The concept behind "See All Her Faces" was flawed from the start. It could have been a cogently packaged product and the genuine follow up to "Dusty Definitely" (1968) had Philips stuck to using only tracks recorded by Dusty for its own UK sessions in 1970/71. There was no dearth of completed material in the can to draw upon. Instead Philips was distracted by the ready availability of material from America and decided to blend in an assortment of Stateside-only singles sides (5) for variety. The outcome was a hotchpotch of tracks that may have been great individually but didn't quite jell in the overall context of the album. Released in November 1972 in the UK to coincide with Dusty's comeback season at London's Talk Of The Town, it was to have been Dusty's first domestic release for Philips since "Dusty Definitely" in 1968 and a crowd pleaser for her local fans. The two intervening albums - "Dusty In Memphis" (1969) and "From Dusty With Love" (1970) - were

American products licenced for UK release and didn't count with British fans who were starved of genuine local product. The timing of its release was also two years too late. By 1972, Ziggy Stardust had taken the UK by storm, so the choice of "Yesterday When I Was Young" as the lead single could only seem strangely passe, wonderfully resonant though Dusty's rendition turned out to be.

SAHF would have matched if not surpassed the high standards attained by her original 60s UK albums. The choice of material may have seemed oddly conservative for 1972 but Dusty was simply doing what she did best. As a pop stylist and interpreter, she was peerless. Her soul covers of "Crumbs Off The Table", "Girls Can't Do What Guys Do" and "Girls It Ain't Easy" bettered the originals by Glass House, Betty Wright and Hone Cone. Hard to believe but true. The big ballads - always her forte - were powerful and heartbreaking ("Yesterday When I Was Young"). She even dabbled with bossa nova ("Come For A Dream" and "See All Her Faces") and the results were inspired. On the opening track, Jimmy Webb's "Mixed Up Girl" originally recorded by Thelma Houston, she showed just what transforming powers inspired phrasing can have on a song. Listen to her tender yet soulful reading of "Let Me Down Easy" and you wouldn't recognise it as the song Cher murdered on her "Half Breed" album. The American tracks are great - especially Ellie Greenwich's "What Good Is I Love You" - but they belong elsewhere. "Willie & Laura Mae Jones" and "That Old Sweet Roll" - from Dusty's later sessions with Jerry Wexler - should have remained as potential bonus cuts for subsequent reissues of "Dusty In Memphis". "Someone Who Cares" and "Nothing Is Forever" were from the Jeff Barry sessions for Dusty's third Atlantic album that never was. It should have remained as US-only singles sides and been tagged on together with the other cuts from the same session in the recent Deluxe CD reissue of "Dusty In Memphis" by Rhino.

SAHF has often been unfairly dismissed by music critics and fans alike for its lack of coherence. Blame it on Philips if you must, but don't make the mistake of ignoring its content 'cos there's loads of wonderful stuff in there to enjoy. A must for Dusty fans.

This is truly a unique collection of material from Dusty. It was to be her first album for Phillips since DEFINATELY DUSTY. She released two albums in the US before the release of this one in 1972, which included FROM DUSTY WITH LOVE and DUSTY IN MEMPHIS, which were widely accepted by fans. Phillips hoped to draw the same interest in this album. The album includes material recorded solely for this session, as well as material from her US counterparts. Seems an odd choice but there is truly some select material to be found here. Ballads were always Dusty's forte, and there are many here to please listeners. The one standout that springs to mind is "Yesterday When I Was Young" which is powerful, dramatic and endearing. The album opens with "Mixed Up Girl", which was originally recorded by Themla Houston, in fact there are many covers here as usual on a Dusty Springfield album. A few she even betters the originals. Listen to the stunning "Let Me Down EasY", which was done by Cher on her HALF BREED album, not nearly as good as Dusty provides here. Other covers include "Crumbs Off The Table" (Glass House), "Girls It Ain't Easy" (Hone Cone), "What Good Is I Love You" (Ellie Greenwich), "Girls Can't Do What The Guys Do" (Betty Wright) and more. Many of the bonus tracks, and American cut tracks, appeared later on reissues, such as Rhino's reissue of DUSTY IN MEMPHIS, and while they are great songs, should have been left solely for the reissues. They seem a little out of place here, but still nice songs overall. Overall a mixed bag but still worth it for the avid Dusty fans.

I JUST RECEIVED THIS IN THE MAIL AND I HAVE TO SAY IT IS A DUSTY CLASSIC. IN FACT, I LIKE IT MUCH BETTER THAN 'DUSTY IN MEMPHIS". THIS ALBUM IS MORE DIVERSE AND UPBEAT THAN MEMPHIS - I GET BORED HALF-WAY THROUGH MEMPHIS, BUT THIS ALBUM HAD ME LISTENING TO IT OVER AND OVER - A RARE FEAT IN THIS IPOD AGE. LOL. A MUST.