And I Love You So (Shirley Bassey album)


And I Love You So is a 1972 album by Shirley Bassey.
Released late in 1972 to positive reviews, this was Bassey's fourth album of the decade and was one of the albums which comprised her 'comeback' period of the 1970s. Unlike the earlier albums, this didn't feature any hit singles and consequently didn't fare as well as the previous three. It made No. 24, and remained on the chart for 9 weeks, reaching its peak on Christmas week, resulting in higher than average sales. Singles released were "And I Love You So" and "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men", although the CD liner notes considers tracks "If We Only Have Love" and "The Way of Love" to be stronger single choices. The title track did however become a UK top three hit some months later for Perry Como.
The original release was in stereo on vinyl and cassette. This album was re-issued on CD in 2000 with two bonus tracks: "If I Should Love Again" and "Let Me Be the One", which was unreleased until 1994. The album was re-released again in a double pack with previous album I Capricorn in November 2010.

Track listing

Side One
  1. "Someday" 4.59
  2. "Bless the Beasts and Children" 3.09
  3. "Jesahel" 2.50
  4. "And I Love You So" 4.31
  5. "The Way of Love" 2.38
  6. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" 4.48
Side Two
  1. "Day by Day" 2.48
  2. "Without You" 3.34
  3. "The Ballad of the Sad Young Men" 5.29
  4. "I Don't Know How To Love Him" 4.22
  5. "I'd Do It All Again" 3.35
  6. "If We Only Have Love" 3.53
CD re-issue bonus tracks:
  1. "If I Should Love Again"
  2. "Let Me Be the One"

    Personnel

The instrumental backing section of the track "Jezahel" was sampled to form the core of the backing track to rap band Public Enemy's single "Harder Than You Think". This was the first single from Public Enemy's 20th-anniversary album How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul? released in 2007.
The Public Enemy track instrumental version has been widely used as a soundtrack on TV, most famously for on the Channel 4 coverage of the 2012 Summer Paralympics. After the games, the track continued to be used at the theme for The Last Leg. This created a renewed popularity in the Public Enemy single and it reached No.1 in the US R&B and UK Indie charts in 2012.