Esther Phillips - Am I That Easy To Forget video free download


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Duration: 02:48
Uploaded: 2012/05/20

Although former child R&B star Esther Phillips really hit her mature peak in the '60s, commercially she had a hard time finding a niche. "Release Me," her uptown R&B version of a country song, made the pop Top Ten in 1962. But she only dented the charts occasionally over the course of the next decade, despite recording frequently in a number of styles, usually (but not always) for Atlantic. This two-CD, 40-song set is an excellent distillation of work that isn't well known even by R&B devotees, drawing from about half a dozen albums and numerous singles, mostly from Atlantic, but also including 45s she made for Roulette in 1969; about half of the songs on this two-fer, in fact, were never issued on an album. Phillips was to a degree damned by her versatility: too suave and refined to be classified as a straight soul singer, she takes on jazz, pop, show tunes, blues, the Beatles (her gender-morphed "And I Love Him" was a substantial hit), the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, and more. Like Etta James, the Columbia-era Aretha Franklin, and Nina Simone, she was one of those singers that fell between genre cracks: not quite soul, rock, R&B, jazz, pop, or blues, though elements of all those styles were present in her work. Actually, she wasn't quite as good as any of those above-mentioned legends, with a nasal, edgy style that won't be to everyone's taste, somewhat reminiscent (though not as impressive as) Nina Simone's. The smooth arrangements mine the wide territory between Dinah Washington and Dionne Warwick, though again, she wasn't as well-equipped for success with such an approach as those two were. All these caveats aside, if you enjoy the work of any of the reference points listed above, you'll most likely like Esther's work on these recordings as well; she's just not quite in the same Hall of Fame class

Comments

8 years ago

Donna Balma

we won't forget you Esther +++++

8 years ago

StaceyDMify

what a voice !

8 years ago

Sue Davis

Thank you, Esther, for leaving us such beautiful music. So talented....

9 years ago

Barbara Mcdonald

I can forget too.Someday I will.

9 years ago

Justine O'Toole

......am I that easy to forget?? We will always remember!!

9 years ago

Archie Laird

And over to Little Esther

9 years ago

Edward Gazzetti

Pure Soul, beautiful voice.

9 years ago

LongLivetheKing0871

AWESOME

9 years ago

Daniel Gunter

Esther Phillips defined soul. This is just brilliant. She sounds as though she has earned all of the emotion of this beautiful song.

9 years ago

Priscilla Hunter

The Best Of The Best!!!! That is Little Esther Phillips

9 years ago

redstar46

love love love Esther!!

9 years ago

Frank Anderson

She wasn't as good? That's a matter of taste. A whole lot of us, including Aretha Franklin, love Esther Phillips' voice and musicianship. Aretha gave her her Grammy once because she thought she deserved it.

10 years ago

am brase

A pure voice ♥

11 years ago

James Patterson

Esther Phillips is the END ALL BE ALL!

11 years ago

lindamae2410

HOW CAN ONE SAY "SHE WASN'T QUITE AS GOOD AS ANY OF THOSE ABOVE-MENTIONED LEGENDS!"

11 years ago

lindamae2410

ESTHER PHILLIPS WAS THE BEST--BETTER THAN BEST!

11 years ago

lindamae2410

ESTHER PHILLIPS WAS THE ENTIRE HALL OF FAME--IN A CLASS ALL HER OWN!

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