OST: "CASINO ROYALE"

Original released on LP Colgems COSO-5005

(US, 1967)

Burt Bacharach appropriately comes up with a rambunctious soundtrack for the 1967 James Bond spoof, "Casino Royale". Things get underway with Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' performance of the fast-paced main title, which features the usual Bacharach mix of pop phrasing and complex arrangements; this theme is subsequently augmented with a lush string arrangement and marching band rhythms on "Sir James' Trip to Find Mata" and turns into a mod rock jam during "Flying Saucer First Stop Berlin." Bacharach excelled at these kinds of musical cut-ups, but thankfully he used liberal doses of humor and melody to keep the proceedings from turning too rarefied or messy.

At times, the humor even turns to camp, as it does with the manic hodgepodge of circus themes, gypsy music, and lounge grind on "Home James, Don't Spare the Horses.". Being a parody to the James Bond films, with Peter Sellers playing the role of double agent 007, it was truly one of the genuine kitsch movies that emerged in the 60s: so bad, weird and inchoerent that it quickly turned into a cult-movie. How such a film got a magnificent music score like this? I really don't know, but I still consider this soundtrack one of the very best ever! Burt Bacharach's music, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass playing the main title and Dusty Springfield's sweet interpretation of "The Look of Love" are indeed too much for one James Bond!

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: "In Memphis"

Original released on LP Atlantic SD 8214
(US 1969, January 17)

Sometimes memories distort or inflate the quality of recordings deemed legendary, but in the case of "Dusty in Memphis", the years have only strengthened its reputation. The idea of taking England's reigning female soul queen to the home of the music she had mastered was an inspired one. The Jerry Wexler/Tom Dowd/Arif Mardin production and engineering team picked mostly perfect songs, and those that weren't so great were salvaged by Springfield's marvelous delivery and technique. This set has definitive numbers in "So Much Love", "Son of a Preacher Man", "Breakfast in Bed", "Just One Smile", "I Don't Want to Hear About It Anymore" and "Just a Little Lovin'" and three bonus tracks: an unreleased version of "What Do You Do When Love Dies", "Willie & Laura Mae Jones" and "That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho)". It's truly a disc deserving of its classic status.

Definitely... Dusty

Original released on LP Philips SBL 7864

(UK, November 1968)

Recorded in Britain only slightly prior to or at about the same time as "Dusty in Memphis" in August and September 1968, "Dusty... Definitely", which was not issued in the US, was a more pointedly pop production. As was the case with several of her 1960s albums, it explored a bunch of directions besides soul and rock, some well, some not so well. The cover of Erma Franklin/Big Brother's "Piece of My Heart" (titled "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart" here for some reason) was excellent and would have been way up to par for inclusion in "Dusty in Memphis", and "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone" was pretty storming blue-eyed Motown-styled soul. On the other hand, the covers of Charles Aznavour's "Who (Will Take My Place)" and Bacharach-David's "This Girl's in Love with You" put her forth as an interpreter of popular ballad standards that could have been done for the most mainstream cabaret gig. The readings of Randy Newman's "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" and the more obscure, but beautiful and lilting, "Morning" fell between the polar extremes, and were quite worthy. John Paul Jones, who was only just joining Led Zeppelin at the time, arranged a couple of the hotter cuts ("Piece of My Heart" and "Ain't No Sun Since You've Been Gone"). (Richie Unterberger in AllMusic)

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: EP "I Only Want To Be With You"

Original released on EP Philips BE 12560
(UK, March 1964)

WALLPAPER: "Dusty"