83. Dusty Springfield, "Dusty in Memphis"

 


Let's cut right to the chase and talk about "Son of a Preacher Man," which is most likely the only song on this album you already knew.  It is an absolute classic, a gem of a song, just perfection.  Written by John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, it was originally intended for Aretha Franklin, but then producer Jerry Wexler heard it and snapped it up for this album.  And a good thing, too, because it's a perfect fit for Springfield's voice, all gentle and innocent while singing about getting deflowered by the preacher's kid.

This album is universally praised and I guess loved which is fine but let me break it to you: the rest of this record is kind of a bore.  A lot of the songs sound identical and that's fine, she's doing a sound, but they're just not very....interesting.  "Preacher Man" is so far above the overall album that the rest kind of just lie there limply.  Take "The Windmills of Your Mind," for example, the eighth track, written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Michel Legrand.  I hate to say this, but it's basically easy listening.  I mean, Dusty has a beautiful voice, and it's a pleasure to hear her sing almost anything, but these kind of songs are just 100% Not My Shit.  And the lyrics are so treacly they're basically leaking syrup:

Keys that jingle in your pocket, words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly, was it something that you said?
Lovers walking along a shore and leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway and the fragment of a song
Half remembered names and faces, but to whom do they belong?

This album is called Dusty in Memphis, and the backing tracks were recorded there, but all of Dusty's vocals were overdubbed in New York City, so really it's more the idea of Dusty being in Memphis than actually hearing her in Memphis.

Dusty has a wild Wikipedia page that I encourage you to check it.  That's where you learn her given name was Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien and "Springfield and her brother were both prone to food-throwing as adults."  (!!!!)  And "Springfield suggested to Wexler (one of the heads of Atlantic Records) that he should sign the newly formed UK band Led Zeppelin." And "Springfield recorded the theme song for the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man."  And "She enjoyed reading maps and would intentionally get lost to navigate her way out."  She was quite a character.

Sorry I didn't like this!  Another one for the Uncultured Philistine pile.

Is this album in my personal Top 500? If I can just have the "Preacher Man" single, great, but I don't need the rest.

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