Etta James - At Last

Etta James — At Last! (Stereo)

Chess Records 75 Series from Chess Records and Acoustic Sounds!

Landmark album and shimmering vocals blending soul, jazz, blues and gospel

Timeless tracks "At Last," and "Something's Got A Hold on Me"

All-analog mastering by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab 

180-gram vinyl pressed at Quality Record Pressings

"This Acoustic Sounds reissue ... takes the recording to another level. With every other copy I've owned, the backing musicians (especially on those cuts using a full orchestra) sound two-dimensional and at times shrill. This wonderful new reissue, mastered by Matthew Lutthans at the Acoustic Sounds Mastering Lab and pressed at Quality Record Pressings, makes you forget about the second-rate string section and focus on James. I've owned many of her records, and her voice has never sounded better than it does here. ... There are probably plenty of audiophiles among us who never heard of Etta James and wonder why Chad Kassem chose to put her in his first round of Chess reissues. When you think of Chess Records, most think Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Sonny Boy Williamson, but Etta James belongs in that rarefied company. ... With this, her greatest studio recording, Etta James and Acoustic Sounds have created an indispensable reissue that should be on every record collector's shelf." Music = 5/5; Sound = 4/5 — Dennis Davis, The Audio Beat, May 7, 2026. Read the entire review here.

Etta James's debut album, originally released in 1961 on the Chess subsidiary Argo Records. The album's title-track and "All I Could Do Was Cry" (co-written by future Motown founder Berry Gordy) both went to No. 2 on the R&B charts. 

When Etta James stepped to the mic in 1960 to record her debut for Chess Records, the world didn't just get an album — it got a cultural landmark. At Last! was a velvet-wrapped knockout punch that still sends chills down spines six decades later.

This was the record that turned Etta from a teenage R&B firebrand into a full-fledged legend. Backed by lush orchestration and dripping with raw emotion, she could make heartbreak sound like poetry and longing feel like a victory lap. Chess Records knew they had something special, and they delivered an LP that blended blues grit, jazz sophistication, and pop elegance in a way nobody had done before.

Mastered by Matthew Lutthans at The Mastering Lab from the original Chess tapes, he's unlocked the depth, the lush, breathing magic in James' performance. Pressed at Quality Record Pressings, this is perfection under the needle — flat, silent, heavy 180-gram vinyl. 

Side A

1. Anything To Say You're Mine

2. My Dearest Darling

3. Trust In Me

4. Sunday Kind Of Love

5. Tough Mary

Side B

1. I Just Want To Make Love To You

2. At Last

3. All I Could Do Was Cry

4. Stormy Weather

5. Girl Of My Dreams

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