ESTHER PHILLIPS – Brand New Day (The Lenox / Atlantic & Roulette Recordings 1962-1970) 5CD SET (2020) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The late Esther Phillips (1935-1984) has often been considered one of the ‘unsung’ pioneers in the world of R&B, stretching back to the early ‘50s when as a child star working with famed bandleader Johnny Otis, she enjoyed a run of chart-topping singles at the age of 15, making her the youngest female artist to ever have an No. 1 R&B hit at the time. The Texas-born vocalist returned in 1962 with a soulful version of the country hit, ‘Release Me’ for Lenox Records, subsequently signing with Atlantic Records for whom she recorded a total of four full albums between 1964-1970 with a brief spell at Roulette Records in 1969.
Esther Phillips - Brand New Day: The Lenox Atlantic & Roulette Recordings 1962-1970 (2020) {5CD Set, Soul Music QSMCR-5194BX}
Produced by SoulMusic Records founder David Nathan (who first met Esther in 1965), “Brand New Day – The Lenox/Atlantic & Roulette Recordings” is a sumptuous first-of-its-kind 5-CD box set, consisting of (102) tracks of Esther’s work in a variety of different musical settings, sequenced by session and containing a number of previously unreleased cuts as well as non-album singles making their CD debut. An 8,000-word informative and extensive essay by renowned UK writer Charles Waring, alongside superb mastering by Nick Robbins and first class artwork by Roger Williams make this box set an overdue celebration of Esther Phillips’ glorious artistry, in particular as a commemoration of her passing in August, 1984 at the age of 48.

• Disc 1: AM I THAT EASY TO FORGET covers Esther’s recordings for Lenox Records including her 1962 hit version of ‘Release Me’, her sole LP for the label (reissued by Atlantic in 1966 as “The Country Side Of Esther Phillips”) plus nine non-album tracks including two duets with ‘Big Al’ Downing, most making their digital debut alongside Esther’s first recordings for Atlantic.

• Disc 2: JUST SAY GOODBYE (titled after the popular UK Northern soul track) includes Esther’s first two albums for Atlantic, 1965’s “And I Love Him!”, the title track of which yielded her US hit cover of the Lennon & McCartney song and the 1966 LP “Esther Phillips Sings”, with big band arrangements by Oliver Nelson, Ray Ellis & Jimmy Wisner.

• Disc 3: TOO LATE TO WORRY, TOO BLUE TO CRY features Atlantic recordings cut between 1966-1967, primarily singles’ sessions with a previously unreleased track (‘Watch Dog’) from Esther’s only session in Memphis and eight 1966 Nesuhi Ertegun-helmed, Onzy Matthews-arranged tracks including the previously unreleased ‘Rocks In My Bed’; as well as the six tracks from Esther’s 1969 sessions for Roulette Records.

• Disc 4: I’M GETTIN’ ‘LONG ALRIGHT is the first-ever release of all the tracks from Esther’s best-selling Atlantic album “Burnin’” produced by King Curtis, recorded live in January 1970 at Freddie Jett’s Pied Piper club, with two previously unissued cuts, ‘Just In Time’ and ‘Fancy’ and two outtakes.

• Disc 5: CATCH ME I’M FALLING (a UK Northern soul favourite track) completes Esther’s Atlantic legacy with four cuts from the ‘live’ 1970 sessions including the previously unissued ‘Feel Like I Want To Cry’ and two outtakes without studio overdubs; and the eleven tracks from her 1970 Miami sessions originally planned as an entire LP, only issued in 1986 as part of a posthumous retrospective entitled “Set Me Free”.

