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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anything to Say You're MineSonny Thompson | Etta James | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | My Dearest DarlingEddie Bocage, Paul Gayten | Etta James | Play | 03:05 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Trust in MeMilton Ager, Jean Schwartz, Ned Wever | Etta James | Play | 03:00 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | A Sunday Kind of LoveBarbara Belle, Anita Leonard, Louis Prima, Stan Rhodes | Etta James | Play | 03:16 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | At LastMack Gordon, Harry Warren | Etta James | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | All I Could Do Was CryBilly Davis, Gwen Fuqua, Berry Gordy, Jr. | Etta James | Play | 02:58 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Stormy WeatherHarold Arlen, Ted Koehler | Etta James | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | If I Can't Have YouHarvey Fuqua, Etta James | Etta James, Harvey Fuqua | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | I Just Want To Make Love To You (Single Version) | Etta James | Play | 03:07 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Spoonful (Single Version) | Etta James, Harvey Fuqua | Play | 02:50 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | It's A Crying Shame (Single Version) | Etta James, Harvey Fuqua | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Tough Mary (Single Version) | Etta James | Play | 02:27 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Girl Of My Dreams (Single Version) | Etta James | Play | 02:25 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | My Heart Cries (Single Version) | Etta James, Harvey Fuqua | Play | 02:36 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 40 mins | 92 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milton Ager | Composer |
| 2 | Harold Arlen | Composer |
| 3 | Barbara Belle | Composer |
| 4 | Eddie Bocage | Composer |
| 5 | Leonard Chess | Producer |
| 6 | Phil Chess | Producer |
| 7 | Sunny Clapp | Composer |
| 8 | Billy Davis | Composer |
| 9 | Michael Diehl | Reissue Design |
| 10 | Willie Dixon | Composer |
| 11 | Gwen Fuqua | Composer |
| 12 | Harvey Fuqua | Composer, Duet, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 13 | Paul Gayten | Composer |
| 14 | Mack Gordon | Composer |
| 15 | Berry Gordy, Jr. | Composer |
| 16 | Riley Hampton | Arranger, Conductor |
| 17 | Etta James | Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 18 | Don Kamerer | Liner Notes |
| 19 | Ted Koehler | Composer |
| 20 | Erick Labson | Remixing |
| 21 | Anita Leonard | Composer |
| 22 | Lorenzo Manley | Composer |
| 23 | Andy McKaie | Liner Notes, Reissue Producer |
| 24 | Louis Prima | Composer |
| 25 | Stan Rhodes | Composer |
| 26 | Bob Schnieders | Coordination, Research |
| 27 | Jean Schwartz | Composer |
| 28 | Beth Stempel | Production Coordination |
| 29 | Sonny Thompson | Composer |
| 30 | Vartan | Art Direction |
| 31 | Harry Warren | Composer |
| 32 | Ned Wever | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |