Etta James - The Second Time Around (Limited Import, Bonus Tracks, 180 Gram) (LP)

EU-only 180 gm vinyl LP pressing including two bonus tracks plus digital download. This quintessential edition includes Etta James' sensational second LP The Second Time Around, which was originally released in 1961. It has been long unavailable on vinyl until now. Etta was just 22 when she made the recordings for this long play, but she had already established herself as a youthful belter of spirited R&B numbers. Just as they had done on her debut album, producers Phil and Leonard Chess added orchestral strings arranged and conducted by Riley Hampton to accompany James on her second LP. This would earn her pop crossover appeal. In addition to the original masterpiece, this WaxTime collector's item includes 2 bonus tracks from the same period - both are duets with Harvey Fuqua: "If I Can't Have You" and the well known "Spoonful" (a blues song written by Willie Dixon that was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960). Both tunes were originally released as singles by James and Fuqua on the Chess label.

Etta James's second album isn't what you pull off the shelf when you want to hear her belt some soul. Like her debut, it found Chess presenting her as more or less a pop singer, using orchestration arranged and conducted by Riley Hampton, and mostly tackling popular standards of the '40s. If you're not a purist, this approach won't bother you in the least; James sings with gusto, proving that she could more than hold her own in this idiom as well. R&B isn't entirely neglected either, with the rousing "Seven Day Fool" (co-written by Berry Gordy, Jr.) a standout; "Don't Cry Baby" and "Fool That I Am" were R&B hits that made a mild impression on the pop charts as well. ~ Richie Unterberger

• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 03/10/2015
• Genre: Pop
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