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| A Brand New Me | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the American release of the album | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 15 January 1970 | |||
| Recorded | September–October 1969 | |||
| Studio | Sigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |||
| Genre | Pop, soul | |||
| Length | 25:52 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff | |||
| Dusty Springfield chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Brand New Me | ||||
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A Brand New Me is the sixth studio album by English singer Dusty Springfield, released in 1970.
The album was recorded in late 1969 at the Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. It is Springfield's only album on which every song was produced by the same production team: Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Gamble also co-wrote every track on the album, and the Gamble and Huff duo went on to have success with many groups and singers in the 1970s, among them Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, The O'Jays, MFSB and The Three Degrees.
The album was first released in the United States by Atlantic Records in January 1970. Its release in the United Kingdom followed three months later by Philips Records, under the title From Dusty with Love.
The title track was released as a single in the US in late 1969, peaking at No. 3 on the US Adult Contemporary chart and No. 24 on the Top 40 chart on 20 December 1969; Springfield would not earn another Top 40 hit for 17 years. From Dusty with Love was Springfield's last UK album to feature her name in the title; all but one of her previous five albums had done so. The album had moderate success in the UK, peaking at No. 35 on their album chart; the US release, however, stalled at No. 107.
In 1992, Atlantic Records/Warner Music Group's sublabel Rhino Entertainment re-released a digitally remastered edition of A Brand New Me in the US, featuring nine bonus tracks originally issued as A- and B-side singles in the US in the years following the A Brand New Me album's release, among them recordings made with both Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin and Ellie Greenwich as well as tracks from a shelved second album with Gamble & Huff, and one track recorded for Philips Records, but never released by Atlantic (Springfield's contract with Atlantic allowed them to release Philips recordings). Some of these recordings were first issued in the UK on the 1972 album See All Her Faces (which had no US counterpart), others would remain unavailable in the UK for another ten years until PolyGram released an expanded edition of Dusty in Memphis as part of their mid-price series Reflections, entitled Dusty in Memphis Plus and released on the Mercury Records label in the UK and the rest of Europe in September 1980.
From Dusty with Love was first issued on CD by Philips Records/PolyGram and re-issued in Europe in the early 1990s. A digitally remastered CD edition of From Dusty with Love was released by Mercury/Universal Music Group in the UK/Europe in 2002, featuring alternate versions of recordings from the 1970 Gamble & Huff sessions as bonus tracks.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic (US Release) |   [1] |
| AllMusic (UK Release) |  [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B− [3] |
Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau wrote: "Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff have bestowed upon Dusty—who as a singer of contemporary pop has only one peer, Dionne Warwick—the same cool-soul formula that's worked so successfully for Jerry Butler, but here it's wearing thin. The songs (every one written in part by Gamble) echo each other melodically and rhythmically, the instrumentation never varies, and neither does the vocal mood. If only Dusty could bring all her moods together—starting with her harder-driving stuff and working through the title cut here—she'd make a greater album than Dusty in Memphis . But that's a lot to ask." [3]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lost" | Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, Jerry Butler | 2:26 |
| 2. | "Bad Case of the Blues" | Roland Chambers, Kenny Gamble | 1:59 |
| 3. | "Never Love Again" | Roland Chambers, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | 3:19 |
| 4. | "Let Me in Your Way (Let Me Get in Your Way [UK])" | Roland Chambers, Kenny Gamble | 2:43 |
| 5. | "Let's Get Together Soon" | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | 2:40 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brand New Me" | Thom Bell, Jerry Butler, Kenny Gamble | 2:26 |
