Timi Yuro - The Amazing Timi Yuro: The Mercury Years (1964/2005)

Once it became clear to Timi Yuro that Liberty Records had no idea what to do with her extraordinarily gifts, she jumped ship, issuing her lone Mercury album, The Amazing Timi Yuro, in 1964. Produced by Quincy Jones and arranged by Bobby Scott, the album is lush and dreamily romantic, a collection of standards some distance removed from the lean R&B of early hits like "Hurt." If anything, the material is a little too sophisticated for its own good, as the emotional restraint of the lyrics effectively straitjackets the stunning poignancy of Yuro's booming vocals. She nevertheless delivers each syllable with absolute sincerity and conviction. Universal's 2005 CD reissue doubles the original LP's 12 cuts via rare singles, B-sides, and all four Italian-language songs recorded for the 1965 San Remo Festival. The results are erratic, but the most potent performances, like the Teddy Randazzo-penned Northern soul favorite "Can't Stop Running Away," the devastating ballad "Just a Ribbon," and a bluesy, ballsy cover of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Cuttin' In," rank alongside Yuro's Liberty classics.