Longing

Description

In the early 1970s, Dusty Springfield left her native England to settle in Los Angeles in order to pursue new opportunities in her career and signed with ABC/Dunhill Records. Her 1973 album Cameo showcases Springfield's soul pop splendidly but fails to generate significant traction outside of Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts. For her second project with the label the following year, Dusty traveled to New York to team up with producer Brooks Arthur, known for his work with Phil Spector's circle of female singers in the 1960s. For Longing, Arthur chose to frame Dusty within the singer-songwriter milieu of the 1970s, surrounding her with material from Colin Blunstone ("Exclusively for Me"), Melissa Manchester and Carole Bayer Sager ("Home to Myself"), Janis Ian ("In the Winter"), Stephen Schwartz ("Corner of the Sky"), Chi Coltrane ("Turn Me Around"), Barry Manilow ("I Am Your Child"), and others. In many cases, the songwriters themselves contributed directly by playing keyboards on their respective creations at Arthur's famous 911 studios. Bruce Springsteen was also known to attend some sessions in admiration. By the end of the sessions in the summer of 1974, Dusty found herself grappling with emotional exhaustion and professional uncertainty. She then chose to shelve the album and part ways with the label, eventually re-recording a couple of tracks when she signed with United Artists Records a few years later. In 2001, under the supervision of producer Arthur, nine of the ten tracks he recorded with Dusty were released on CD as part of a collection from her ABC/Dunhill period. A tenth track ("Corner of the Sky" from the Broadway musical Pippin) was reworked as a duet with Petula Clark and included in two of her anthologies. Today, all ten tracks make their vinyl debut, including the very first solo release of "Corner of the Sky" as well as new mixes for eight of the other selections from this double CD and LP release. The haunting beauty of "In the Winter," the warm affirmation of "Home to Myself," the moving intimacy of "Exclusively for Me," the tender romance of "Beautiful Soul," the raw energy of "A Love Like Yours," and the heartbreaking vulnerability of "I Am Your Child" demonstrate Dusty at the height of her professional powers while grappling with personal insecurities, giving these recordings a unique power and emotion. Includes vintage illustrations and other rare images, as well as track-by-track annotations by renowned Dusty expert and author Paul Howes. Mastered by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision. Pressed on eco-friendly black PET plastic for its LP debut!