At Last: The Best of Etta James

by Etta James

Overview

In many ways Etta James resembled a female Ray Charles in her unerring ability to tackle (and sometimes combine) all of the strands of American popular music, from rock & roll to R&B, blues, country, gospel, jazz, and pure pop and soul, while still maintaining a distinct feel and sound that was all her own, and she did this throughout a five-decade career that is impressive for its consistency. This 25-track set (mostly drawn from her time with Chess Records) is hardly definitive (it doesn't have classic James' tracks like "Anything to Say You're Mine," "Don't Cry Baby," "Something's Got a Hold on Me," or the girl group pop of "Two Sides (To Every Story)," for instance, or any of her late-career blues tracks), but it does do a good job of spotlighting James' range and versatility by collecting sides like her signature "At Last," the soul-pop masterpieces "Tell Mama" and "I'd Rather Go Blind," and saucy versions of Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" and Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On," all of which offer ample proof that James was one of the best singers of her generation -- in any style. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	01/23/2012
Label:	Decca / Universal
UPC:	0600753308431
Rank:	78682

Tracks

1. At Last
2. I Just Want to Make Love to You
3. I'd Rather Go Blind
4. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
5. If I Can't Have You
6. You Can Leave Your Hat On
7. W.O.M.A.N.
8. Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)
9. Two Sides (To Every Story)
10. A Sunday Kind of Love
11. Tell Mama
12. Lovin' You More Every Day
13. Fool That I Am
14. Do I Make Myself Clear
15. Lovin' Arms
16. I Got You Babe
17. 842-309 (Call My Name)
18. Spoonful
19. Out on the Street Again
20. Security
21. You Got It
22. Tighten Up Your Own Thing
23. Light My Fire
24. In the Basement [Pt 1]
25. These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Etta James   Primary Artist
Sugar Pie DeSanto   Primary Artist
Harvey Fuqua   Primary Artist
Riley Hampton   Conductor
The Riley Hampton Orchestra   Orchestra

Technical Credits

Trevor Lawrence   Composer
Jim Morrison   Composer
Sonny Bono   Composer
Pearl Woods   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Billy Davis   Composer,Composer
Jack Strachey   Composer
James Mitchell   Composer,Composer
Barbara Belle   Composer
Clarence Carter   Composer
Gabriel Mekler   Composer
Carl William Smith   Composer
Ellington Jordan   Composer
Dorothy Hawkins   Composer
Floyd Hunt   Composer
Louis Prima   Composer
Robby Krieger   Composer
Peylia Parham   Composer
Maurice Dollison   Composer
Randy Newman   Composer
Ray Manzarek   Composer
Otis Redding   Composer
Raynard Miner   Composer
Tom Jans   Composer
Anita Leonard   Composer
Monk Higgins   Composer
Harry Link   Composer
Harvey Fuqua   Composer
Dan Penn   Composer
Marcus Daniel   Composer
Ted Koehler   Composer
Chips Moman   Composer
Mack Gordon   Composer
Etta James   Composer
John Densmore   Composer
Wilbur Terrell   Composer
Holt Marvell   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Harry Warren   Composer
Tony Clarke   Composer,Composer
Billy Foster   Composer
Donto Foster   Composer
Thomas Jans   Composer
Margaret Wesson   Composer
Stan Rhodes   Composer
Don Covay   Composer
Shena DeMell   Composer