ESTHER PHILLIPS – The Best of Esther Phillips (1962-1970) 2CD (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Although former child R&B star Esther Phillips really hit her mature peak in the '60s, commercially she had a hard time finding a niche. "Release Me," her uptown R&B version of a country song, made the pop Top Ten in 1962. But she only dented the charts occasionally over the course of the next decade, despite recording frequently in a number of styles, usually (but not always) for Atlantic. This two-CD, 40-song set is an excellent distillation of work that isn't well known even by R&B devotees, drawing from about half a dozen albums and numerous singles, mostly from Atlantic, but also including 45s she made for Roulette in 1969; about half of the songs on this collection, in fact, were never issued on an album. Phillips was to a degree damned by her versatility: too suave and refined to be classified as a straight soul singer, she takes on jazz, pop, show tunes, blues, the Beatles (her gender-morphed "And I Love Him" was a substantial hit), the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, and more. Like Etta James, the Columbia-era Aretha Franklin, and Nina Simone, she was one of those singers who fell between genre cracks: not quite soul, rock, R&B, jazz, pop, or blues, though elements of all those styles were present in her work. Actually, she wasn't quite as good as any of those above-mentioned legends, with a nasal, edgy style that won't be to everyone's taste, somewhat reminiscent (though not as impressive as) Nina Simone's. The smooth arrangements mine the wide territory between Dinah Washington and Dionne Warwick, though again, she wasn't as well-equipped for success with such an approach as those two were. All these caveats aside, if you enjoy the work of any of the reference points listed above, you'll most likely like Esther Phillips' work on these recordings as well; she's just not quite in the same Hall of Fame class. Richie Unterberger  
Tracklist :

LITTLE ESTHER – The Early Hits 1949-1954 (2010) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Esther Phillips was only 13 when she first entered a recording studio in 1949, and a year later at 14 she had an international R&B hit with “Double Crossing Blues” for Savoy Records. Life was never the same for Phillips. Now billed as Little Esther, she was a certified star before she could drive, and she succumbed to the darker side of a musician’s lifestyle, miring herself in drink and drugs, a condition she never escaped. She still sang like an idiosyncratic and wounded angel throughout her career, though, no matter where she was on the roller coaster, and she made it into the '70s before everything finally caught up with her. This two-disc, 52-track set from JSP Records charts her early years with the Savoy and Federal labels, and includes that first hit, “Double Crossing Blues” (a duet with Bobby Nunn from the Robins), a fine version of Henry Glover’s “I’ll Be There,” several wonderful tracks with tenor sax player Ben Webster (“Hold Me,” “I Paid My Dues,” and the Gerswhins’ “Summertime” among them), the assured “Stop Cryin,” and a heart-stopping “Love Oh Love” (a version of W.C. Handy’s “Careless Love”), among other gems. Phillips had later hits in the '60s and '70s, but she never quite became a household name, although her singing certainly should have earned her that. Her earliest -- and arguably best -- recordings are here, making this a great introduction to a great singer. Phillips’ life can certainly be viewed as a cautionary tale, an all-too-familiar tragedy, but there’s no denying that the recordings she gave us are a national treasure. Steve Leggett  
Tracklist :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – The Country Side of Esther Phillips + Set Me Free (2001) 2CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This two-disc set from Collectables features a pair of out of print Esther Phillips LPs: The Country Side of Esther Phillips and Set Me Free, both originally issued on Atlantic Records. Highlights among the 36 tracks include "I Really Don't Want to Know," "Crazy Love," "Am I That Easy to Forget," and "Catch Me I'm Fallin'." Al Campbell
Tracklist :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – Capricorn Princess (1976-2010) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist + Credits :

ESTHER PHILLIPS WITH BECK – For All We Know (1976-2007) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This 1976 Kudu date under Esther Phillips' name is notable for two major reasons, and both of them are Joe Beck. While Creed Taylor produced the date, all of the sets arrangements were done by Beck, who wove an entire band's sound around the smoking, soulful grooves of his guitar. His playing is the other reason this set is so memorable: Beck is at his most inspired and fluidly funky; he is present everywhere in the mix but nonetheless crafts the strengths of the ensemble around Phillips' unusual voice. Other players include the Brecker Brothers, Don Grolnick, Fred Wesley, Will Lee, Bobby Lyle, Steve Khan, and many others. The band winds around Phillips, setting her up as "Soul Sister Number One," hitting the funky grooves and elongating her clipped trademark delivery. Highlights include the title track -- one of the greatest disco tunes never played in a disco -- her up-tempo rave-up of "Unforgettable," with killer breaks by Beck and Michael Brecker, the dirtiest, funkiest version ever of Jackie DeShannon's "Pure Natural Love," and a Latin-tinged read of "Goin' Out of My Head." Thom Jurek
Tracklist + Credits :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – From a Whisper to a Scream (1971-1987) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

