. Whilst most of it is night club fare, I very much preferred the more orchestral or funkier tracks rather than when it veered to Nana Mouskouri. Son of a Preacher Man is ubiquitius for a reason and Windmills is the other obvious standout, and whilst there is filler, the album never outstayed its welcome.

I’m embarrassed to say I confused Dusty and Rick and thought that Dusty was a guy until very recently. Oops. Love her voice! I can only imagine what seeing her live during this time would’ve been like. So much soul and passion, but all cushioned with softness. Beautiful.

Love her voice and the production of this album. Really solid listen!

Lindo

Tolerance was needed to get through this. This is not my style at all. ★★

Although there are similarities to other artists that I do enjoy in her music, it was too much on the soft and boring side for me. I can see how others would enjoy this music and album but not I.

Lovely voice Dusty has, and obviously Preacher man is an excellent song, the rest of the album, well, nothing really stands out for me.

I found the music very soft and peaceful, which I really liked. It's perfect as background music for old cafe's and calm evenings on the couch. I can imagine myself sipping from a glass of wine while listening this, altough I don't like alcohol.

Despite all the times I heard it covered by contestants on American Idol in the late 2000s, I think this might have been the first time I heard the original recording of Son of a Preacher Man. Really nice album otherwise, I liked the horns on some of the tracks. I feel like I've been giving out 4s like candy recently, but this is a list of the greatest albums of all time, so I guess it makes sense that most of them are good. Ratings don't matter anyway

She was good was our Dusty I liked this

dusty all day

everyone knows "son of a preacher man" because it slaps. but the rest of the album is very nice. that old school MOR soul that does not happen these days. "breakfast in bed" and "so much love" are great as well.

(9/1089) A very relaxing album. She has a good voice, it gave me some 60s vibes and I enjoyed it. Favorite: Just a Little Lovin, Son of a Preacher Man, Breakfast in Bed Least favorite: The Windmills of Your Mind 8/10

Many critics place this album in the top 100 of all time. It's a nice album and she can sing but I don't place it quite that high

cena romántica con vino a la luz de la vela

Would have sex to it #2 (except to "The Windmills Of Your Mind) (I NEVER KNEW THE SONG JAN WAS SINGING IN THE OFFICE TO HER BABY WAS ON THIS RECORD! That realisation hit me like a freight train...)

classudo!!! músicas chiques!!!!!

Bueno

Als alter "Pulp Fiction"-Fan hab ich natürlich "Son of a Preacher Man" noch und nöcher gepumpt. Aber wenn man den Song mal im Albumkontext hört, fällt einem erst auf, dass Dusty Springfield wirklich eine der wunderschönsten Stimmen aller Zeiten besitzt. Das hat mich wirklich umgehauen. Die Produktion gefällt mir auch sehr gut, vielleicht manchmal etwas zu viele Streicher und dicke Hose, "The Windmills of Your Mind" klingt ja fast wie ein Bond-Song. Aber dahinter stecken einfach wunderschöne Melodien, die von Dusty so graziös vorgetragen werden, dass man nur dahinschmelzen kann.

Son of a preacher man so ein Banger und mit dem Soundtrack zu Pulp Fiction in der Mediathek und dem Film vor Augen kann ich das Lied in keinen anderen Zusammenhang mehr bringen. Egal. Das Album finde ich erstaunlich hochkarätig, hält sich sehr gut. Alleine die komische hinterlegte Version ist etwas verwirrend. Auch hier egal. Stabile 4 Sterne für ein stabiles Album. Nicht zu langweilig und nicht zu langwierig.

Wie so oft hier habe ich den Artist komplett falsch eingeschätzt. In meinem Kopf war Dusty Springfield eine Band wie Steely Dan. Nun klingen Steely Dan nicht wie ich dachte und Dusty Springfield ist keine Band. So kann man sich täuschen. Aber inhaltlich gefällt mir das ausgesprochen gut. Werde ich vermutlich nicht nochmal hören, aber machte schon Spaß.

Besser als erwartet, aber das ist halt noch immer Soul.

Läuft hin und wieder bei mir, tolles Album! Insbesondere "The Windmills Of Your Mind" liebe ich.

surprised i liked this album more than expected! super groovy makes me wanna moveee

It seems to be a thing with 60’s artists that their best work is often their least commercially successful. This 1969 album from Dusty Springfield shows her to be absolutely on top form, knocking it out of the park with her flawless vocals in a southern soul style. There’s an interesting selection of songs here with only a cover of “Windmills of Your Mind” feeling out of place. The highlight is easily her best known track “Son of a Preacher Man” with the surprisingly saucy “Breakfast in Bed” a close second. Simply gorgeous!

I only knew the one song, but most of the album is very catchy. It had me dancing on my chair. 8/10

Excellent album

Dusty can sing and her songs are real nice too

Sweet British soul. Not as upbeat as equivalent female black soul and better for it with Dustys honeyed voice

An album that sounds like it’s rooted in South but is sung by a British lark. The tracks are recorded in Tennessee but Dusty did the vocals in New York. Listening to this now you’d think chicken and waffles were on the menu.

