Dusty Spingfield was the best, even if she was not the most commercially successful, of the British female vocalist in the 1960's. I first became aware of her in my teenage years in the mid 1970's through the occasional "oldies" which were played on BBC Radio 1. Trying to obtain any of her records, at that time, was very difficult as her original albums had been deleted and all that was available was the odd track in dreadful "reprocessed" stereo. Scouring second hand record shops eventually yielded a handful of 45's but my desire remained unfulfilled until the early 1980's when compilations of her better known songs began to be released.

I purchased this anthology to compliment some of the analogue discs I have and am generally very pleased with it. It tracks Dusty's career from her time in the Springfields to the mid 1990's before illness caused her to retire.

Particularly pleasing is the inclusion not only of all her hits but also many of the more obscure album tracks and b-sides of her singles which show the way these recordings developed from album-filling pot-boilers to often defining versions of famous songs.

The collection is well presented on three compact discs with a copiously illistrated colour booklet, as well as, comprehensively researched notes by Rob Hoerburger which give far more of an insight into Dusty Springfield's music than Lucy O'Brien's appalling biography from the late 1980's.

My only quibbles are one, the inclusion of the Phillips recording of "The Look Of Love"; the original of which is available on Rino's Burt Bacharach box set which has the same name and frankly knockes the re-recording out of the CD player and two, the lack of inclusion of rare recordings of such songs as "I Am A Poor Wayfairing Stanger" and "A House Is Not A Home" that were featured in the "Dusty Spingfield; Full Circle" TV special which in spite of their possibly inferior sound quality do add another dimention to Dusty and richly deserve to be in the public domain.

To the person with only a casual intrest in Dusty Spingfield three discs may be a bit much to take in (try one of the single CD compilations) but if you do have more than a passing interest in Dusty this anthology the best one available...so far!

Springfield was one of the best singers in the White Women Trying To Sound Black category, but her talent outclassed her material on a regular basis, as evidenced by these selections. With the exception of the terrific Burt Bacharach and Carole King numbers, most of the material is third-rate, especially the ersatz soul titles found on disc number one, which are utterly unconvincing in style. I was hoping that Bacharach's "Wishin' and Hopin'" was typical of Springfield's early-sixties efforts, but how wrong I was. Cut-rate fidelity abounds on disc one, with the otherwise fine "I Only Want To Be with You" sounding like it was recorded inside a diving bell. Apparently, the reissuers were unable to undo the comically bad early-sixties engineering/stereo separation on this, and other, sides. I've heard superior fidelity on thrift-store LPs.

I was wishin' and hopin' for something much better. Three stars for Dusty's singing and the handful of fine songs.

Oh boy. Where to begin?. I love this woman and her voice. She was definitley one of a kind. A british woman with a beehive and raccoon eye shadow singing soul and pop songs. What is not to love?. This is a 3 disc collection that has pretty much everything a fan, or a new fan, could possibly need. In fact, it probably has more than you need. Best to have it all huh?. Dusty came to fame in the early 60's with her smokey, huskey voice that was unavoidable. It pulled you in and you had to listen no matter what. She shot to fame with such early hits as "I Only Want To Be With You", "Wishin' And Hopin'" and "Stay Awhile". They were huge hits on both sides of the pond. Dusty went thru several more great songs like "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself", "Anyone Who Had A Heart", and the magnificent Carole King penned "Goin' Back". These were songs that were successful in the U.K., but barely hit the radar in the U.S. More great ones include traditional 60's pop ditties like "Do Re Mi", "Needle In A Haystack", and the great "Live It Up". This disc also includes one of Dusty's most important and immaculate recordings. I'm talking about the perfect, epic ballad "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me". Tremendous. A full throttle vocal performance from Dusty that brings chills. Sadly, and frustratingly, Dusty never had the amount of huge icon status and success in the U.S. like she did in the U.K. It doesn't make sense. Disc 2 is full of more treasures. "The Look Of Love", a Burt Bacharach song, is memorable, but a tad...,well, a bit maudlin. There are some cover tunes here like "How Can I Be Sure?" and "Spooky". I have to say that they are both better with Dusty behind the mike. "Am I The Same Girl" is included here. It was a hit again in the 80's by Swing Out Sister. The crown jewel of disc 2, and maybe of Dusty's career, is the classic "Son Of A Preacher Man". A perfect song for Dusty. This was included on the 'Pulp Fiction' soundtrack in 1994. It brought new life to the song and a new generation of fans to Dusty. Disc 3 is mixed. There are some great songs here like "Mama's Little Girl" and "You Set My Dreams To Music", but the rest is questionable. Not bad, but not up to the usual Dusty standards. There are some catchy early 80's stuff like "A Love Like Yours", "Don't Call It Love", and a cover version of the old Smokey Robinson classic "You Really Got A Hold Of Me". The voice was different too. The late 70's and early 80's weren't a good time for her voice. It seemed used. Tired. As if she didn't have the life to breath into these routine numbers. Things changed by the late 80's when in 1987 The Pet Shop Boys called on Dusty to come out of retirement to do a duet with them on a song called "What Have I Done To Deserve This?". It was a typical 80's synth pop dance number, but it was fun and pretty catchy. Dusty's warm vocals were back in shape and, naturally, buried the robotic like voice of lead singer Neil Tennant. The song was a top 5 smash in the U.S. and U.K. The disc ends with her 1995 song "Where Is A Woman To Go". It's a bluesy barroom type song written by country singer K.T. Oslin, who sings back up on it along with Mary Chapin Carpenter. It's fast becoming a Dusty classic. Her voice was back. She also did the theme song for 'Growing Pains' with B.J. Thomas called "As Long As We Got Each Other". Okay okay, so it's not essential and isn't on here, but I just thought I'd point it out. Dusty is easily one of the best singers ever. No question about it. That voice and style is unmistakeable. Sadly, Dusty died from breast cancer in March of 1999. She was 59 years old. What a tragedy. We and the music biz lost a true treasure. May her music live on.