At Last!
Script error: No such module "about". Template:DMCA Script error: No such module "Unsubst-infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for conflicting parameters".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | StarStarStarStarStar [1] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[2] |
| Rolling Stone | StarStarStarStarStar[3] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | StarStarStarStarStar[4] |
At Last! is the debut studio album by American blues and soul artist Etta James. Released on Argo Records in November 1960, the album was produced by Phil and Leonard Chess. At Last! rose to no. 12 on the Billboard Top Catalog Albums chart.[1][5]
At Last! was ranked at #191 on Rolling StoneTemplate:'s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[3] It was ranked the 62nd best album of the 1960s by Pitchfork.[6]
History
At Last! was originally issued as a 12-inch LP consisting of ten tracks, five songs on each side of the LP. Phil and Leonard Chess believed that James's voice had crossover pop potential, so with this debut album, they backed her with orchestral arrangements on many of the tracks.[7] At Last! eventually spawned four singles: "All I Could Do Was Cry", "Trust in Me", "At Last", and "My Dearest Darling". The album also included covers of pop and jazz standards, such as "Stormy Weather", "A Sunday Kind of Love", and "I Just Want to Make Love to You".[1] In 1987, the album was released for the first time by MCA/Chess, and then digitally remastered and reissued on compact disc in 1999 with four bonus duet tracks performed with Harvey Fuqua: "My Heart Cries," "Spoonful," "It's a Crying Shame," and "If I Can't Have You."[1]
Covers
The album's title track has been covered by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Joni Mitchell, Leela James, Cyndi Lauper, Randy Crawford, Celine Dion, Connie Wilson and Christina Aguilera. "All I Could Do Was Cry" was covered by both Beyoncé and Gladys Knight & the Pips.
A Simlish version of the title track was made for the reveal trailer of The Sims 4Template:'s eleventh game pack, "My Wedding Stories".[8]
Critical reception
At Last! has been praised by many music critics. Stephen Cook of AllMusic gave the album five out of five stars, and, about James, wrote, "one hears the singer at her peak in a swinging and varied program of blues, R&B, and jazz standards." Cook also praised the material that was recorded for the album, saying that At Last! had "strong material throughout." He went on to say that James's voice, "expertly handles jazz standards like 'Stormy Weather' and 'A Sunday Kind of Love,' as well as Willie Dixon's blues classic 'I Just Want to Make Love to You.' James demonstrates her keen facility on the title track in particular, as she easily moves from powerful blues shouting to more subtle, airy phrasing; her Ruth Brown-inspired, bad-girl growl only adds to the intensity."[1]
The writer for Rolling Stone stated, "James bloomed into a fiery interpreter on this spellbinding LP."[3]
Commercial response
At Last! rose to no. 12 on the Billboard Top Catalog Albums chart.[when?] Of the album's singles, "At Last," "All I Could Do Was Cry," "Trust in Me," and "My Dearest Darling" rose to nos. 2, 2, 4 and 5 on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart respectively.[5][9] As a single, "At Last" was certified gold by the RIAA.[10]
Track listing
Side one Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Track listing/configuration' not found.
Side two Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Track listing/configuration' not found.
Bonus tracks on 1999 CD reissue Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Track listing/configuration' not found.
Personnel
- Etta James – vocals
- Harvey Fuqua – vocals
- Leonard Chess – producer
- Phil Chess – producer
- Riley Hampton – arranger, conductor
- Don Kamerer – liner notes[1]
- Don Bronstein – cover
Charts
Page Template:Col-begin/styles.css has no content.
Weekly charts
|
Singles
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[12] | Gold | 0 |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ a b c d e f Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Cook, Stephen. "At Last! > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Petrusich, Amanda (April 24, 2016). "Etta James: At Last! Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Etta James, 'At Last!'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Etta James: At Last". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s". Pitchfork. August 22, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Dahl, Bill. "Etta James > Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.The Sims (February 8, 2022). "The Sims 4 My Wedding Stories: Official Reveal Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Etta James: Hot R&B Songs". Billboard.com.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Etta James: RIAA Certification". RIAA.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Etta James: Hot 100". Billboard.com.
- ^ Script error: No such module "cite".
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4. ed.). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Navbox/configuration' not found.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Authority control/config' not found.
