Living Without Your Love
Encyclopedia
Living Without Your Love is the eleventh studio album recorded by singer Dusty Springfield, and tenth released. The album was recorded in summer 1978 and released in early 1979.
While Living Without Your Love was produced by the at the time fairly unexperienced session musician David Wolfert instead of Roy Thomas Baker
, it could very easily have been mistaken for being It Begins Again, Volume 2; it was another no-expenses-spared Los Angeles production, recorded with more or less the same session musicians and backing singers as the previous album and partly in the same studios, it featured a cover version of a 60s Motown classic, "You Really Got A Hold On Me", combined with well-crafted material from a number of acclaimed composers and lyricists in the American adult contemporary genre; Melissa Manchester
, David Foster
, Stephen Dorff
, Carole Bayer Sager
- and even Albhy Galuten
and Barry Gibb
- yet the result was as Springfield herself later described it: "unstunning" . Living Without Your Love met with the same fate as It Begins Again: lukewarm reviews and charting neither in the US nor the UK.
The album was originally titled Never Trust A Man In A Rented Tuxedo and then also had slightly risqué cover art, picturing a near naked Springfield coming out of a hotel room shower, only covering herself up with a towel and a man in a tuxedo - supposedly rented - leaving the room, the album with its alternate title and cover was even allotted a catalogue number. These plans were however shelved and the album was instead issued under the fairly unimaginative name Living Without Your Love - with matching cover art - taking its title from one of the album's tracks and also its only single release in the US.
The track chosen to promote the album in the UK was the ballad "I'm Coming Home Again" - a cover of a song released on Gladys Knight
's first solo album the year before - with the chorus going: "...And I'm coming home again. It's been too long a time getting back what's mine. And I can't remember why I went away, but it's looking now like maybe I can stay..." The single was released simultaneously with the announcement that Springfield was to embark on a monthlong UK tour, her first live dates in Britain in more than six years. When Springfield arrived in the UK she was however met by the news that all concerts in the provinces had been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Springfield subsequently made an appearance on UK TV wearing a black veil, jokingly saying she was "in mourning because all my dates have been cancelled". She also made a playback performance singing "I'm Coming Home Again" - with the comment that the lyrics perhaps weren't as relevant any longer.
Springfield did play two live dates at London's Drury Lane Theatre
and one charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall
in the attendance of Princess Margaret, all sold-out and major successes - it was however during the Albert Hall concert that Springfield made the unfortunate off-the-cuff remark "I am glad to see that the royalty isn't confined to the box." - a tongue-in-cheek reference to her large gay following and the drag queens in the audience. The Princess took this as a personal insult, and later sent the singer a type-written apology to the Queen which Springfield was made to sign and return - which she to the surprise of close friends like backing singer Simon Bell did.
The publicity about the cancelled homecoming tour and the Albert Hall debacle which only generated more speculation about Springfield's own sexuality in the British tabloid press didn't help to boost her record sales in the UK. Living Without Your Love consequently became her last LP recorded for Phonogram
, a company which she had been with in various forms (Fontana Records
/Philips Records
/Mercury Records
) for nearly twenty years. Two non-album singles produced by David Mackay
were recorded and released in the UK that same year: "Baby Blue", written and produced by Trevor Horn
, Geoff Downes
- at the time members of The Buggles
- and Bruce Wooley, a disco-pop track also issued as an extended 12" single which did manage to become a minor club hit (#61) but "Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees" never charted and the track became Springfield's swan-song for Phonogram.
Springfield didn't come home in 1979 and she stayed on in Los Angeles for another ten years - a part of her life often referred to as her 'lost years' - and it was also to be more than a decade before she released her next full-length album in the UK.
In 2002, Mercury
/Universal Music released Living Without Your Love on CD for the first time, though not including any bonus tracks, as had been fairly standard for Springfield's previous albums released to compact disc
.
An edited version of the 1979 concert at the Royal Albert Hall was released on both CD and DVD by Eagle Rock in 2005.
