*** Dusty Springfield, “The Dusty Springfield Anthology,”...

*** Dusty Springfield, “The Dusty Springfield Anthology,” Mercury/Chronicles. Based on some extraordinarily soulful records that she made in the ‘60s, Springfield invariably ranks high on most lists of great contemporary female singers.

And if you listen to only the highlights of this three-disc package, you’d place her there too. But there is a surprising unevenness in Springfield’s body of work.

A single-disc “best of” would be a four-star candidate, thanks chiefly to the “Dusty in Memphis” album that she made in 1968 with co-producer Jerry Wexler, who was also in the studio for some of Aretha Franklin’s most prized recordings.

For most of this anthology, however, Springfield--whose real name is Mary O’Brien--seems to be searching for the right material, right arranger or right producer, sometimes all three. All of which suggests she was either very unlucky for much of her career or that she lacks the inner vision of a great artist.

The set starts off with “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” the folk-country hit she had in 1962 with a trio called the Springfields. The song, which went to the Top 20 in the United States, was catchy but Springfield’s country accent is clumsy.

Not surprisingly, she soon embarked on a solo career, moving initially to a more breathless R&B; style that better suited her voice. Springfield was especially effective during this period on such Phil Spector-influenced tracks as “I Only Want to Be With You” and Burt Bacharach/Hal David’s “Wishin’ and Hopin’.”

Her golden period was the “Dusty in Memphis” sessions, which included the classic “Son of a Preacher Man” and four other songs that are included here. Things were never the same for Springfield after that.

She remained capable of touching you with a vocal style that was sensual, intimate and thoroughly convincing. All too often, however, she fell discouragingly short of that connection.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).