Search - Ann Sexton :: Anthology

An enormous, neglected talent!

Dr.D.Treharne | Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom | 06/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Frankly, I never thought that I'd see any of these tracks appear in CD form again.They were originally issued mainly as 45's on on the SeventySeven record label, an album from the same label called "Loving You, Loving Me", tracks from a Monument album called "The beginning" and some subsequent releases on the Sound Stage 7 label which appeared at the end of the 1970's. Since when she appears not to have recorded any more tracks.This is a great shame because this album reveals her as a fantastic performer who could handle a diverse range of styles. It helped that the arrangements for all the sessions were handled empathetically with great brass charts, strings and backing vocals wherever they were recorded (Greenville and Memphis are mentioned in the sleeve notes).She seemed best suited to the slower material, where although performing in her own style, performances are redolent of Shirley Brown and Ann Peebles. Of the up-tempo tracks I rate "I had a fight with love"as the best.However, when she tackles material like "I'm his wife (you're just a friend),"I want to be loved" and especially the brilliant "Be Serious", she is really convincing, adding new dimensions to the 'hurt and neglected woman' genre. It's disappointing that the last known contact that the sleeve note writer had was a 1979 magazine article,because the artist and the album both deserve a much wider audience.If she is still with us, she'd only be 54, and a voice like this might well have matured and have an enormous amount of potential left to realise.If you are looking for an album to go with the purchase of your Joss Stone album, take a chance on paying out a few dollars to get your hands on this fantastic album, and bring the singer to a wider audience!"