Side B
While Living Without Your Love was produced by the at the time fairly unexperienced session musician David Wolfert instead of Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker
Roy Thomas Baker is a multiple award-winning Anglo-American music producer, songwriter, arranger and Recording Academy Governor, who has produced Platinum and Gold certified pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present.- Career :Baker began his career at Decca Records in England at the age...
, it could very easily have been mistaken for being It Begins Again, Volume 2; it was another no-expenses-spared Los Angeles production, recorded with more or less the same session musicians and backing singers as the previous album and partly in the same studios, it featured a cover version of a 60s Motown classic, "You Really Got A Hold On Me", combined with well-crafted material from a number of acclaimed composers and lyricists in the American adult contemporary genre; Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
, David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, Stephen Dorff
Stephen Dorff
Stephen Dorff is an American actor, best known for portraying Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat, Johnny Marco in Somewhere, and for his roles in Blade and Cecil B. DeMented.-Early life:...
, Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager
Carole Bayer Sager is an American lyricist, songwriter, singer, and painter.-Introduction:Born in New York City, Sager graduated from New York University, where she majored in English, dramatic arts and speech...
- and even Albhy Galuten
Albhy Galuten
Albhy Galuten is a Grammy Award-winning American record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and technology executive.He produced 18 number 1 singles with songs and albums selling over 100,000,000 copies...
and Barry Gibb
Barry Gibb
Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...
- yet the result was as Springfield herself later described it: "unstunning" . Living Without Your Love met with the same fate as It Begins Again: lukewarm reviews and charting neither in the US nor the UK.
The album was originally titled Never Trust A Man In A Rented Tuxedo and then also had slightly risqué cover art, picturing a near naked Springfield coming out of a hotel room shower, only covering herself up with a towel and a man in a tuxedo - supposedly rented - leaving the room, the album with its alternate title and cover was even allotted a catalogue number. These plans were however shelved and the album was instead issued under the fairly unimaginative name Living Without Your Love - with matching cover art - taking its title from one of the album's tracks and also its only single release in the US.
The track chosen to promote the album in the UK was the ballad "I'm Coming Home Again" - a cover of a song released on Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
's first solo album the year before - with the chorus going: "...And I'm coming home again. It's been too long a time getting back what's mine. And I can't remember why I went away, but it's looking now like maybe I can stay..." The single was released simultaneously with the announcement that Springfield was to embark on a monthlong UK tour, her first live dates in Britain in more than six years. When Springfield arrived in the UK she was however met by the news that all concerts in the provinces had been cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Springfield subsequently made an appearance on UK TV wearing a black veil, jokingly saying she was "in mourning because all my dates have been cancelled". She also made a playback performance singing "I'm Coming Home Again" - with the comment that the lyrics perhaps weren't as relevant any longer.
Springfield did play two live dates at London's Drury Lane Theatre
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
and one charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in the attendance of Princess Margaret, all sold-out and major successes - it was however during the Albert Hall concert that Springfield made the unfortunate off-the-cuff remark "I am glad to see that the royalty isn't confined to the box." - a tongue-in-cheek reference to her large gay following and the drag queens in the audience. The Princess took this as a personal insult, and later sent the singer a type-written apology to the Queen which Springfield was made to sign and return - which she to the surprise of close friends like backing singer Simon Bell did.
The publicity about the cancelled homecoming tour and the Albert Hall debacle which only generated more speculation about Springfield's own sexuality in the British tabloid press didn't help to boost her record sales in the UK. Living Without Your Love consequently became her last LP recorded for Phonogram
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
, a company which she had been with in various forms (Fontana Records
Fontana Records
Fontana Records is a record label which was started in the 1950s as a subsidiary of the Dutch Philips Records; when Philips restructured its music operations it dropped Fontana in favor of Vertigo Records. In the seventies PolyGram acquired the dormant label....
/Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
/Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
) for nearly twenty years. Two non-album singles produced by David Mackay
David Mackay (producer)
David Mackay is an Australian record producer/arranger and musical director. He was born in Sydney, Australia and began his music career at the age of 15 in a production of Bye Bye Birdie for J.C. Williamson Theatre Company...
were recorded and released in the UK that same year: "Baby Blue", written and produced by Trevor Horn
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn CBE is an English pop music record producer, songwriter, musician and singer. He was born in Houghton-le-Spring in north-east England....
