Bettye Swann has a great voice, one that is perfect at
expressing hurt and ache and hope. She began her recording career in the
mid-1960s, recording for Money, where she had a hit with “Make Me Yours,” and
then for Capitol Records, where she had a hit with “Don’t Touch Me.” She then
signed with Atlantic. Bettye Swann’s The
Complete Atlantic Recordings are tracks recorded in the early to mid-1970s,
several of which were previously unreleased. These were all singles, as she
didn’t cut an LP for Atlantic. There are some excellent tracks in this
collection. And though it’s Bettye’s voice that really drives these songs, there
are also some great backing vocals, giving these tunes a slightly more joyous
feel. (For example, listen to “I’m Not That Easy To Lose.”) The tracks are
presented in basically chronological order by recording date. Bettye Swann quit
the music business in 1980 (though she came back to perform once in 2013).
“Victim Of A Foolish Heart”
The first thing that
strikes me when listening “Victim Of A Foolish Heart,” this collection’s
opening track, is that Bettye Swann has a beautiful voice. There is a sweetness
to her vocals, but also heartache. In this song she urges her love to stay away
from his ex who has returned to get him back. “Don’t be the victim of a foolish heart/Don’t let her lies get next to
you/She’s just trying to tear us apart/She’s trying to make me her victim too.”
There is a great, brief instrumental moment toward the end, with a wonderful
cry from the horn. This was the first single she released on Atlantic.
The flip side to “Victim
Of A Foolish Heart” is actually an even better song. Titled “Cold Day (In
Hell),” it builds beautifully, and has a great energy. “There’ll be a cold day in hell when I stop loving you.” These two
tracks were recorded in March of 1972.
“I’d Rather Go Blind”
Bettye Swann’s next
single yielded the absolutely wonderful “I’d Rather Go Blind,” one of my
favorite tracks in this collection. You completely believe her when she sings, “I’d rather go blind than to see you walk
away from me.” Interestingly, this was the flip side. The A side is “Today
I Started Loving You Again,” a song co-written by Merle Haggard, who released
his own version on The Fightin’ Side Of
Me in 1970. These two tracks were
recorded in the fall of 1972 and released as a single in 1973. The single
reached #46 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #26 on the R&B chart.
“Yours Until Tomorrow”
Another excellent rack is
her rendition of the Goffin/King tune “Yours Until Tomorrow.” Listen to the
incredible emotion in her voice as she sings, “My heart is overflowing with emotions I just can’t control/I know there’s
someone that you’re bound to/But tonight I just can’t tell right from wrong/So
let me be yours until tomorrow.”
“The Boy Next Door”
Things turn funkier with
her 1974 single, “The Boy Next Door.” There is something a bit tougher about
her vocals on this one, and something brighter in the overall sound. It’s a
more fun track, written by Phil Hurtt and Tony Bell. I’m surprised that it
reached only #71 on the R&B chart. Its flip side, “Kiss My Love Goodbye,”
is a really good tune, also written by Hurtt and Bell.
“All The Way In Or All The Way Out”
One of the CD’s best
tracks is “All The Way In Or All The Way Out.” Bettye Swann’s vocal performance
is perfect, and you know she’s telling the truth when she sings, “I know love/I know what love is all about/And
you’re all the way in or all the way out.” There is experience and pain in
her voice, but also a positive aspect. This is the voice of someone who is not
giving up. She is all the way in.
Its flip side, “Doin’ For
The One I Love,” is probably the most fun and happy of the songs presented
here. It definitely brings a smile to my face every time I listen to it. How
did this single reach only to #83 on the R&B chart? That’s crazy.
Previously Unreleased Tracks
This CD contains several
previously unreleased tracks, including “I Feel The Feeling,” which is kind of
a fun tune, and “Either You Love Me Or You Leave Me,” a slower tune about a
woman who is hurt and needs her man to make a choice.
In her rendition of “This
Old Heart Of Mine,” she includes a spoken word intro about the song, and why
she decided to record a slower version. "Is there anybody out there tonight that ever really took the time to listen to the lyric of this once-big hit song? Well, recently I did, and was so moved by it that I'd like to slow it down and let you hear what I felt." The Isley Brothers had a hit with this
one in 1966.
The unreleased tracks also include a really good, powerful
rendition of “Suspicious Minds,” the song Elvis Presley made a hit. Bettye Swann's version
has a great vibe. “The Jealous Kind” also
has a good feel about it, with a bit of country.
CD Track List
- Victim Of A Foolish Heart
- Cold Day (In Hell)
- I’d Rather Go Blind
- Today I Started Loving You Again
- Yours Until Tomorrow
- I’m Not That Easy To Lose
- Till I Get It Right
- The Boy Next Door
- Kiss My Love Goodbye
- Time To Say Goodbye
- When The Game Is Played On You
- All The Way In Or All The Way Out
- Doin’ For The One I Love
- I Feel The Feeling
- Either You Love Me Or You Leave Me
- This Old Heart Of Mine
- Suspicious Minds
- I Want Sunday Back Again
- The Jealous Kind
- Heading In The Wrong Direction
- Be Strong Enough To Hold On
- Storybook Children
- Just As Sure
The Complete Atlantic Recordings was released on January 7, 2014
through Real Gone Music.
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