The Second Time Around

The Second Time Around

Editorial Reviews
<"b000002oan7499"> Amazon.com
Etta James was just 22 when she made the recordings for this album in 1960 and '61, but she had already established herself as a youthful belter of spirited R&B numbers. Like Aretha Franklin in the same period, James felt pressure from recording executives to go in different directions. Chess was unsure whether to market her as an R&B singer or to press her toward mainstream adult pop and jazz. This CD presents both sides of the coin, with James doing rousing R&B numbers such as "Seven Day Fool" and the protosoul of "Don't Cry Baby," lounge tunes like "One for My Baby," the jazz-flavored ballad "Fool That I Am," and Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." It hardly matters, though, for James's emotional immediacy and potent delivery make all the material her own. --Stuart Broomer --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

<"b000002oan5228"> From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD
After James's initial R&B hits in the mid 1950s, which reveal a spirited ingenue, the singer chalked up a string of chart successes for Chess. Pop material such as "One for My Baby" and the 1961 hit "Don't Cry Baby" feature her tougher but not necessarily wiser alto. -- © Frank John Hadley 1993 --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.