Dusty's "Baby Blue" Gets Love From Lindstrom

[FrontPage22]

I don't know how many Lindstrom/Prins Thomas fans there are on this board, but the two gentleman make some beautiful, lush and spacey modern disco and are big proponents of classic music, interpreting "Love For The Sake of Love" on their track "Claudja" or titling one of their songs "Boney M Down". These guys have done a lot to introduce a generation to the grooves of classic disco.

I noted that on the recent Lindstrom "Late Night Tales" they included a forgotten Dusty Springfield song "Baby Blue" which was a UK single back around her Royal Albert concerts. Listening to the song, and trying to ignore the somewhat cloying chorus, I remembered what a great cut this is. I know Dusty was at a low ebb here, and the following year saw her awful versions of Upside Down and At Midnight on Aussie TV, but this is pure late disco pop genius. Slick and with a great synth line and handclaps that draw you in.

This and the Moulton remix of "That's The Kind Of Love" are well produced and slightly forgotten gems. Pity, because while Dusty wasn't at her peak, these nuggets rose above her MOR album tracks of the time.

Oh, and at Royal Albert she covers Grace Jones; "On Your Knees" no less

[markydefad]

I found Dusty's "Baby Blue" [not the same-titled Giorgio song] track on a 1996 import anthology "Something Special"...really liked this tune...it's done at a slow-tempo [around 100 bpm if I remember correctly?]..but it's very fun and 5:42 in length.

AMG has a sound clip...but it's all from a percussion break...no Dusty to be heard at all.

there are 2 other sound clips :
1) Live at The Royal Albert Hall (you can hear the chorus here)
2) the Late Night Tales comp (you can hear vocal from the verse here)

So did these guys remix it or just include it in a compilation? Oh, I found it on AMG and it must be in a mix..only 2:26 there...

allmusic ((( LateNightTales > Overview )))

here's the track list:

1To You Eik, Alf Emil 4:10
2Baby Let Me Kiss You Fern Kinney 4:33
3Kaddish Gina X Performance 3:33
4In Time Sly & The Family Stone 3:35
5Why Carly Simon 3:36
6Born to Synthesize Todd Rundgren 2:17
7North Beach George Duke 5:08
8Conversational Dominique Leone 3:38
9I Won't Hurt You Anja Garbarek 3:02
10Pan Americana Rainer Bloss 3:52
11Reinbågan Todd Terje, Prins Thomas 2:21
12Energie Jean-Philippe Goude 3:31
13Grand Drums Smash Band 0:41
14Law of Life Farah 6:23
15Let It Happen [Exclusive Vangelis Cover Version] Lindstrom, Solale, Lindstrøm 6:02
16Baby Blue Dusty Springfield 2:26
17Pressure Pekka Pohjola 6:16
18Coconut Grove Lovin' Spoonful 5:14
19"Buenos Aires 2am" Rob Hindle

[FrontPage22]

They use a small amount of Dusty's vocal. I would imagine the percussion break is what drew them to the song.

I have yet to see the Something Special compilation anywhere in Canada, though I *think* it might be out of print.

"Donnez Moi" from Dusty's "White Heat" LP is worth checking out too.

[markydefad]

I see a couple of "Something Special" cds for sale--but they are priced from $32 - $60 !!!

Another good reason to pick it up is Dusty's version of "Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees"...that I knew from the terrific Marcia Hines version (it's a short 3+ minute version--but I liked her take on it.)

[FrontPage22]

"Your Love Still Brings Me..." is cute. Dusty got saddled with loads of middling songs in the late 70's, stuff I'd cringe at when trying to compare to her earlier work, but somehow she always gave such depth to even MOR AM radio music. Anyone else singing stuff "Your Love..." would make me balk, but she drives it home. This BTW, is just my opinion. I know a lot of fans of It Begins Again/Living Without Your Love so not trying to totally slam those records.

[Zef]

Aside from 'Baby blue' which I have on a white (Mercury records) UK 12" and the Tom Moulton 'That's the kind of love' did Dusty stray any further into disco in the late 70's? I know she did dance tracks in the late 80's with PSB's etc..
I'm sure the 12" I have of BB is just over 6mins and is billed as a disco mix will dig it out sometime soon.

[FrontPage22]

I'd stray and say "Donnez-Moi (Give It To Me)" from White Heat is disco-ish. More synthy New Wave dance, but still quite good.

As for the disco, she does "You Can Do It" on her Living Without Your Love LP

[Zef]

Originally Posted by FrontPage22

I'd stray and say "Donnez-Moi (Give It To Me)" from White Heat is disco-ish. More synthy New Wave dance, but still quite good.

As for the disco, she does "You Can Do It" on her Living Without Your Love LP

Thanks FrontPage I will have a listen to those.