At Last!

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At Last! album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 14   Total Length: 40:29

eMusic Features

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Contemporary Blues

By John Morthland, eMusic Contributor

By the early 1960s, blues was largely abandoned by its original African-American audience. But by the late '60s, the form had been embraced by young white fans. So the sound mutated, and continues to do so. White blues has more of a rock feel, with the British giving it a distinct (though hard to define) elan all their own. Meanwhile, in pursuit of the new audience, most surviving black veterans (and the few young African-Americans… more »

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Six Degrees of The Essential Nina Simone

By Will Friedwald, eMusic Contributor

It used to be easier to pretend that an album was its own perfectly self-contained artifact. The great records certainly feel that way. But albums are more permeable than solid, their motivations, executions and inspirations informed by, and often stolen from, their peers and forbearers. It all sounds awfully formal, but it's not. It's the very nature of music — of art, even. The Six Degrees features examine the relationships between classic records and five… more »

They Say All Music Guide

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 1960 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. – Stephen Cook

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