| 2. | "Joe" | Allan Felder, Kenny Gamble, Norman Harris | 2:20 |
| 3. | "Silly, Silly Fool" | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | 2:30 |
| 4. | "The Star of My Show" | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | 2:27 |
| 5. | "Let's Talk It Over" | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | 2:26 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Release History | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "I Wanna Be a Free Girl" | Thom Bell, Linda Creed, Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff | First release: Atlantic US single #2729 (A-side), 16 April 1970 First UK release: Dusty in Memphis Plus, 1980 | 2:57 |
| 12. | "What Good Is I Love You?" | Ellie Greenwich, Mike Rashkow | First release: Atlantic US single #2771 (A-side), 12 January 1971 First UK release: See All Her Faces , 1972 | 2:57 |
| 13. | "What Do You Do When Love Dies" | Mary Unobsky, Donna Weiss | First release: Atlantic US single #2771 (B-side of "What Good Is I Love You") First UK release: Dusty in Memphis Plus, 1980 | 2:42 |
| 14. | "Haunted" | Jeff Barry, Bobby Bloom | First release: Atlantic US single #2825 (A-side), 4 August 1971 First UK release: Dusty in Memphis Plus, 1980 | 2:27 |
| 15. | "Nothing Is Forever" | Jeff Barry, Bobby Bloom | First release: Atlantic US single #2825 (B-side of "Haunted") First UK release: See All Her Faces , 1972 | 2:35 |
| 16. | "Someone Who Cares" | Alex Harvey | First release: Atlantic US single #2841 (B-side of "I Believe in You"), 14 November 1971 First UK release: See All Her Faces , 1972 | 2:57 |
| 17. | "I Believe in You" | Jeff Barry | First release: Atlantic US single #2841 (A-side), 14 November 1971 First UK release: Dusty in Memphis Plus, 1980 | 3:29 |
| 18. | "I'll Be Faithful" (Mono mix) | Ned W. Albright, Michael F. Soles, Steve Soles | Originally unissued | 3:00 |
| 19. | "I Can't Give Back the Love I Feel for You" (Alternate mix) | Nickolas Ashford, Brian Holland, Valerie Simpson | Originally unissued mix. First release original mix: Dusty... Definitely , 1968 | 2:32 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Release History | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "The Richest Girl Alive [UK recording]" | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | Originally unissued (although a different recording of the song was first released on the US compilation Love Songs, Rhino/Atlantic 2001) | 2:43 |
| 12. | "Summer Love [UK recording]" | Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | Originally unissued (although a different recording of the song was first released on the US compilation Love Songs, Rhino/Atlantic 2001) | 2:47 |
| 13. | "I Wanna Be a Free Girl" | Thom Bell, Linda Creed, Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff | First release: Atlantic US single #2729 (A-side), 16 April 1970 First UK release: Dusty in Memphis Plus, 1980 = 2:55 |
Other tracks
Recorded February 1970 at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia. Producers: Gamble & Huff Productions.
"Sweet Charlie" was originally thought to have been titled "Sweet Charlie Babe". Singer Jackie Moore released a song with the latter title a few years later, and due to the similarity of the titles, it was thought that Moore had used a backing track for what had been assumed to be Springfield's version, and simply recorded over Springfield's vocals. However, it was discovered in the late 2010s that Springfield had, in fact, recorded the track "Sweet Charlie" instead, a completely different song to Moore's. Due to the mistaken assumption that Moore had recorded over Springfield's vocals, the track remained unmixed and unreleased until the mistake was discovered and the song finally released 47 years after its recording, in 2017, on the compilation "A Brand New Me: The Complete Philadelphia Sessions".
Album – Billboard (United States)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Pop Albums US Billboard '200' | 107 |
| 1970 | UK Albums Chart | 35 |
Singles – Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | "A Brand New Me" | Pop Singles | 24 |
| 1969 | "A Brand New Me" | Adult Contemporary | 3 |
| 1970 | "Silly, Silly Fool" | Pop Singles | 76 |
| 1970 | "Silly, Silly Fool" | Adult Contemporary | 25 |
| 1970 | "I Wanna Be a Free Girl" | Pop Singles | 105 |
| 1970 | "I Wanna Be a Free Girl" | Adult Contemporary | 25 |
Thomas Randolph Bell was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and producers ever, Bell found success crafting songs for Delfonics, Stylistics, and Spinners. In June 2006, Bell was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2016, Bell was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.
Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. It was known for showcasing the Philadelphia soul music genre that was founded on the gospel, doo-wop and soul music of the time. This sound later marked a prominent and distinct era within the R&B genre. During the 1970s, the label released a string of worldwide hits that emphasized lavish orchestral instrumentation, heavy bass and driving percussion.
Dusty in Memphis is the fifth studio album by English singer Dusty Springfield. Initial sessions were recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, while Springfield's final vocals and the album's orchestral parts were recorded at Atlantic Records' New York City studios. The album was released in March 1969 in the United States by Atlantic Records, and Philips Records distributed the record outside the U.S. Springfield worked on the album with a team of musicians and producers that included Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Tom Dowd, conductor Gene Orloff, backing vocalists the Sweet Inspirations, bassist Tommy Cogbill, and guitarist Reggie Young.
Gonna Take a Miracle is the fifth album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, with assistance by vocal trio Labelle. It was released on Columbia Records in November 1971, one year after its predecessor Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. The album is Nyro's only all-covers album, and she interprets mainly 1950s and 1960s soul and R&B standards, using Labelle as a traditional back-up vocal group.
Vincent Montana Jr., known as Vince Montana, was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist, and percussionist. He is best known as a member of MFSB and as the founder of the Salsoul Orchestra. He has been called "the Godfather of disco". Montana was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
Sigma Sound Studios was an American independent recording studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1968 by recording engineer Joseph Tarsia. Located at 212 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, Sigma Sound is closely associated with Philadelphia soul, and was the location of numerous recordings of Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International Records, the group of session musicians known as MFSB, and producer Thom Bell.
Dusty... Definitely is the fourth studio album by singer Dusty Springfield, recorded and released in the UK in 1968. Production credits go to both John Franz, and for the first time, Springfield herself. The songs on this album were chosen because Springfield "liked them", as stated in the liner notes. Like the vast majority of her LPs, the album shows a diverse range of styles ranging from soul, pop, folk to lounge.
Cameo is the eighth studio album released by singer Dusty Springfield, released in 1973.
A Very Fine Love is the fourteenth studio album recorded by singer Dusty Springfield, and thirteenth released. Recorded in 1994 with producer Tom Shapiro and released on 20 June 1995 in the US and six days later in the UK. It was a Columbia Records release in both countries, and Springfield's first such simultaneous release since Living Without Your Love in 1979.
Living Without Your Love is the eleventh studio album recorded by singer Dusty Springfield, and tenth released. The album was recorded in summer 1978 and released in early 1979.
It Begins Again is the tenth studio album recorded by Dusty Springfield and the ninth released. Recorded during the middle of 1977, It Begins Again was her first completed and released album since Cameo five years earlier. Two of the album's titles, "Turn Me Around" and "A Love Like Yours ", were tracks from the abandoned 1974 Longing sessions and Springfield decided to record new versions of both songs for It Begins Again, placing Chi Coltrane's "Turn Me Around" as the opening track.
See All Her Faces is the seventh studio album by singer Dusty Springfield, originally released on the Philips Records label in 1972. It contains a mixture of tracks from different recording sessions; some tracks were recorded with Jeff Barry for an aborted third album for Atlantic Records, other tracks were recorded for Philips in the UK between April and July 1970 – these came to be Springfield's final recordings with longtime producer and arranger Johnny Franz. Some, such as "Willie & Laura Mae Jones", recorded with Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, had been previously released as singles in the US. See All Her Faces collects many of those tracks, recorded from 1969 to 1971, placing seven of the British recordings on Side A, while Side B comprises tracks recorded both in the UK and the US. As a result, the album has no cohesive sound, but offers many different styles of music. The album boasts eight producers, including Springfield herself. It has been suggested that See All Her Faces is best appreciated track by track, rather than as a whole stylistic statement, as her album Dusty in Memphis is often praised to be.
