"At Last" by Etta James (1960)

The real, unsung hero behind this album is Leonard Chess who had a sense and patience to approach this loose cannon and give her chance to shine like a jewel in a real, professional surroundings and not forcing her to repeat same novelties she was doing until than (he also bought a house for her but wisely kept it under his name, knowing about her wild lifestyle - week after his death, the house was officially hers). His fatherly concern kept singer trough 1960s when she was going from one trouble to another and would probably end up in obscurity long ago had it not been for "Chess Records"  - these days you read a lot about how record companies used to explore artists back in the 1960s but in this case it was not true.

Along with "Two Steps From The Blues" by Bobby Bland, "At Last" is one of the most important early soul albums of the early 1960s. Its the place where several ingredients from previous decade brew together in a combination that will later be recognised as next new thing - jazz standards, doo wop, blues and early r&b are all mixed together and on top of it you have powerhouse Etta James who was already a veteran of chitlin circuit at the grand old age of twenty two. Encouraged by Chess brothers, she is kittenish on sentimental ballads or rip-roaring on uptempo numbers where her fierceness evoke artists like Big Maybelle and Big Mama Thornton from previous decade (and Ruth Brown, come to think of it) - it is unusual voice for a woman at the time when girl singers were supposed to be sweet and romantic. Aretha was still practically unknown and Tina was shoehorned into gutbucket r&b with no chance to touch such classy numbers as "At Last" or "Stormy Weather". James is excellent all the way trough this eclectic selection and surprisingly effective on everything producers threw at her, be it gospel ballad "All I Could Do Was Cry" or assertive blues "I Just Want to Make Love to You" that would reach top of the charts again in 1996. Clearly one of the best voices around, James would follow very much the same path trough 1960s but would later struggle without Leonard Chess in the next decade, until another big shot Jerry Wexler resurrected her to greatness with "Deep in the Night".