Doris Troy: Just One Look: The Best of Doris Troy (1994)

Surely one of the most talented one-hit wonders of the rock era, Doris Troy hit the Top Ten with 'Just One Look' in 1963, but also recorded many other fine pop-soul sides for Atlantic between 1963 and 1965. Unlike many soul performers of the time, Troy wrote most of her own material, and had already written for other artists and sung backup with Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick and Cissy Houston on New York soul records before striking out on her own. More melodically ambitious and stylistically eclectic than many of her peers, her Atlantic sides blend elements of gospel, girl group, blues, and pop into a rich New York soul sound. Troy never reached the charts again after ‘Just One Look,’ but was more appreciated in England, where she toured occasionally. Moving to Britain, she recorded an album for Apple in 1970 with assistance from George Harrison and Billy Preston. In the early '70s, she sang backup vocals for British rock groups, most notably the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, in addition to recording a couple more albums. In the '80s she starred in Mama I Want to Sing, a musical based on her life story. The musical became a touring success, one which Troy remained involved with until 1998. She continued to perform in Las Vegas until her death from emphysema on February 17, 2004. This fantastic out-of-print Ichiban/Soul Classics anthology of her 1963-1965 Atlantic sides (don't take notice of the front cover) is as comprehensive as one could ask for. It includes all of her singles, her rare 1963 album, three cuts only issued on British singles, and her rare 1965 single for the Calla label, ‘I'll Do Anything (He Wants Me To Do).’ Besides ‘Just One Look,’ there are quite a few other downright excellent cuts here: ‘What'cha Gonna Do About It,’ the bluesy ‘Draw Me Closer’ and the driving ‘You'd Better Stop’ (with a fierce guitar break that sounds like a young Jimmy Page). ‘How My Heart Aches’ is a special standout that ranks among the very finest wrenching, melancholy soul ever waxed. Much more than a collector's item, this proves Troy to be a genuinely overlooked major talent. http://www.allmusic.com/.

aa