Longing (album)

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For the song by X Japan, see Longing (song)
Longing
Longing cover
Studio album by Dusty Springfield
Released Unreleased
Recorded 914 Sound Studios
Blauvelt, New York
1974
Genre Pop
Length ?:?
Label ABC Dunhill Records
Producer Brooks Arthur
Dusty Springfield chronology
Cameo
(1973)		 Longing (1974) (unreleased) It Begins Again (1978)

Longing was to have been Dusty Springfield's second LP for the ABC Dunhill Records label, and ninth studio album overall, recorded in 1974 and planned for released the same year. Elements was the working title of the album but it was re-titled and advertised as Longing in the music press near the end of 1974 (See original Elements album cover to the right). Springfield complained in interviews later in the seventies that some producers of her previous album, Cameo, had not even asked "what key I wanted to sing in". Not used to being so uninvolved in her own work (owing partly to her own reported perfectionist tendencies), suffering from self esteem issues due to her rapidly declining career, and enduring problems with substance abuse, Springfield abandoned the album altogether late in the year.

Most of the tracks intended to be used on Longing can be found on the 2001 ABC/Dunhill Records compilation Beautiful Soul, which also contains all the tracks from Cameo, Springfield's first (and only) LP for ABC Dunhill, released in 1973. In addition, Springfield re-recorded the track "A Love Like Yours" for her 1978 album It Begins Again, though the version to have been included on Longing has a different arrangement. In addition, some of the tracks use incomplete or 'practice' vocals, done to enable a release of the album in any form; the track "Corner Of The Sky" being the best example. Springfield completed some vocals on the track, but never sang a whole verse. Thus, it was the only track not included on the 'Beautiful Soul' compilation as it was too incomplete to arrange any sort of commercial release. It was released nearly 33 years later, after fellow British singer Petula Clark added her own vocals and released the song as a duet on her 2007 album "Duets".

As was the case with many of Springfield's albums released and/or recorded in the '70s, Longing, though unreleased, contained some of Springfield's most critically acclaimed work. The track In The Winter, written and also recorded by Janis Ian, is often singled out from the recording sessions as an example. Ian is on record as saying that after hearing Springfield sing the song she (Ian) could "no longer do the piece justice" herself. Melissa Manchester has also been quoted as saying she was "over the moon" upon hearing Springfield sing "Home To Myself" during the recording session, on which Manchester also played the piano.

[edit] Tracks from the Elements/Longing Sessions

  1. "Exclusively For Me"
  2. "Turn Me Around"
  3. "In The Winter"
  4. "I Am Your Child"
  5. "A Love Like Yours"
  6. "Home To Myself"
  7. "Make The Man Love Me"
  8. "Angels"
  9. "Beautiful Soul"
  10. "Corner Of The Sky"
v • d • e
Dusty Springfield
Original studio albums
A Girl Called Dusty (UK) (1964) · Stay Awhile/I Only Want To Be With You (US) (1964) · Dusty (US) (1964) · Ooooooweeee!!! (US) (1965) · Ev'rything's Coming Up Dusty (UK) (1965) · You Don't Have to Say You Love Me (US) (1966) · Where Am I Going? (UK) (1967) · The Look of Love (US) (1967) · Dusty... Definitely (UK) (1968) · Dusty in Memphis (1969) · From Dusty With Love (UK) (1970) · A Brand New Me (US) (1970) · See All Her Faces (UK) (1972) · Cameo (1973) · Longing (1974) · It Begins Again (1978) · Living Without Your Love (1979) · White Heat (1982) · Reputation (UK) (1990) · A Very Fine Love (1995)