Time: 68:24
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1964/2012
Styles: Blues Soul, R&B
Art: Full
01. Bobby Is His Name (3:32)
02. I Wish Someone Would Care (2:37)
03. That Man Belongs Back Here With Me (2:28)
04. Somewhere Out There (2:45)
05. Breaking Point (2:27)
06. Flight 101 (3:29)
07. Loving You More Every Day (3:21)
08. Do Right (1:59)
09. I Worry About You (3:15)
10. Mellow Fellow (3:01)
11. You Got Me Where You Want Me (2:52)
12. Only Time Will Tell (3:22)
13. Pushover (2:56)
14. You Can't Talk To A Fool (3:14)
15. Would It Make Any Difference To You (2:40)
16. Stop The Wedding (2:52)
17. How Do You Speak To An Angel (2:39)
18. Be Honest With Me (3:06)
19. Pay Back (2:40)
20. Lover Man (Oh, Were Can You Be ) (3:55)
21. Two Sides (To Every Story) (3:03)
22. Tomorrow Night (3:20)
23. I Can't Hold It In Anymore (2:40)
In part because it didn't have any of her biggest hits, the 1964 album Queen of Soul is a relatively overlooked one in Etta James' discography, even for an artist whose LPs weren't all that well known. The ten songs are dependable early soul music, though the material isn't quite on the level of her best mid-'60s work. "I Wish Someone Would Care" is about the best tune, but Etta was beaten to the punch on that score by Irma Thomas, who not only recorded the original and superior version, but also wrote the song. The one track to bear a James writing credit ("Bobby Is His Name," co-penned with Ed Townsend) is a pretty lightweight, almost teen pop-influenced number; "That Man Belongs Back Here with Me," co-composed by noted tunesmith Clint Ballard, is fair but not great pop-soul with a jazzy touch; "Flight 101" has a tinge of over-melodrama, though Etta's typically strong vocal saves it. "Loving You More Every Day" has a satisfying blues-gospel feel, but much of this has dated orchestration, even the closing "Mellow Fellow," which has one of her trademark throaty drawn-out testifying openings. Perhaps some of the album's overall unevenness can be attributed to it having been taken from sessions done over a period of two years, though such haphazard LP track selection was not rare in the early to mid-'60s. What really separates this CD reissue from the pack when it comes to collecting James, however, are the 13 bonus tracks, the majority of them taken from 1962-1965 singles, though there are also some cuts from the period that weren't released until 1997 or 2000. A couple of them are pretty familiar to James fans ("Pushover" and "Stop the Wedding," both of which are among her best Chess sides), but most of these will be new to most listeners, even ones with a few James records in their collection. Again, the quality among these cuts is a little up and down, but overall it's better than what's heard on Queen of Soul, including not only some bluesy soul, but also the country-pop-influenced "Would It Make Any Difference to You" (recorded in Nashville in 1962); the lush ballad "How Do You Speak to an Angel"; and the girl group-ish "Two Sides (To Every Story)." ~Review by Richie Unterberger
Queen Of Soul
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