Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Etta James Singin' Away
Though I'm an admitted jazz-and-blues fan, it doesn't take a hard-core fan to appreciate the beauty and richnesss of Etta James. "At Last" remains her most well-known song for good reason: it's an eloquent, evocative, soulful masterpiece. Her voice is absolutely entrancing here and on the admittedly saccharine "A Sunday Kind of Love". Etta's voice ranges from bluesy sass in "Next Door to the Blues" to gospel power in "Something's Got a Hold on Me" to the smooth and smoldering notes of "Don't Cry Baby".But while her voice is easy to like, this is a blues album. It's great for those who like the blues but aren't hard-core fans of the genre. The album is easy to listen to and has several recognizable songs. But fans of James won't be disappointed either. With 20 songs of pure Etta, even they should get their fill. For those who aren't well-acquainted with her, Etta's voice is a rough mixture of Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin. And when she's wailing the blues, you can feel her raw strength and conviction. This album really is Etta at her best.
Rating:  - Etta has pathos and technique:Telling A Black Woman's Story
I discovered Etta James when I was a teenaged black girl growing up in Berkeley, California. I was too young for Muddy Waters, and Billie Holiday. Before I was born,my parents fled segregated New Orleans for the wartime jobs of Oakland and San Francisco naval bases. I heard blues in the background of my life. From my aunt's honky-tonk piano playing to the sexual innuendo of Big Mama Thorton. I took it all in. This album captures every single bit of the innuendo of my life, either real or imagined. I love the songs everyone loves, At Last, A Sunday Kind of Love, Fool That am I, Trust in Me, All I Could Do is Cry. These songs speak truth to a woman's powerlessness. What I noticed after playing this album over, and over, and over is that she sounds like a horn, a sassy, jazzy blues horn. When she goes wanh, wanh, wanh, in Jimmy Reed's, Baby, What you Want Me to Do, she is the perfect vocal instrument. Anyone who wants to meet Etta, must have this cd. I have the two cd box set and other "essential" cds, but this is simply THE BEST!
Rating: - I am proud to have this album!
One day I decided to visit the mega HMV store in downtown Toronto in search of Blues and Jazz CDs, which is a genre I have been increasingly becoming a fan of. I knew the song "At Last" (like many people) as it is indeed a Classic and has been featured in many movies. I liked it enough to look for Etta James in the Blues section and I am so glad the first Jamesetta CD I bought was this one!You know there are some CDs that grow on you and there are some you love from the get go. This Greatest Hits package duly falls in the latter category. What a wonderful collection of soulful, somber, pop-rock, r&b, jazzy and uptempo songs! It would be difficult for me to rank them as I love almost each and everyone of the tracks. I bought this album last summer and it still sounds so invigorating and fulfilling even after playing it for God knows how many times! For someone who was not born until the mid seventies and who did not become very familiar with western music until the early nineties (except eighties music that I grew up listening to in guess where?... Bangladesh!), this CD made me take a renewed interest in music that was created back in the 60's whether it be the Beatles or Marvin Gaye. Too bad that artists like Ms. James never got ALL the accolades or commercial success they actually deserve. Almost every time I listen to her music and THAT voice I can't help but cry. I have never been moved so much my someone's singing that comes from so deep within one's soul.
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