Where Am I Going? is the third studio album by singer Dusty Springfield, released on Philips Records in the UK in 1967. By now, firmly established as one of the most popular singers in Britain, with several hits in America as well, Springfield ventured into more varying styles than before and recorded a wide variety of material for this album. Rather than the straightforward pop of A Girl Called Dusty or the mix of pop and soul of Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty, Springfield recorded a variety of styles from jazz to soul, to pop and even show tunes. While not the success that her previous two albums were, Where Am I Going? was praised by fans and critics alike for showing a mature and sophisticated sensibility, despite the many different styles of music.
The Look of Love is the fifth album by singer Dusty Springfield to be released in the US, issued on the Philips Records label in late 1967. It gathered seven tracks from Springfield's British 1967 album Where Am I Going? with both the A- and B-sides of the singles "Give Me Time"/"The Look of Love" and "What's It Gonna Be"/"Small Town Girl" and became Springfield's final release on the Philips label in the US. In early 1968 she signed with Atlantic Records in America and as a consequence her 1968 album Dusty... Definitely, recorded for Philips in the UK, was not issued in the US at that time. Her next LP to be released in the North American market instead became her keynote work Dusty in Memphis. The tracks from the entire Dusty...Definitely album, the British recordings on the 1972 release See All Her Faces as well as a series of A- and B-side singles recorded in the UK between the years 1968 and 1972, were all first issued in the US in 1999 on the Rhino/Atlantic Records compilation Dusty in London.
Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty is the second studio album by singer Dusty Springfield, released on Philips Records in the UK in 1965. Springfield's 1964 debut album, A Girl Called Dusty, sold well enough to make her Philips Records' top-selling female artist. For this, her second album, Philips presented it in a gatefold sleeve and included extensive liner notes. While including a number of fairly standard "pop" songs, Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty also saw Springfield venturing more into show tunes like "Who Can I Turn To ?" as well as the soul music for which Springfield became so well known for singing. "Doodlin'" and "That's How Heartaches Are Made" were minor hits for Baby Washington, one of Springfield's personal favourite singers. Springfield also included the song "La Bamba", which was a popular concert number for her, though not in step with the general style of the album. The album gave Dusty another chart success peaking at No.6 on the UK Charts and No.4 on the NME charts that following month.
Dusty is the second album of singer Dusty Springfield to be released in the USA. It was issued on the Philips Records label in 1964 and includes Springfield's hit singles "All Cried Out", "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" and the double A-side "Guess Who?"/"Live It Up".
Ooooooweeee!!! was the third album by the singer Dusty Springfield to be released in the US, issued on the Philips Records label in 1965 and including the hit single "Losing You". Even more than Springfield's first two US albums, Ooooooweeee!!! can be considered as a compilation since it contains tracks both from her first British album, A Girl Called Dusty, and recordings originally issued on various A- and B-side singles and EPs – recorded and released in the UK over a period of some eighteen months. Ooooooweeee!!! also has tracks from Springfield's September 1964 sessions in New York, produced by Shelby Singleton Jr, some of which remain unreleased in Britain until 1998 and the CD re-issue of the 1965 album, Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty.
Longing is the unreleased ninth studio album by Dusty Springfield, recorded in 1974 and planned for release the same year as her second LP for the ABC Dunhill Records label. Most of the Longing recordings were mixed and released much later on the compilations Simply Dusty (2000) and Beautiful Soul: The ABC Dunhill Collection (2001).
Ship Ahoy is an album by Philadelphia soul group The O'Jays, released in 1973 on Philadelphia International Records. The album was a critical and commercial success, entering Billboard on November 10, and reaching No. 11. It reached No. 1 on the "Black Albums" chart and launched two hit singles, "For the Love of Money" and "Put Your Hands Together." Conceived as a theme album built around the title track, Ship Ahoy includes socially relevant tracks and love songs under a cover that is itself notable for its serious subject matter. The album, which achieved RIAA platinum certification in 1992 for over 1 million copies sold, has been reissued multiple times, including in a 2003 edition with a bonus track. Ship Ahoy was the highest selling R&B album on the Billboard Year-End chart for 1974.
I Miss You is the debut album by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, released on Philadelphia International in August 25, 1972. Produced by Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff, the album was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia.
