Wow, I had no idea what a great deal I got with this used CD. I heard Esther Phillips doing a nice smooth ballad on an after-hours radio program one night, and I wrote down her name. I was intrigued, because I really liked her voice and had never heard of her before. Her delivery on this CD, which combines her big band style (in one segment), with her pop balland style (another segment), with her hard-hitting blues style (final segment), is phenomenal. Her delivery on some of the blues lyrics makes me laugh every time, because they're funny, and she brings the humor straight out. The liner notes tell a little bit about her, the compilation, and the end of her life, but they assume the reader already knows a bit about her. This left me with even more curiosity about this great singer. How is it I never met this woman? She is absolutely raw, talented, unabashedly unique. She reminds me of Dinah Washington with more oomph. I can't wait to keep discovering other recordings of this now-gone powerhouse of a blues singer. (And I don't even like the blues, normally.)