33 1/3 Book Series: 1 Dusty in Memphis
Book 2 of 5 Stars Record 4 of 5 Stars
I should have followed my gut…
This past weekend I decided to begin the 33 1/3 Book Series. I had been told about the books by my boss, and was intrigued with the pocket size editions that combined my two most recent hobbies, reading (surprisingly, after a year of volunteering to read with school kids, I have started to read for pleasure again) and music, more specifically my exploding record collection.
Since this is the first in a series of posts, in order to be clear and transparent, I would like to lay out my review methodology. This will also set a baseline on how all this collection will be measured. Since it is impossible to go into any exploration of pop culture completely blank and alien, I will follow the following process for each review:
1. I will clearly state if I have any previous experience with the record
2. I will read the book, in its entirety
3. I will sit down and listen to the entire album, cover to cover
4. I will compile and compare notes
5. I will review the book, the record, and how they relate to one another
Now that I have laid the most basic of structures around this endeavor, where was I?
33 1/3 Series: 1 Dusty In Memphis
Dusty in Memphis is the story of a timid British singer making a pilgrimage to the murky, grimy, backwoods of the south to harness the authentic Rhythm and Blues sound. Dusty Springfield, the larger than life pop persona of Mary O’Brien, went South to create a crossover success that white America would love and cherish for its authenticity; even though it was a fake persona, taking caricatures of southern lore and packaging it on an Atlantic Disc to sell to mainstream America in the late 1960’s.
With that brief paragraph, you now understand my entire takeaway from the book. In subsequent research, I learned that the studio sessions were tumultuous and that Dusty, a caricature of a pop star in her own right, teamed up with Jerry Wexler, to invade Memphis and leach whatever soul and musical passion they could.
The book itself is about 120 pages, and it is loosely about Dusty in Memphis. I would say there are about 20 pages about Jerry Wexler and his influence on R & B, there are about 10 pages about the actual songs and tone of Dusty in Memphis, and there are about 5 pages about our heroine, Dusty Springfield. The other 85 pages are a mix between stories of the authors travels, prepubescent angst, and the idea of “authenticity”. An idea that, the author postulates, is only important because the act of discovering authenticity automatically raise the authenticity of its discoverer. Basically, “look how cool and untouched this is, and how cool I must be for bringing light to this otherwise dark area of culture”.
The book is dry, like noon in a desert dry. It reads like a psychoanalytical dissertation. Less about the music, the songs, or the struggle to produce this record and more about what makes “The South”, but not the real South, instead the “authentic South”, the “African-American South” as told by a white man. A topic and approach that comes off as labored and straddles the line of bigoted.
I should have followed my gut when I instinctively returned the pocket-sized book to the shelf. I had just left the record store with a fresh copy of MJ’s Bad 25 anniversary picture disc, when I decided to stop next door. I was looking to begin the 33 1/3 Series, and thought what better way to begin the series than with used books from the place next to when most of my record hunting journeys begin.
The mid 20-something man behind the counter, with floppy curls, bounced over to the music section of the used bookstore. Bending down to the bottom shelf, he picked up the only relevant book in the store.
“Yeah I think we have one,” he pointed to the small 120 page book. I read the title Dusty In Memphis, this record was completely foreign to me and the pop singer, in her mid 30’s, with too much mascara staring back at me from the cover seemed dated and desperate for attention, any attention.“No thanks, I sorta wanted something about a record I’ve heard. Maybe I’ll be back”
Less than 24 hours I was.
My combined drives, reading the 33 1/3 series, from the beginning (Dusty is #1 in the series) and never paying full price for a book, had collided to form a perfect storm.
“Just so you know I had a guy return this book because he couldn’t deal with ‘all the vulgarity’.” The guy at the bookstore warned as I headed toward the door.“Thanks man. I think I’ll be fine” I said over my shoulder as I walked out the shop. Really, I thought, ‘Hey at least there is some vulgarity in these 100 pages, that’s a plus’.
Without so much as a wave, I was off to explore the musical world, one 33 1/3 record at a time.
and though stories may differ, help add an “authenticity” to the character of Dusty Springfield. This cohesion forced Dusty to elevate her performance to something worthy of the title “In Memphis”.
The record fittingly ends on I Can’t Make It Alone, a heartfelt plea to a lover, or more possibly in this case, Jerry Wexler, The Sweet Inspirations, The Memphis Cats, led by guitarist Reggie Young and bassist Tommy Cogbill, and the entire city and mystique that made up the Memphis of the 60’s. “Memphis” was the gritty, grimy, hotbed of untapped talent wrapped in a rustic Southern mystique.
Dusty in Memphis, was not Dusty Springfield’s first album, and it doesn’t contain her first R&B song for that matter, but it was the right album, for her at that time, and that is why Dusty in Memphis has received such acclaim. In 1999, Dusty Springfield was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. By 2001, Dusty In Memphis had received a Grammy Hall of Fame award and was listed #89 greatest album of all-time by Rolling Stone Magazine.
The Record
As a Record, Dusty in Memphis is complete with all the trappings of a 60’s pop record, short songs (nothing is over 3:51), fades on both ends of the songs, sometimes even cutting off Dusty’s last line or 2 mid fade.
The songs feel musically deliberate and powerful, Dusty’s vocal have a beautiful timidness. Soft and shy, yet powerful and authoritative the songs tell the stories of love, lust, and lost. As the record plays, Dusty seems to become more comfortable, not only with her accompaniment and recording partners, but also with her new-found authority on the South and R&B, whether or not it is truly “authentic”.
A light Soulful Sunday morning kind of record. Dusty does her best to match the sound and quality of her backup singers, The Sweet Inspirations. The Sweet inspirations were one of the most requested and powerful backup groups in Soul and R&B, an all African-American female group founded by “Cissy”, “Whitney’s Mom”, Houston that provides a cohesiveness to the record,
In conclusion, where the book may begin to stretch out and plod through tangent after tangent, the record itself is direct, welcoming, and beautiful. So next Sunday if you are looking for a little soundtrack with your coffee, take a trip with to Memphis with Dusty. You can probably leave the book at home.