ETTA JAMES – Etta Is Betta Than Evvah! (1976-2013) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Released in 1976, when Etta James wasn't ruling the charts by any means but wasn't adverse to the idea of climbing back into the Top 40, Etta Is Bettah Than Evvah! bears a boastful title and its ten funky cuts do not lack for bravado. Nevertheless, it's very difficult to agree that Etta is better than ever here. Part of the problem is that the songs are just kind of generic: good-enough uptempo dance cuts and midtempo groovers, songs that give enough space for Etta but never really escape the confines of average '70s disco-oriented R&B. James certainly sings her heart out, or at least throws her all into the pulsating wah-wah and clavinet grooves, and all the participants are immaculate professionals, always avoiding embarrassment (with the notable exception of "Jump into Love"), but the whole thing winds up as nothing more than vaguely pleasing, a '70s funk-soul record fronted by a singer who never quite seems invested in the fashion she's wearing. The ten bonus tracks added to Kent/Ace's 2013 reissue -- cobbled together from Chess LPs from 1973-1975, plus a few cuts that didn't see release until years later -- are enjoyable (including two Randy Newman covers) but don't really change the character of this fun enough but ultimately forgettable period soul. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Tracklist :
1     Woman (Shake Your Booty) 5:54
Dorothy Hawkins / Etta James / Abbey Mallory / Jean Mitchell / Brian Ray
2     A Love Vibration 2:57
Don Bryant / Bernard Miller / Ann Peebles
3     Only a Fool 2:39
Etta James / Trevor Lawrence / Gabriel Mekler
4     Little Bit of Love 2:31
Fred Beckmeier
5     Groove Me 3:34
King Floyd
6     Jump into Love 3:23
Dennis Belfield / Ron Stockert
7     Leave Your Hat On 3:22
Randy Newman
8     I've Been a Fool 3:09
Fred Beckmeier
9     Blinded by Love 3:16
Allen Toussaint
10     Ain't No Pity in the Naked City 4:43
Phil Medley / Buddy Scott
- BONUS TRACKS -
11     You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 6:09
Barry Mann / Phil Spector / Cynthia Weil
12     Down So Low 3:40
Tracy Nelson
13     All the Way Down 5:32
Trevor Lawrence / Gabriel Mekler / Catherine C. Williamson
14     God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind) 3:37
Randy Newman
15     Power Play 3:25
John Kay
16     Come a Little Closer 3:29
Trevor Lawrence / Gabriel Mekler / Catherine C. Williamson
17     Feeling Uneasy 2:49
Trevor Lawrence / Gabriel Mekler
18     St. Louis Blues 4:33
W.C. Handy
19     Let's Burn Down the Cornfield 3:44
Randy Newman
20     Lovin' Arms 3:47
Tom Jans