General Article name: At Last!
Genre: Black/Soul/Blues/R&B/Gospel Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: Wax Time Number of tracks: 14 Tracklist LP - 1 1. Etta James - Anything to Say You're Mine 2. Etta James - I Just Want to Make Love to You 3. Etta James - My Dearest Darling 4. Etta James - At Last 5. Etta James - Trust in Me 6. Etta James - All I Could Do Was Cry 7. Etta James - Sunday Kind of Love 8. Etta James - Stormy Weather 9. Etta James - Tough Mary 10. Etta James - Girl of My Dreams (Rendered As Boy of My Dreams) 11. Etta James - Don't Cry Baby 12. Etta James - I'll Dry My Tears 13. Etta James - You Know What I Mean 14. Etta James - Seven Day Fool   Description Description

After spending a few years in limbo after scoring her first R&B hits "Dance With Me, Henry" and "Good Rocking Daddy," Etta James returned to the spotlight in 1961 with her first Chess release, At Last. James made both the R&B and pop charts with the album's title cut, "All I Could Do Was Cry," and "Trust in Me." What makes At Last a great album is not only the solid hits it contains, but also the strong variety of material throughout. James 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. James would go on to even greater success with later hits like "Tell Mama," but on At Last one hears the singer at her peak in a swinging and varied program of blues, R&B, and jazz standards. [A 2014 LP re-release added bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Cook

Stephen Cook

Contributors Artist: Etta James Record Label: Wax Time