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Believe me when I say, that this is Etta James at her best.
She is raw. She is wild. And she shows us just what the blues are about.
Weighing in with a stonking 20 tracks ranging from 1960 to 1970 we are delighted with all offerings. There are no weak links on this disc.
A cacophony of different sounds all lend themselves to separate tracks, resulting in a mixture of string laden arrangements [At Last/A Sunday Kind Of Love/Fool That I Am] old gospel tunes with good strong vocals [Something's Got A Hold On Me], raw blues [Two Sides To Every Story] and a blend of the three that all go to make the unmistakable sound of Etta [I'd Rather Go Blind]
Apart from the one live recording [Baby, What You Want Me To Do ~ The New Era Club, Nashville, 1963] the majority were recorded in Chicago, and with tracks 1 to 10 with the same Orchestra, and the same conductor [Riley Hampton].
There are two duets on the album. The first 'If I Can't Have You' with Harvey Fuqua. A pop song sung with a 'bluesy churchy' feeling. It works well, with both giving the song just what it needs. This song was written by Fugua and James.
The second 'In The Basement' with Sugar Pie Desanto, a delightful little number one that helped Etta peek into both the R & B and pop charts. This is a lively and upbeat little tune
'Pushover' [her biggest hit of the early 60's] and 'Two Sides To Every Story' both go to introduce a soul feel to the album. They are full of brass and beats.
A happy arrangement in the Studio meant that Etta's work hit the high spots and 'Tell Mama' was among the best selling R & B records for 16 weeks. Etta actually co-wrote 'I'd Rather Go Blind' [one of my all time favourite tracks, although I prefer 'Chicken Shacks' version] with an inmate at Chino prison, while her version of 'Security', both written and sung by Otis Redding outsold the original.
The one song that would really make this album the ultimate in Etta James offerings is unfortunately missing.
Made famous by those famous jeans 'I Just Wanna Make Love To You' will probably be Etta's signature tune.
However, the lack of this great song really doesn't detract from this album at all.
If you are an Etta fan and you haven't got 'Her Best' in your collection, I suggest you click 'add to Shopping Basket' now.
You won't regret it.
Etta's peak years, at least as far as the singles charts were concerned, were the early sixties, when she was a regular in the American charts with All I could do was cry, At last, Trust in me, Don't cry baby, Something's got a hold on me, Stop the wedding and Pushover. Personal problems took their toll for a while, but Etta returned to top form in 1967 with Tell Mama, Security and I'd rather go blind. A cover of the last-named song, which Etta wrote, became a British top twenty hit for Chicken Shack, a group that featured Christine Perfect (who later became Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac) as lead singer.
All those hits, together with many other great songs, can be found on this excellent collection of music by one of the most distinctive R+B singers you're ever likely to hear.
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