Post by Jason on Jan 30, 2007 21:03:56 GMT -5
I thought there was already a thread about this song posted somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Apologies if it's already on here.
I was trying to decide whether to put this in "The Unreleased" or "Memories From The Past." I decided it was best to put it here, since it was never an official single...or even included on any of her albums.
Made famous by blues singer, Etta James, "At Last" was a song that Christina began performing in 1999, shortly after signing her record deal with RCA Records. After signing her deal, RCA sent Christina to several "artist showcase" concerts to introduce music and radio industry executives to her music. At these showcases, instead of performing frothy & "bubble-gum" Pop tunes in the style of the songs that would appear on her debut album, Christina would perform this classic to show off her vocal range.
After she became a worldwide star, she began performing "At Last" regularly during her concerts. She also performed it live in 2000 during VH1's Men Strike Back concert (the male version of VH1's popular Divas Live series) as the only female performer on the bill...and ended up stealing the show at an event that boasted performances by Sting, Backstreet Boys, D'Angelo, Tom Jones, Enrique Iglesias, & Sisqo.
There were rumors that "At Last" would appear on her 2002 disc, "Stripped," but it never happened. I kinda thought she might finally do a studio version for the "Back To Basics" album. It would've fit in nicely with the album's blues-y, retro-sounding tracks. However, that didn't happen either. I wish she WOULD do a studio recording of this song. As good as it sounds live, I'd love to hear a produced rendition of it.
While Christina's version vastly pales in comparison to Etta's (and I DO prefer Etta's version to Christina's), I think she does an impressive job of singing such a well-known classic. If you haven't heard it & you'd like to, here's a low-quality mp3 of her Men Strike Back performance :
www.sendspace.com/file/s42bna