Malo

3.5, really. Dusty’s voice is silk and the whole album is undeniably pretty, but I kept wanting someone to give these songs more texture and emotion. It’s the soundtrack to Birdie waiting sadly for Don Draper to come home. After hearing Aretha do “Son of a Preacher Man,” I’m rounding down out of respect for the Queen.

Generally considered Dusty Springfield’s best album, this one is classic Dusty doing songs written by top notch songwriters. The music is blue-eyed soul/easy listening. “Son of a Preacher Man” is the hit single from this album. The Spotify app has extra tracks and is missing the last track from the original release.

An album I didn't realise I was waiting for! One of my favorite compilations is the 90s CD box set "Music To Watch Girls By", which has Dusty on it (along with like, Andy Williams, Louis Armstrong, Perry Como, etc). So, I like her. She exemplifies like a genre I like, which for me is "oldies", though this is listed as pop. And she didn't write any of the songs, so I guess that tracks. But I think she has a good and unique voice, and the songs are nice and short. The female Elvis?? None of the songs here were that catchy really, but it's all the more impressive that I enjoyed listening anyway (and just wait until she's doing 'You Don't Have to Say You Love Me' or 'Wishin' and Hopin''! Just wait!)

An all time great of blue eyed soul. Dusty embodies the Memphis sound and fills the album full of playfulness.

Didn’t listen much … it was not parallel to my daily mood

- Don't Forget About Me - - Son of a Preacher Man -

Dusty's voice is like drinking a creamy hot chocolate. At just the right temperature! Delicious, but a little sickly in large quantities. Whilst I do love her voice, she was very much a singles artist. You need Dusty's Greatest Hits in your life. No-one needs Dusty's Deep Cuts, as pleasant as they undoubtedly are. This is merely a good album, whereas any Dusty's Greatest Hits compilation is essential.

Love the smile-through-the-singing voice, very sensual and sultry. Short sweet and some variation to the material made for a fun listen

There is one song worth remembering n this album. The rest is okay but the strings make it listenable.

Lovely voice. One great song.

good album blue eyed soul!!!

quintessential 70s chill

Pretty cool, lots of songs I recognized.

What a treat. Loved looking up the all-star cast of composers who contributed to this album.

A classic radio hit surrounded by some honestly fantastic music. Worth the listen!

Overbearing in places, or missing some factors that would elevate things past being "okay" or "pleasant." I don't think her vocals are good enough to make things excellent, nor is the sound very consistent- she tries about 5 different genres to varying degrees of success. The album is nice but nothing more than a trifle overall

Great voice. Really warm sound around it too. Nice album.

Myscountry!

Nice. It's quite mellow.

Really beautiful and unique voice. I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would. Never gave her a listen before, but will be looking into more of her work.

Her voice is nice. many songs feel like a warm hug. some got my head bopping in some places

Didn’t think I’d like it, but I actually did. Nice, soothing songs in a soul-lite kinda fashion, but still not quite. Son of A Preacherman is gold, The Windmills of Your Mind is beautiful, overall the album is really good. Beth Orton, I hope you’re taking notes!

Просто очень хороший альбом, каждая песня которого имеет приятное звучание

Great, but some tracks are a bit forgettable

First Listen Favorites: Just A Little Lovin' The Windmills of Your Mind Son of a Preacher Man Honorable Mentions: I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore In the Land of Make Believe

Son of a preacher man is an A plus perfect song. For the rest of the album, honestly not really a bad song, ands it’s a delight to listen to. It gets a strong 3 however not a 4. Best album I can compare it to is Amy winehouse’s (black? To lazy to look it up) which when it comes in for me, it’ll be a no hesitation 5 as it has 7 preacher man quality bangers. I might be on to a new rating metric…number of preacher men. Any way Dusty is a national treasure and belongs on the list, she gets a strong.

Kjedelig

Excellent stuff here. A great voice and sounds like the 60s if it had a soundtrack. Production and the songs still sound great.

This is a no brainer her voice was amazing.

Shit

Voz maravilhosa, arranjos brilhantes e sensíveis. Um disco lindo. Canções mais animadas, elevadas a um patamar além através desses instrumentos orquestrais incríveis, e as canções mais lentas e sentimentais são lindíssimas também. Um daqueles discos que as palavras me fogem. É só bonito, brilhantemente produzido e executado. Na duração certa, sem nenhum defeito sequer. Perfeito. 5/5

Surprisingly good. I thought she was just the singer of "Son of a preacher man", but she's actually pretty good. There are several very soulful songs, trumpets, a lot of feeling in them. 4/5.

Dusteh

1969 pop, cinematic soul, outstanding vocals So much lovin' Son of a preacher

The whole seems to be a little less than the sum of its parts. Her voice, the songs, and the musicians are all top notch. So how come the only song I want to hear again is Son of a Preacher Man?

Best Track - "Son Of A Preacher Man"