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Etta James - Come A Little Closer (1974)

Track listing:
  1. Out On The Street Again 4:13
  2. Mama Told Me 2:26
  3. You Give Me What I Want 3:33
  4. Come A Little Closer 3:25
  5. Let's Burn Down The Cornfield 3:35
  6. Power Play 3:21
  7. Feeling Uneasy 2:45
  8. St. Louis Blues 4:22
  9. Gonna Have Some Fun Tonight 4:00
  10. Sookie Sookie 3:06
  11. Lovin' Arms 3:46
  12. Out On The Street Again (singl 3:38

Notes

James was fighting serious substance-abuse problems when this record was recorded, commuting to the sessions from a rehab center. It was a triumph simply to complete the record at all. But although James' life may have been in rough shape outside of the studio, she delivered a fairly strong set that fused forceful '70s soul arrangements with some rock (Randy Newman and John Kay both contribute compositions), jazz, and New Orleans R&B. Some of the material's routine, but there are some very strong cuts here, like a rousing "Sookie Sookie," and "Out on the Street Again," with its slightly sinister funk groove. "Feeling Uneasy," in fact, counts as one of the unsung highlights of her career, with a wrenching, near-wordless scat-moan vocal over a suitably languorous, melancholy blues-jazz arrangement. The CD reissue adds a couple of interesting bonus tracks: the 1975 single "Lovin' Arms," a good rootsy ballad, and a single edit of one of the tracks from the album, "Out on the Street Again."