The First Lady of Immediate is the debut album by American soul singer
P. P. Arnold, released in 1968 on the
Immediate Records label.
History
By the time the album was released, P. P. Arnold, then known as Pat Arnold, left
the Ikettes after beginning a friendship with
Mick Jagger of
the Rolling Stones, and signed to Immediate Records, a record label owned by the Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Oldham.[1] She re-recorded a version of a song written by
Cat Stevens, "
The First Cut Is the Deepest".[2][3] It peaked at No. 18 on the UK chart.[4] "The Time Has Come" peaked at No. 47 on the UK chart, while "(If You Think You're) Groovy" peaked at No. 41.
Dave Thompson of AllMusic stated "Despite such jumbled origins, the album holds together well. "Groovy," in particular, is a no-nonsense R&B pressure cooker, leaving one to wonder why the Small Faces (who provide instrumental duties on the track) never got around to releasing a version of their own. Spector/Mann/Weill's "Born to Be Together," meanwhile, is an absolute Oldham classic, bedecking Arnold's soulful voice with a full-blooded production that leaves the original sounding like a jellyfish."[5]