, Geoff Downes
Geoff Downes
Geoffrey "Geoff" Downes is an English rock keyboard player, songwriter, best known as the keyboardist for the bands The Buggles, Yes and Asia, of which he is the only consistent member. When he was a keyboardist for The Buggles, he played multiple keyboards to achieve a New Wave technopop sound...
- at the time members of The Buggles
The Buggles
The Buggles were an English New Wave band consisting of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes . They are remembered chiefly for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star" that was #1 on the singles chart in 16 countries. Its music video was the first to be shown on MTV in the U.S...
- and Bruce Wooley, a disco-pop track also issued as an extended 12" single which did manage to become a minor club hit (#61) but "Your Love Still Brings Me To My Knees" never charted and the track became Springfield's swan-song for Phonogram.
Springfield didn't come home in 1979 and she stayed on in Los Angeles for another ten years - a part of her life often referred to as her 'lost years' - and it was also to be more than a decade before she released her next full-length album in the UK.
In 2002, Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
/Universal Music released Living Without Your Love on CD for the first time, though not including any bonus tracks, as had been fairly standard for Springfield's previous albums released to compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
.
An edited version of the 1979 concert at the Royal Albert Hall was released on both CD and DVD by Eagle Rock in 2005.
Track listing
Side A- "You've Really Got a Hold on MeYou've Really Got a Hold on Me"You've Really Got a Hold on Me" is a 1962 Top 10 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla label. One of the group's most covered tunes, this million-selling song is a 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame inductee...
" (Smokey RobinsonSmokey RobinsonWilliam "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...
) - 3:49 - "You Can Do It" (Evie SandsEvie SandsEvie Sands is a Brooklyn-born singer, songwriter and guitarist, whose career began as a young teenager in the mid-1960s...
, Richard Germinaro, Ben WeismanBen WeismanBen Weisman was an eccentric American composer significant for having written more songs recorded by Elvis Presley than any other songwriter in history. The "Mad Professor" as Weisman was nicknamed by Elvis, worked with the King from 1956 to 1971...
) - 4:12 - "Be Somebody" (Melissa ManchesterMelissa ManchesterMelissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
, Vini Poncia, John Vastano) - 3:24 - "Closet Man" (David FosterDavid FosterDavid Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, Donnie Gerrard, Eric Mercury) - 4:09 - "Living Without Your Love" (Steve Nelson, David Wolfert) - 3:36
Side B
- "Save Me, Save Me" (Albhy GalutenAlbhy GalutenAlbhy Galuten is a Grammy Award-winning American record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and technology executive.He produced 18 number 1 singles with songs and albums selling over 100,000,000 copies...
, Barry GibbBarry GibbBarry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...
) - 3:06 - "Get Yourself to Love" (Douglas McCormick) - 4:06
- "I Just Fall in Love AgainI Just Fall in Love Again"I Just Fall in Love Again" is a song written by Larry Herbstritt, with co-writers Steve Dorff, Harry Lloyd, and Gloria Sklerov. Herbstritt had composed the melody and chords for the chorus and a chord progression for the verse, which he took to his friend Steve Dorff. Harry Lloyd and Gloria...
" (Stephen DorffStephen DorffStephen Dorff is an American actor, best known for portraying Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat, Johnny Marco in Somewhere, and for his roles in Blade and Cecil B. DeMented.-Early life:...
, Larry Herbstritt, Harry Lloyd, Gloria Sklerov) - 3:14 - "Dream On" (Franne GoldeFranne GoldeFranne Golde is a songwriter, musician, singer and writer. Her songs have appeared on more than 100 million records worldwideFranne has received BMI awards for singles with The Pussycat Dolls , Randy Travis’s "A Man Ain't Made of Stone", The Kinleys' "Somebody's Out There Watching" from the Touched...
, Dennis Mayoff, Carole Bayer SagerCarole Bayer SagerCarole Bayer Sager is an American lyricist, songwriter, singer, and painter.-Introduction:Born in New York City, Sager graduated from New York University, where she majored in English, dramatic arts and speech...