One of Esther Phillips finest '70s releases, From a Whisper to a Scream is the first of seven albums the singer recorded for CTI offshoot Kudu. Arranged and conducted by Pee Wee Ellis, the December 1971 session also involved principal players such as bassist Gordon Edwards, drummer Bernard Purdie, percussionist Airto, guitarists Cornell Dupree and Eric Gale, keyboardist Richard Tee, and saxophonists Hank Crawford and David Liebman. Setting the tone for Phillips' Kudu era, Whisper offers a series of spacious, yet fully arranged ballads of burning heartache, along with a handful of relatively funky numbers that do nothing to compromise her talent, dishing out loads of classy grit. It's a definite point of departure from the likes of Esther Phillips Sings and And I Love Him, her field of contemporaries closer to Al Green and Aretha Franklin than before. She grabs onto "Home Is Where the Hatred Is," Gil Scott-Heron's most harrowing rumination on drug dependency -- which, at that point, wasn't even a year old -- as if it were her very own, and it's all the more poignant given its parallels with her own life. (Its meaning was only compounded by her death in 1984.) Though there is absolutely nothing lacking in the album's more energetic moments, it's still the ballads that shine brightest, like the alternately fragile and explosive "From a Whisper to a Scream" (Allen Toussaint) and a staggering "Baby, I'm for Real" (Marvin and Anna Gordy, made popular by the Originals) so vulnerable yet commanding that it really should've closed the album. Andy Kellman  
Tracklist :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – Alone Again, Naturally (1972-2008) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Originally released in 1972, Alone Again, Naturally is a fine album by the eclectic and talented soul star Esther Phillips. Helmed by jazz producer Creed Taylor, and recorded with an all-star cast of fusion, soul, and jazz musicians (George Benson, Maceo Parker, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham), this is the early-'70s Creed Taylor sound adapted to pop and soul music, putting Phillips' impassioned vocals in slick, mellow soul-jazz grooves. Charity Stafford
Tracklist + Credits :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – Black-Eyed Blues (1974-2003) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Plenty of bongos and a liberal sprinkling of string-laden soul ballads and the extended soul-blues number seemingly de-rigeur for serious soul records of the 70s There's the cream of soul sessioneers and it's produced by Rudy Van Gelder of Blue Note fame so it all sounds tremendous. A little light on truly striking material to elevate it to classic status but it really hits the spot if you're in a red wine and 70s soul kind of place. web
Tracklist + Credits :
 

ESTHER PHILLIPS – Performance (1974-2007) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Originally released in 1974, Performance is the fourth of seven albums that vocalist Esther Phillips recorded for Kudu, an offshoot of Creed Taylor's CTI label. Arranged and conducted by Pee Wee Ellis with assistance from Eugene McDaniels and Taylor, the session assembles a celebrated choice of soul, fusion, and mainstream jazz musicians including, Bob James, Richard Tee, Hubert Laws, Bernard Purdie, Pepper Adams, and Michael Brecker. Highlights among the eight songs include the tack piano romp through Dr. John’s "Such a Night," the gospel-inspired "Living Alone (We're Going to Make It)," and funky readings of Isaac Hayes and David Porter’s “Can’t Trust Your Neighbor with Your Baby,” “Doing Our Thing,” and, surprisingly, Jerry Jeff Walker’s classic composition “Mr. Bojangles.” While Performance has been remastered and retains the original album art, there are no bonus tracks. Al Campbell
Tracklist + Credits :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – What a Diff'rence a Day Makes (1975-1987) RM | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Reading the credits of What a Diff'rence a Day Makes, one could easily assume that it is a jazz album. This 1975 LP was produced by Creed Taylor and arranged by guitarist Joe Beck; the other participants range from Michael Brecker on tenor sax, David Sanborn on alto sax, and Randy Brecker on trumpet to Steve Khan on guitar and Don Grolnick on keyboards. With that lineup, Esther Phillips could have easily delivered a first-class jazz album. But What a Diff'rence a Day Makes doesn't contain any jazz -- not even jazz-funk or soul-jazz. It is, however, an excellent soul/disco outing. This LP is best known for its hit title song, an inspired disco version of a standard that has usually been heard in jazz and pre-rock pop settings. But the song works surprisingly well as disco, and the other tracks are equally impressive. Phillips is as soulful and convincing on the bluesy "I Can Stand a Little Rain" as she is on Gamble & Huff's "One Night Affair" (a Philadelphia soul classic that was recorded by Jerry Butler in 1972 and the O'Jays in 1969) and Ralph MacDonald's "Mister Magic."The latter is the gem that Grover Washington, Jr. is best remembered for; while his famous version was instrumental jazz-funk, Phillips' is vocal-oriented soul. It should be noted that most of the jazz musicians who back Phillips on What a Diff'rence a Day Makes are not jazz snobs. The Brecker Brothers and Sanborn, for example, have done their share of R&B sessions, and they would probably be the first to tell you that this LP needs to be judged by R&B standards instead of jazz standards. And when R&B standards are applied, it is easy to conclude that What a Diff'rence a Day Makes is among Phillips' finest releases. Alex Henderson  
Tracklist + Credits :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – Burnin' + Confessin' The Blues (1998) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

In 1999, Collectables released Burnin'/Confessin' the Blues, which contained two complete albums -- Burnin' (1970, originally released on Atlantic) and Confessin' the Blues (1976, originally released on Atlantic) -- by Esther Phillips on one compact disc. Jason Birchmeier
Tracklist + Credits :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – And I Love Him! + Esther Phillips Sings (1999) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This Collectables compilation packages Esther Phillips' first two LPs for Atlantic, 1965's And I Love Him! and the following year's Esther Phillips Sings. Gradually switching from an R&B chart name to a pop singer with a subtle power over the blues and jazz, Phillips didn't hit the charts much during the year ("And I Love Him" was the big exception), but she did record great versions of some solid material: "Shangri-La," "It's All Right With Me," "Every Time We Say Goodbye," and others. The sound is solid as well, leaving this collection as a great next step after the Atlantic wrap-up, The Best of Esther Phillips (1962-1970). John Bush
Tracklist + Credits :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – Here's Esther Are You Ready + Good Black Is Hard To Crack (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With few exceptions, greats who established themselves during soul's golden era were not well served by the disco era, when arrangements and material often poorly suited their abilities. Such was the case with the final two albums by Esther Phillips, Here's Esther...Are You Ready (1979) and Good Black Is Hard to Crack (1981), here combined onto one CD with historical liner notes. As producer Harvey Mason recalls in those notes, he and Phillips had "a mandate from Mercury to mostly do uptempo material" for Here's Esther...Are You Ready, resulting in an album dominated by disco dance tunes as that genre neared the end of its peak popularity. Phillips is still in fine voice, and not averse to injecting the material with a sly playfulness it doesn't always deserve, or which doesn't even always fit its mood. Covers of "Philadelphia Freedom" and "Our Day Will Come" were never going to challenge or redefine the originals, and while a couple ballads made for something a little more up her alley, they weren't strong enough to make a mark. Notable jazz musician Benny Golson took the production reins for Good Black Is Hard to Crack, and while it's not too much of a departure from the previous album, the settings are generally looser and a little more sympathetic. The songs aren't great, but Phillips sounds more at ease with at least some of them, and hits an acceptably engaging soul-jazz groove on "City Lights." There are still some formulaic disco tunes, though, and none of the tracks on this or its predecessor stand among Phillips' finer work, though she retained enough vocal skill to go out with some dignity. Richie Unterberger  
Tracklist + Credits :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – You've Come A Long Way, Baby + All About Esther Phillips (2011) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

This reissue from Cherry Red/Soul Music features a pair of LPs by singer Esther Phillips, You've Come a Long Way, Baby and All About Esther Phillips, originally issued in 1977 and 1978. Highlights among the 17 tracks include "Into the Mystic," "You Think of Him (You Think of Her)," and "If I Fall in Love by Morning." Casual listeners who enjoy this era of Esther Phillips' recordings should keep an eye open for Home Is Where the Hatred Is: The Kudu Years 1971-1977 on Raven. Al Campbell
Tracklist :

ESTHER PHILLIPS – A Way To Say Goodbye (1986) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The last release in a great career. Ron Wynn
Tracklist + Credits :