This 26-track compilation is a virtually complete collection of the 1965-1969 material this South African singer cut during her period as a British resident, including 17 songs from her 1966-1969
Atlantic singles (one of them cut as half of the duo of
Tony & Tandy); her two 1965
Pye singles; and five previously unreleased tunes she cut at
Stax in Memphis in 1966. (Unfortunately her sole
Mercury single, from 1966, was unavailable for licensing.)
Sharon Tandy was a
blue-eyed soul singer rather in the mold of
Dusty Springfield, both in terms of her voice and her versatility, blending various shades of
soul,
British pop, and even some tinges of
mod-psychedelia. Her voice wasn't as exceptional as
Springfield's, and she didn't record songs that were as memorable, though a couple would have been worthy hits. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable anthology of a worthwhile if minor performer, hitting its peak on a couple of songs on which she's backed by British
mod band
Fleur de Lys,
"Hold On" (galvanizing
soul-
freakbeat) and
"Daughter of the Sun" (on which she plays the part of something like a psychedelic witch). That's an avenue that, arguably,
Tandy should have pursued further, both because she was good at singing harder
soul-
rock, and because it might have distinguished her from the numerous sub-
Springfield women '60s
pop/rock-
soul singers in the British market. There are some other standout tracks here, though, like the straight
Stax-like
soul of
"I Can't Get Over It"; the gentler, fully produced mid-'60s dramatic orchestrated
pop of
"Perhaps Not Forever" and
"Hurtin' Me"; the sexy dance
soul of
"Hurry Hurry Choo Choo"; the very
Sandie Shaw-like
"The Way She Looks at You"; her fine, graceful cover of
Lorraine Ellison's
soul classic
"Stay With Me"; and her cover of
the Bee Gees'
"World." Stax Records collectors might want to note that
Booker T. & the MG's,
Isaac Hayes, and
the Memphis Horns back
Tandy on seven of these tracks (the five 1966 outtakes and the single
"I Can't Get Over It"/
"Toe Hold"), and that one of those outtakes,
"One Way Street," is an
Isaac Hayes-
David Porter composition that doesn't seem to have been recorded by anyone else. The disc is accompanied by voluminous liner notes, including detailed reminiscing by
Tandy herself. ~ Richie Unterberger
![It's Too Late to Stop Now, Vol. 1 [Live]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0889853282821_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "It's Too Late to Stop Now, Vol. 1 [Live]")
