Bettye Swann - Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye/Make Me Yours

In January of 2005, I moved back to London and, wandering down to a part of the Portobello Road I'd never been to before, happened upon Honest Jon's Records.  The shop also functioning as a record label (I didn't know at the time of its association with Damon Albarn) had just released collections by Candi Staton, Bettye Swann, and Willie Hightower.  Intrigued by what promised some lovely soul, but not wanting to spend too much on records and artists I'd never heard before, I opted for the first two, having always been a sucker for the female voice.  I got home and fell in love.

Bettye Swann's version of Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye remains one of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard.  Such sweet melancholy tinged with everloving joy.  Her voice brings a great sigh of pleasure filled with everything, heavenly backing vocals adding to its depth.  The rolling piano announcing the stately horns beginning at 2:28 until the end is one of my favourite sections in all of music, it makes your heart melt.  Everything about this song, its feel, its performance, is perfect.



Two years later I'm back in London, this time at Flashback Records in Angel and seeing Bettye Swann's The Money Recordings, I buy it immediately. Rushing home to listen, I find, on the other side of the pop spectrum now, a delicious opening track called Make Me Yours.  Simply joyous, a POP delight.