In a sense, this is a review that doesn't require writing. It's a collection of DUSTY SPRINGFIELD'S finest moments and – unless you want to carp about the lack of chronological presentation and the occasional bit of Pet Shop Boys interference – it's a blemish-free 'does what it says' on the tin affair. And does it fucking astronomically, if we're getting down to brass tacks here.
So, unless you're already in possession of these Godlike tunes, what are you waiting for? All the truly stunning stuff's here by my reckoning and there are even a few lesser-heard moments you'll be amazed you won't have coveted before now.
Of course, those celestial, '60s chartbusters are all present and correct. We kick off with Walker Brothers' arranger Ivor Raymonde setting up a Spectorian wall of sound with 1963's 'I Only Want To Be With You' and move swiftly forward with staggering achievements like the heavenly 'Stay Awhile' and the ultra-cinematic 'I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself', both from the 1964's 'A Girl Called Dusty' debut album.
By the mid-60s, she's sounding simply unassailable. 'In The Middle of Nowhere' showcases Dusty's sassier, r'n'b side; Carole King's 'Some of Your Lovin'' is a classic, Northern soul-style, end of the night ballad and 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' remains arguably her most famous tune to this day. Remarkably, though many of these tunes were huge, it was actually her only U.K #1, but boy, was that deserved. Its' massive fanfare of an intro and that stunning vocal haven't aged a day.
The emergence of psychedelia didn't seem to faze her either. 1966 and the following year's Summer of Love brought hits like the classy 'I'll Try Anything', a version of Carole King's 'Goin' Back' that's as wistful as hell and twice as glorious and that other career-defining moment: Dusty's sensual, jazzy and thoroughly elegant version of Bacharach & David's 'The Look of Love'. 'Just Dusty' digs a little deeper, too, showcasing her version of Jacques Brel's 'If You Go Away'. It drips with hurt and magnificence, but it's perhaps the one place she's overshadowed – admittedly by the existential brilliance of the version Scott Walker recorded on 1969's 'Scott 3'.
Critics in general refer to 1969's 'Dusty In Memphis' as Springfield's 'career best' and certainly the evidence here is persuasive. You certainly don't need to have seen Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction' to recognise the genius of 'Son Of A Preacher Man”s smoky Southern soul, though the less-celebrated 'Breakfast In Bed' runs it close. 1971's 'Brand New Me' is often seen as a last commercial hurrah as it would be the last time Dusty would really ruffle the charts until the late 1980s, but it's one that's ripe for re-appraisal, as is the svelte, feline creep of 1972's under-rated 'Spooky'. How it could have slipped through the net at the time beggars belief.
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This writer hoards mixed feelings about Dusty's re-emergence in tandem with The Pet Shop Boys in the late '80s and early '90s. Yes, one can't help appreciate Messrs. Tennent and Lowe's efforts in re-introducing her to the charts with 'What Have I Done To Deserve This', though rather less Tennent, vocally, would have been good. 'Nothing Has Been Proved' and 'In Private' repeated the success and prove beyond any reasonable doubt that Dusty's voice remained as sumptuous as ever, but the airbrushed, tinkly-bonk synth-scapes are like ordering a vintage Rolls Royce and taking delivery of a 30-year old Trabant. Still, they meant well, and besides it could just as easily have been Stock Aiken & Waterman at the time, so small mercies, eh?
A brief resume like this can't even scratch the surface and your reviewer fully understands he hasn't touched on the complexities and sorrow that went hand in hand with success for Dusty Springfield. Her early teeth-cutting with The Springfields, her overt bisexuality, the drink, drugs and final battle with Cancer... they all played their part in the bigger picture, yet all that falls dramatically away in the final analysis when you hear this album. It's an abused term these days, but most of 'Just Dusty' really deserves to be described as 'timeless'.
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