) - 3:32 - "I'm Coming Home Again" (Bruce Roberts, Carole Bayer Sager) - 3:44
Personnel
- Dusty SpringfieldDusty SpringfieldMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Dianne BrooksDianne BrooksGwendolyn Dianne Brooks , was a jazz singer from New Jersey, USA.-Involvement in Three Playmates:Dianne Brooks' first, and only, band that she was involved in was called "Three Playmates"...
- background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Patti Brooks - background vocals
- Brenda RussellBrenda RussellBrenda Russell is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Known for her eclectic musical style, her recordings have encompassed several different genres, including pop, soul, dance, jazz and adult contemporary...
- background vocals - Ed GreeneEd Greene (musician)Ed Greene is an American drummer and session musician.An early recording in 1971 has him as a member of the Donald Byrd Group, together with Thurman Green Harold Land Bobby Hutcherson Joe Sample and Wilton Felder , among others....
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Lenny CastroLenny CastroLenny Castro is an American freelancing percussionist in the studio recording industry in the Los Angeles area.-Early life:Castro is a percussionist of Puerto Rican descent and was born and raised in New York City. His father, Hector Castro, played the keyboard in a Latin style and gave his son...
- percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Gary Coleman - percussion, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
- Will LeeWill LeeWill Lee was an American actor best known for playing the store proprietor Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street, from the show's debut in 1969 until his death in 1982.-Early career:...
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Scott Edwards - bass
- Dennis Budimir - guitar
- David Wolfert - guitar
- Jay GraydonJay GraydonJay Graydon is a Los Angeles songwriter, recording artist, guitarist, singer, producer, arranger, and recording engineer. He is the winner of two Grammy Awards with twelve Grammy nominations, among them the title "Producer of the Year" and "Best Engineered Recording". Jay Graydon has mastered many...
- guitar - Neil Larsen - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Lincoln Mayorga - keyboards
- Jai Winding - keyboards
- Ian UnderwoodIan UnderwoodIan Robertson Underwood is a woodwind and keyboards player. He began his career by playing San Francisco Bay Area coffeehouses and bars with his improvisational group the Jazz Mice in the mid 1960s before he became a member of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention in 1967 for their third studio...
- synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Michael Canahan - saxophone
- David Leull - baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
- Tom Saviano - alto, soprano & tenor saxophone
- Richard Hyde - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Steve Madaio - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, flugelhornFlugelhornThe flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
, hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player .... - Harry Bluestone - concert master
- Nick DeCaro - musical conductor
- Gene PageGene PageEugene Edgar "Gene" Page, Jr. was an influential conductor, composer, arranger and record producer most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s....
- musical conductor
Production
- David Wolfert - record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, horn arrangements, rhythm arrangements - Dusty SpringfieldDusty SpringfieldMary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
- associate producer - Charles KoppelmanCharles KoppelmanCharles Koppelman is the chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and was Martha Stewart's right-hand man on NBC's The Apprentice: Martha Stewart in 2005.-Career:...
- executive producer - Myles Chase - rhythm arrangements
- Nick DeCaro - string arrangements
- Gene PageGene PageEugene Edgar "Gene" Page, Jr. was an influential conductor, composer, arranger and record producer most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s....
- string arrangements - Tom Saviano - horn arrangements, rhythm arrangements
- Al Schmitt, Jr. - sound engineer
- Sheridan Eldridge - engineer
- John Weaver - engineer
- John H.R. Mills - engineer, remixing
- Mike Reese - mastering
- Frank DeCaro - contractor
- Joe Black - coordination
- Linda Gerrity - production coordination
- Bill Burks - art direction, design
- Roger Wake - digital remastering (2002 reissue)
- Mike Gill - executive producer (2002 reissue)
- Paul Howes - liner notes (2002 reissue)
Sources
- Howes, Paul (2001). The Complete Dusty Springfield. London: Reynolds & Hearn Ltd. ISBN 1-903111-24-2.