Lulu: The Atlantic Years - New Routes (1969) / Melody Fair (1970)

Dusty Springfield thrived when she traveled to Memphis and recorded with producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin and a bunch of Muscle Shoals pros, cutting music that was soulful and successful, so it made sense for Atco/Atlantic to put Lulu, another British pop-soul singer, through the same drill. Her first album for the label was New Routes, recorded in 1969. It is easily one of the best efforts of this type from the time, and a real standout in her catalog from the old days. The Britpop singer really does a great job of changing up her groove here, moving into more soulful modes that seem quite a change from her ‘To Sir with Love’ days, although there are still a few echoes of that charm as well. Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd are on hand, to ensure plenty of Atlantic soul touches and instrumentation includes guitars from Duane Allman, Eddie Hinton and Jimmy Johnson, and rhythm from the trio of Barry Beckett on keyboards, David Hood on bass and Roger Hawkins on drums. Titles include ‘Feelin' Alright’, ‘Marley Purt Drive’, ‘Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)’, ‘People in Love’, ‘Mr Bojangles’, ‘After All (I Live My Life)’, and ‘Where's Eddie’. On Melody Fair (1970), Lulu takes a trip down to Criteria Studios in Miami (working at Atlantic Record's new heart of Southern Soul for the '70s), but coming up with styles that are a fair bit like her previous outing at Muscle Shoals. As on that one, production is by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Arif Mardin and the overall sound's expanded a bit more here to include rhythm by The Dixie Flyers, vocals from The Sweet Inspirations as well as from Eddie Brigati (of the Rascals), David Brigati, Carol Kirkpatrick and Chuck Kirkpatrick, and some added horns from The Memphis Horns. All of them help continue the maturing trend of Lulu's Atlantic years; a new move into soulful styles with a sweet gospel feel that's totally great! Titles include ‘Good Day Sunshine’, ‘Vine Street’, ‘Saved’, ‘Hum a Song’, ‘To the Other Woman’, and ‘Melody Fair’. http://www.dustygroove.com/, http://www.allmusic.com/

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This beautiful clip is from the Cucumber Castle TV movie, 1969. The song, included on New Routes, is penned by the brothers Gibb, aka The Bee Gees. Lulu was married to Maurice Gibb at that time and also joined him in the film.

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Another video of Lulu from about the same time, singing 'Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby)', which was released as a single in 1969. This was probably filmed nearby the Chelsea Embankment, London.