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Etta James

The Essential Etta James

The Essential Etta James Tracks
1. All I Could Do Was Cry
2. My Dearest Darling
3. If I Can't Have You
4. Sunday Kind of Love
5. Anything to Say You're Mine
6. At Last
7. Seven Day Fool
8. Trust in Me
9. Don't Cry Baby
10. Fool That I Am
11. One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)
12. Waiting for Charlie (To Come Home)
13. Something's Got a Hold on Me
14. Next Door to the Blues
15. These Foolish Things
16. Stop the Wedding
17. Prisoner of Love
18. Pushover
19. Would It Make Any Difference to You
20. Pay Back
21. Two Sides to Every Story
22. Baby, What You Want Me to Do
23. In the Basement, Pt. 1
24. Loving You More Every Day
25. Do I Make Myself Clear?
26. I Prefer You
27. It Must Be Your Love
28. 842-3089 (Call My Name)
29. I'd Rather Go Blind
30. Tell Mama
31. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
32. Security
33. Almost Persuaded
34. You Got It
35. Miss Pitiful
36. Losers Weepers, Pt. 1
37. W-O-M-A-N
38. I Never Meant to Love Him
39. You Can Leave Your Hat On
40. God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)
41. All the Way Down
42. Lovin' Arms
43. Feeling Uneasy
44. Let's Burn Down the Cornfield
Etta James - The Essential Etta James
The Essential Etta James Review
Etta James is the dues-paying blues mama. Throughout her tragic and storied career, Miss Peaches has successfully delivered her growling soul and soaring vocals to everything from Chicago blues to pop. Her voice is one of the most distinctive in the entire blues canon and The Essential Etta James captures it in its prime; 44 tracks cover her best Chess Records work from 1960 to the early '70s. And though her early R&B hits for Modern like "Roll with Me Henry" are not here, just about everything else is: the supreme balladry of "All I Could Do Was Cry" and "At Last," the sassy bump of "Seven-Day Fool" and "Pushover," the raucous soul of "In the Basement," and even bell-bottomed funk of "All the Way Down." But the finest evidence of James's versatility can be heard in her outstanding Memphis soul covers of "Tell Mama" and "Security." There's a lot of Etta James out there, but this is likely the best compilation of her work you're going to find. --Ken Hohman


Users's Reviews
Feel free to add your comments about The Essential Etta James
Etta's best collection
5
If you have not heard Etta James, you are missing the most soulful, funky, get on down and crank it out blues singer to ever grace the face of this earth. To me, this is her finest collection. Don't let your friends borrow it, if you ever want to see it again. It's that good, trust in me... ;)
Posted by Anonymous, on 2005-10-09
the best etta, and etta is the best.
5
I agree with a previous reviewer in saying that this is the best collection of Etta James songs ever. I can't say I have all her records, but I have a lot of them. If I could come back in the next life as a singer...I would want to have Etta's voice. Her way of expressing things. Her raunch, and her ability to make me cry with feeling. This woman can get into the heart of a song like no one else. And having seen her twice in concert I can say it is a show not to be missed. She is the soul of soul.
Posted by Anonymous, on 2001-04-24
Etta James makes every song a gem.
5
This a great sampler of the early Etta James, 1960 to 1975, when she sang like a cross between Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin. One minute her voice is gentle and yearning. the next minute sheÕs stomping, growling, and roaring � the greatest r&b belter of all time. She has one of the most striking, goosebump-raising voices in the history of music. If all you know of Etta James is "At Last," you owe yourself this album. Not every song on here is a winner. For years no one seemed to be able to figure out what to do with Etta JamesÕ obvious talent, and they kept trying her out in different styles of music. The album is arranged in chronological order, so you hear her move from melodramatic teenage tearjerkers like "All I Could Do Was Cry," to romantic ballads ("At Last" is her most famous song, but there are a half dozen others on this album just as beautiful), to party r&b ("In The Basement"), to the Memphis Soul of "Tell Mama" and "IÕd Rather Go Blind," and finally into adventurous explorations of challenging songwriters like Randy Newman (her version of NewmanÕs "GodÕs Song" still gives me chills no matter how many times I listen to it.) The Essential Etta James is like a history of 60s and 70s soul music. Fascinating. But itÕs not just a period piece. The truth is, thereÕs no kind of music Etta James canÕt sing. She bring soul and grace to everything she touches. She makes the dumb songs fun, and the great ones masterpieces. And sheÕs STILL doing wonderful work, more than forty years after she started. But this album is where you can hear the astonishing range of her gift. This is where any newcomer should begin.
Posted by Anonymous, on 2001-08-28