A Very Fine Love

by Bruce EderIn 1993, Dusty Springfield journeyed to Nashville and, working with producer Tom Shapiro, generated this jewel of an album, illuminated by as soulful and passionate a performance as the singer gave in her post-'60s incarnation. Indeed, the performances and the songs here stack up favorably next to, say, Brand New Me, her early-'70s intersection with Philly soul. One song here, "Where Would I Be?," which features a duet with Daryl Hall, got a little play for being in the movie While You Were Sleeping, but otherwise, sad to say, this album passed relatively unnoticed for most of the public. The sounds are fairly diverse, including relatively subdued songs such as "You Are the Storm," showing the softer side of her singing, but Springfield is at her best going full-out, backed by strings and a full band, as on "Roll Away" and "Lovin' Proof," which make this a very fine album, indeed.