Review of Dusty Springfield: Full Circle

Introduction

There`s a place in every serious British songwriter`s heart for Dusty Springfield. Well, certainly those of a certain age. Die-hard fans, like Morrissey, Neil Tennant, and Elvis Costello were entirely entranced by her husky and soulful renditions that seemed to perfectly reflect the `happening` sound of the sixties.

Though we in the UK already knew Dusty from the BBC series `The Springfields` (some clips included here) where she sang and played with her brothers, the US really only really took notice when she went solo and turned out a number of Soul-styled singles that sounded every bit as exciting as their Motown and Stax counterparts.

Though she continued to make some very fine music throughout the Seventies and early Eighties she had been consigned to the MOR racks in most people`s minds, no longer the `happening` sound of the day.

In the late-eighties and early nineties, Dusty`s career enjoyed a sudden slight-revival when Quentin Tarantino (who if nothing else always conjures up great soundtracks) included a track in his seminal `Pulp Fiction`, and the Pet Shop Boys released a duet single with her too.

This documentary dates from around that time (1994) when Dusty was definitely `back` and when her `Greatest Hits` album was doing great guns in the charts.

On paper, its format sounds positively ghastly. Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders doing a `comic` and irreverent interview with Dusty, inter-cut with archive footage culled from her lengthy career. Strangely, it kind of works.

Dusty Springfield is a serious lady, clearly a thinker with a becoming modesty that makes you warm to her despite her slightly hard appearance (bleached blonde frizzed hair, hard-make up etc). But French and Saunders manage to run rough-shod over her in a humorous way that made me laugh aloud once or twice, yet never quite descended to insult or injury. (`Tell me about your brother Bruce Springteen` was one of many stupid questions).

Full Circle tracks Dusty`s career from the outset and what makes its (all too brief) 60 minutes so enjoyable is the wealth of little-seen footage included here. One prime example is a (very dodgily recorded) sequence on the Dusty Show that showed her singing along to Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was at his laid-back best from what I could make out and it`s a testament to the lady that she championed such a diverse and eclectic selection of musical styles during her time on TV.

The real gems here though are the oft seen ones of Dusty singing her way through her most popular hits, particularly those penned by Carole King, or Bacharach and David.

They`re all here - replete with crazy bouffant beehive wigs, spider-leg eye-lashes and short Opt-art mini-dresses. (Especially the magical `You don`t have to say you love me` but also "Wishin` and Hopin`," "I Only Want to Be With You," and "Son of a Preacher Man" amongst others).

Springfield`s classy velvety soul earned her some real respect from her contemporaries and some are interviewed here, including Martha Reeves, Elvis Costello, and Producer Jerry Wexler.

Video

Generally fine though many of the archival pieces are understandably ragged now, though that`s half their charm!

Audio

The audio here is fine though many of the live performances featured are old video-taped period performances that look and sound less than perfect from a hi-fi point of view. (Some peaking, heavy on the treble etc).

Features

None.

Conclusion

This is a very entertaining 60-minute documentary programme, doing a reasonable job at whistle-stop cataloguing one of the UK`s finest vocal exports of the sixties, seventies and eighties..

The documentary was originally aired in 1994, five years before Dusty Springfield died from breast cancer, on the eve of receiving an MBE and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This DVD release includes some full performances of what were originally just extracts, though some of the original interviews have been truncated as a result, presumably in a bid to retain its broadcastability as a one hour slot.

It`s hard to imagine that anyone other than die-hard fans would want to part with their hard-earned money for this all too brief outing, though those fans that do will really appreciate the brief but frankly magical live TV moments packed into this programme.