The Sound of Love: The Best of Darlene Love

Darlene Love's voice is a grand instrument. Just think of the way that it jackhammers through Phil Spector's Wall of Sound with seemingly little effort on her part. She also had a church-soaked voice that could be longing, powerful, soft and scale high mountains. Truly, she is one of the most underrated and finest singers in the history of rock and roll. And even more than The Best of Darlene Love, The Sound of Love proves this with smart song choices and keeps intact the wonderful mono sound that Spector crafted his mini-symphonies in.

Perhaps it's that her first hit, and still one of the finest pop songs ever, wasn't credited to her but to the Crystals that has resulted in Love being dubbed "the world's most over-qualified back-up singer." "He's a Rebel" played straight towards the fifties newly-emerging masculine image of the bruised loner. Think Marlon Brando in movies like On the Waterfront or The Wild One, or the damaged yet soulful teenager in each of James Dean's three films. That's the kind of guy she was singing about, and she made that type of boyfriend sound so appealing.

And some of her other hits were credited to Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, like the oddly missing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" which is one of her finest vocal performances and was credited to that group. While "Zip" might not be one of my personal favorites from Spector's oeuvre, the way that Love swoops in and out with such grace and power is an amazing thing. The way she can add such oomph to a phrase like "Well, Mr. Bluebird" is astounding. Why wasn't it included as an excellent showcase for her vocals alone? Granted, she wasn't the lead, but harmonies and back-up vocals are dialed up to full force.

Ah well, it's a forgivable omission. Much like "Chapel of Love," a song which was originally recorded by her, then the Ronettes before Spector sold it off after being unhappy with both results. It's such a mature, rich and layered pop composition that I'm surprised it also didn't make the change over from The Best of to The Sound of Love. But, once again, it's omission is forgivable.

Why are these omissions so forgivable? Because The Sound of Love includes songs with her original group, the Blossoms. The three songs with the Blossoms are interesting to hear alongside the well-known Spector compositions. It's true, depending on which label they were signed to that their sound changed accordingly. But Love's voice could tackle anything thrown at it, and if her yearly appearances on David Letterman's Christmas episodes have proven anything it's that her rich voice is still in fine, fine form.

But much like The Best of, The Sound of Love doesn't include one absolutely essential song: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." A song which could make you feel the snow come down in the middle of summer because of the power and passion Love utilizes. While a song like "He's Sure the Boy I Love" sounds like she's working at a full throttle, "Christmas" proves that Love can still hit harder and with more power when she wants to. That church-soaked, husky alto treats "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" like a gospel number, hitting you waves of emotional longing and joyous romanticism in equal measures.

The only reason this song's exclusion hasn't docked the album any points is quite simple: The Sound of Love includes too many great songs and tells practically all of her story from start to finish during her most fruitful and active years. Yes, she made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, but that doesn't mean she's still not an underrated artist. The Sound of Love seeks to make an argument for why she should have the respect she so richly deserves by the music industry long before 2011. DOWNLOAD: "Strange Love," "Not Too Young to Get Married," "Good, Good Lovin'"