Dusty Springfield - Reflections

Rating:
Summary: Has its moments, but . . .
Review: This is a decent collection of some of Dusty's television appearances, at least for devoted fans, but apart from a few highlights (outstanding live performances of "Son Of A Preacher Man", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", "Losing You" and "People Get Ready") it's probably not the best introduction to her work. Many of the performances are just lip-synched stage pieces, as was common back in the day (a decade or more before MTV and the music video came into being), and they're pretty embarrassing by today's standards.

On the other hand, the live performances which did make it onto this disc are pretty impressive, particularly "Losing You". It's a pity the producers either didn't or couldn't get the rights to Dusty's stunning performance of "Some Of Your Lovin'" from the American program Hullabaloo, though. I have that performance on one of the Hullabaloo DVDs, and it is absolutely stunning. Allegedly, it was her recording of this Carole King song that prompted Jerry Wexler at Atlantic to offer Dusty the opportunity to cut a record with Atlantic's amazing stable of musicians - a record which eventually became the seminal Dusty In Memphis.

The commentary from Petula Clark and B.J. Thomas offers few original insights, at least for longtime fans, though it may be of some interest to those new to Dusty's work. Again, the producers could have provided a better product had they solicited commentary from more of Dusty's contemporaries and associates.

The audio and video quality are surprisingly good, given the age of the material. There are some annoying defects though - like a nasty film scratch that runs all through one of the tracks - that could have and probably should have been removed through image processing. Oh well.

Reflections is not an incredible value, but for her fans it's probably something you want to add to your shopping list, and pick up when you can get it on sale.

Rating:
Summary: Has its moments, but . . .
Review: This is a decent collection of some of Dusty's television appearances, at least for devoted fans, but apart from a few highlights (outstanding live performances of "Son Of A Preacher Man", "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me", "Losing You" and "People Get Ready") it's probably not the best introduction to her work. Many of the performances are just lip-synched stage pieces, as was common back in the day (a decade or more before MTV and the music video came into being), and they're pretty embarrassing by today's standards.

On the other hand, the live performances which did make it onto this disc are pretty impressive, particularly "Losing You". It's a pity the producers either didn't or couldn't get the rights to Dusty's stunning performance of "Some Of Your Lovin'" from the American program Hullabaloo, though. I have that performance on one of the Hullabaloo DVDs, and it is absolutely stunning. Allegedly, it was her recording of this Carole King song that prompted Jerry Wexler at Atlantic to offer Dusty the opportunity to cut a record with Atlantic's amazing stable of musicians - a record which eventually became the seminal Dusty In Memphis.

The commentary from Petula Clark and B.J. Thomas offers few original insights, at least for longtime fans, though it may be of some interest to those new to Dusty's work. Again, the producers could have provided a better product had they solicited commentary from more of Dusty's contemporaries and associates.

The audio and video quality are surprisingly good, given the age of the material. There are some annoying defects though - like a nasty film scratch that runs all through one of the tracks - that could have and probably should have been removed through image processing. Oh well.

Reflections is not an incredible value, but for her fans it's probably something you want to add to your shopping list, and pick up when you can get it on sale.