It's the material on the first two discs, however, that we've been waiting for, and the only disappointment on this anthology is the quality of her early solo recordings. While her two hit singles with the Springfields (including "Silver Threads and Golden Needles") are in bright, crisp mono, the sound of her first dozen solo sides are distressingly uneven. A few are in stereo, but even some of those sound muffled. Springfield was intoxicated with the Phil Spector wall-of-sound style of girl-group recordings in '63-'64 - and we learn here that she essentially produced her own records without getting credit - but unfortunately she shared Spector's penchant for recording in mono and not worrying too much about audio quality.

It all sounded great coming out of a car radio, however, and these songs still sizzle. Disc One is everything you need to know about British studio pop in the mid-'60s, as Dusty learned the tricks from Dionne Warwick, Darlene Love and Diana Ross. Disc Two is even more remarkable, setting cool eroticism like "The Look of Love" against smoldering American soul from her "Dusty in Memphis" period.

Hers is a voice for the ages, sultry and knowing, and her instincts never failed her: There isn't a genuinely bad song among the 77 on this collection.

Rick Shefchik
Saint Paul Pioneer Press
14 December, 1997