Lulu's parting gesture with hitmaking producer
Mickie Most was this album. Together they scored an impressive row of hit singles between 1967 and 1969, including the Eurovision winner "Boom Bang-A-Bang" and the U.S. number one "To Sir With Love." Despite this, the relationship was strained, as
Lulu was keen to progress to more soulful pastures, which she ultimately did in 1970 with her
New Routes album. Sticking to the pop formula that had made her a best-selling singles artist, the repertoire on
Lulu's Album is mainly covers of popular hits of the era, such as
Manfred Mann's "The Mighty Quinn,"
the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke," and
the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'." Despite her talent,
Lulu brings little to the arrangements of the originals, and many suffer from the restrained performances of the British session players. It was common in the 1960s for record companies to insist that artists feature well-known songs on their long-players to increase sales. With this in mind and the promotion she received via her BBC show, Lulu Comes to Town, it is surprising that this album was a commercial flop. EMI hoped to capitalize on the success of her compilation The Most of Lulu by reissuing the tracks here as
The Most of Lulu, Vol. 2 in 1972. Again, the material failed to capture the imagination of the British public, but by then
Lulu was making more artistically satisfying, if less commercial, music for Atlantic Records.