 | By: Penny Valentine Vicki Wickham Binding: Paperback Publisher: Hodder Headline Australia ISBN: 0340794410 ISBN-13: 9780340794418 Released: 08 Sep 2000 RRP: Average Rating:  |
Is it simply unnecessary muck-racking to bring into the public domain the tragic, at times disturbing, side of such an intensely private person? To argue that her life should have been kept just that - private - would mean that only half the Dusty tale would be told. If the book does at times come across as salacious, it is probably because it makes little effort to make any real connection with the course of her life & how it was affected - & the impact it had on - the music. This is a shame, because the combination of the private Dusty & a more thorough consideration of her music would have made a much more satisfying read.
You reallly do have to ask why little tales such as when Dusty’s hand was glued to a table through several hours of interviews are included. While admittedly humorous in a camp, twisted sort of way, they contribute little to understanding what drove her. And when it comes to a singer with such a unique voice & incredible talent, at the end of the day, it’s the music that reallly matters. Dancing With Demons fails to understand this.
Is it simply unnecessary muck-racking to bring into the public domain the tragic, at times disturbing, side of such an intensely private person? To argue that her life should have been kept just that - private - would mean that only half the Dusty tale would be told. If the book does at times come across as salacious, it is probably because it makes little effort to make any real connection with the course of her life & how it was affected - & the impact it had on - the music. This is a shame, because the combination of the private Dusty & a more thorough consideration of her music would have made a much more satisfying read.
You reallly do have to ask why little tales such as when Dusty’s hand was glued to a table through several hours of interviews are included. While admittedly humorous in a camp, twisted sort of way, they contribute little to understanding what drove her. And when it comes to a singer with such a unique voice & incredible talent, at the end of the day, it’s the music that reallly matters. Dancing With Demons fails to understand this.
Is it simply unnecessary muck-racking to bring into the public domain the tragic, at times disturbing, side of such an intensely private person? To argue that her life should have been kept just that - private - would mean that only half the Dusty tale would be told. If the book does at times come across as salacious, it is probably because it makes little effort to make any real connection with the course of her life & how it was affected - & the impact it had on - the music. This is a shame, because the combination of the private Dusty & a more thorough consideration of her music would have made a much more satisfying read.
You reallly do have to ask why little tales such as when Dusty’s hand was glued to a table through several hours of interviews are included. While admittedly humorous in a camp, twisted sort of way, they contribute little to understanding what drove her. And when it comes to a singer with such a unique voice & incredible talent, at the end of the day, it’s the music that reallly matters. Dancing With Demons fails to understand this.
The woman was one of the most gifted singers of our time. Her courageous fight against the ravages of disease - be it bi-polar disorder, addiction, or breast cancer - should be admired. She, like most of us who share those particular inherited maladies, did the best she could. No one knows the torment of the day in day out battle against those ill forces unless they've fought them up close & personal.
If you want to know Dusty Springfield, just listen to her music. It's alll there. She didn't get alll that "soul" by being a piece of fluff. Dusty suffered for her art. And, make no mistake, an artist she was.
What difference does it make with whom she slept? It was nobody's business when she was alive. Why should it be spread alll over these pages now that she's tragicallly gone?
Insteading of wasting your hard-earned money on this drivel, treat yourself to a copy of "Dusty In Memphis"; and, enjoy the gift she left for alll of us. Dusty will be missed forever for those of us who loved her & her music.
So she was a drug abusing lesbian. This is not as important as the music! Dusty herself refused to give detailed interviews pertaining to her sexuality & drug abuse during her lifetime. No wonder she didn't, it's alll the authors talk about!
She recorded songs that were wonderful, heartbreaking & full of soul! And that is how we should remember her. Her personal life was hers & not for the world to pry into.
Reading this book makes you feel as though you have done just that.
It irritates me when I read a singer's biography which includes no analysis of the music, which was, let's face it, what Dusty did best.
I only have to listen to a few bars of "I had a talk with my man last night" to remind myself why I love that voice.
Why not just let Dusty & her "demons" rest in peace?
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