The single-disc album is part of Chess’ Legendary Masters Series. It contains 20 tracks (all digitally re-mastered) that span James’ life and career, and opens you to the raw hurt, the depth and power of her voice, and the emotions that ruled her heart, whether of joy or pain.
Her Best includes the ever famous “At Last,” “I’d Rather Go Blind,” “All I Could Do Is Cry” and “A Sunday Kind Of Love,” and other gems such as “Baby, What You Want Me To Do,” “Next Door To The Blues” and “Trust In Me.” It’s all gritty, passionate and sometimes just plain sassy sounds from one of the greatest American musicians of all time.
The winner of four Grammy Awards and 17 Blues Music Awards, James traces her start to the youth choir of St. Paul’s Baptist church in Los Angeles. That voice has never looked back. She had done a number of recordings with Johnny Otis and had toured a lot by the time she crossed paths with Leonard Chess. Chess had already worked with the likes of Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Little Walter, Bo Diddley, the Moonglows and the Flamingoes, and earned a name for himself and his (and brother Phil’s) recording company.
Working with legendary producer Ralph Bass and with Chess’ backing, Etta went in a new musical direction that let her explore the pop sounds being made popular at the time, without losing her blues influences. It is the essence of this period – one of the greatest in her recording career – that is captured in this album.
There was a stall in her career for a while because of substance abuse issues, but she bounced back with characteristic flair, recording with Rick Hall. Moving from blues to R&B, jazz and pop, she has faced many a change in the recording industry and remained true to her essential style through different musical genres. Most of all she has lived the life she sings. She has been an inspiration to many artists of today, and her music continues to influence those who come upon it.
Once you are on the way to discovering Etta’s music, you may want to graduate on to the two-disc, 44-track Essential Etta James. David Ritz has written a fabulous biography on James, titled Rage to Survive, an informative read if you want to find out more about the woman behind the music.
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