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EMI had no artistic vision for Lulu's career

05/21/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Lulu fans have reasons to be thrilled that her long forgotten red album has at long last been released on CD. Why EMI didn't couple it with "Love Loves To Love Lulu", the only other original album she ever recorded with EMI in England, instead of the later hits compilation ("The Most Of Lulu"), is anybody's guess. But listening to "Lulu's Album" today gives us insight into the some of the problems Lulu must have faced during her EMI years. 1967-69 were after all her hit making years, yet it is painfully obvious that EMI never had any kind of artistic vision for Lulu's development as a recording artiste when she was signed to them. Under Mickie Most's musical direction, EMI had her churning out bubblegum hits while they were selling and except for "To Sir With Love", they were mostly fun but throwaway and flavour of the month type numbers. The result is that despite a long career spanning over 30 years, she never developed a body of work or repertoire of songs she could call her own. Unlike her fellow Britgirl contemporary Dusty Springfield who would always be identified with "The Love Of Love", "Son Of A Preacher Man" and many more. Or come to think of it, even Cilla Black who had "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "You're My World" and "Alfie". A great pity, as Lulu is a genuine talent and a real trouper, else she wouldn't still be around making and selling records today. It didn't help that she never remained with any label long enough to build up a repertoire in any style of music. The result is a fragmented discography spread thinly acoss different labels including Decca (1964-66), EMI/Columbia (1967-69) and Atco (1970-71)."Lulu's Album" didn't have a unified theme or style. It was a mad jumble of songs put together for no ostensible reason than to capitalise on her then current popularity. So we have Lulu doing rousing soul shouters like Joe Tex's "Show Me" (but why does it remind me more of a hip grindingTom Jones ?) and the Box Tops' "Cry Like A Baby", bluesy beat boom classics like Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'", bouncy pop candy like Manfred Mann's "Mighty Quinn", weepy ballads like the Bee Gees' "I Started A Joke", and a slew of other stuff that's way, way out of Lulu's usual range. Why should she be competing on Barbra Streisand's turf with covers of "Why Did I Choose You", "The Boy Next Door", and Bacharach/David's "A House Is Not A Home" just to emerge sounding lightweight by comparison? Or do a showbizzy number worthy of a TV variety act like "Come September" ? "My Ain Folk", though out of character, is a lovely touch. All these different styles to demonstrate that she had versatility, an important trait perhaps for somebody about to embark on a career hosting variety shows but not a serious recording artiste. But then, this was the 1960s and nobody paid much attention to the career ambition of girl singers. Sad. Lulu fans might find the red album quaintly nostalgic but it won't win over any new listeners.Lulu is currently making a comeback with a new album. I say, more power to you, girl. Here's your chance to show them what you're truly capable of. Good luck !"

Nice, but not the best sounding

gassy goon | 06/05/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I always liked Lulu's 2nd Epic album " IT'S LULU " , released in the UK as " LULU'S ALBUM " with a strange red cover and no photo of her ! I bought this CD just to have it on CD. But now there are 2 other CD's that have been released that contain this album and they're better to get soundwise & package wise - TO SIR WITH LOVE: THE COMPLETE MICKIE MOST RECORDINGS or TO SIR WITH LOVE/IT'S LULU . I like these diversified recordings, even though there was not even a single released from it. WHERE DID YOU COME FROM is a great upbeat pop song, later done by The Buckinghams, and COME SEPTEMBER is a good one too. I love her version of the ballad A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME and the orchestration & strings are beautiful. The ballads & cover versions of other hits show her diversity , though it's not up to the standards of her classic TO SIR WITH LOVE album. It's almost as if these are just songs that she was doing on her BBC TV Series. Maybe so, as one of them was titled IT'S LULU also. How else to explain 5 songs that are covers of that era's hits [ CRY LIKE A BABY, THE MIGHTY QUINN , etc. ], or the adult contemporary THE BOY NEXT DOOR? The Celtic song MY AIN FOLK is a nice touch. Hey, it's not a bad album & if you dig Lulu, you'll like it. It's just not TO SIR WITH LOVE and certainly not like her next album, NEW ROUTES!



The 2nd album on this 2 on 1 CD is THE MOST OF LULU , which has flat sound, with many of the non-album singles such as ME THE PEACEFUL HEART , MARCH and BOY in mono. This was just a compilation album released in the UK, and every song on it sounds better on THE COMPLETE MICKIE MOST double CD. I'd suggest spending the money on that CD over this one."