It was inevitable that Whitney Houston would be subjected to a greatest-hits album after her untimely death in the spring of 2012 death, and I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston is the first of these, an ...

It should come as no surprise that a woman who counts Dionne Warwick as a cousin, Aretha Franklin as a family friend, and whose mother was a legendary session and gospel singer, became a phenomenally successful R&B act. Perhaps more ...

(saxophone, keyboards, vocals); Abdul Raoof (trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion); Jason "T.C." Bryant (keyboards, vocals); John Alexander Simpson (bass, vocals); James Earl Jones III (drums, vocals); Jerome "JT" All songs written by James Harris III and Terry Lewis except "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" ...

If you're only going to get one Madonna record, or if you want to find out what the fuss is about, start here. THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION compiles the cream of Madonna's '80s singles, from the dancefloor innocence of "Holiday" to ...

It is impossible to overrate Otis Redding. This Rhino compilation, while in no way comprehensive, is nonetheless an outstanding sampler of songs by one of soul music's all-time titans. There's not a dud among these 16 songs, and some, like ...

Recorded at the Hit Factory, New York. Producers: Mariah Carey, Loris Holland, Walter Afanasieff. Composers: Mariah Carey; Walter Afanasieff. Personnel: Mariah Carey (vocals, background vocals); Dann Huff (guitar); Lenny Pickett (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Greg Phillinganes, Loris Holland (piano); Walter Afanasieff (keyboards, synthesizer, ...

This is part of Motown Records' "The Ultimate Collection" series. With the exception of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, one would be hard pressed to name a Motown act who went through as many creative shifts as the Temptations. While Wonder's ...

Recorded between 1987 & 1997. Includes liner notes by Tracey Helen New. Singer/songwriter Keith Sweat struck gold, platinum actually, right out of the gate with the multi-million-selling MAKE IT LAST FOREVER, an electric debut that spawned four top-10 R&B hits, one ...

All the subtle variations on Kem's sound -- his exceptionally smooth adult contemporary R&B, modern quiet storm that has earned the singer two gold-selling albums -- add up to a set that doesn't sound like a mere rehash of his ...

Lionel Richie's birthplace is Tuskegee, Alabama so for his 2012 country duets album, Tuskegee, he is trumpeted as the country boy returning to his roots. And there's something to that: as a songwriter, Richie has had success on the country ...

Recorded between 1956 & 1967. Includes liner notes by Fred Bronson. This is a superb single-disc distillation of the Platters' biggest hits, with all 15 of their first Top Forty hits, an astonishing run that went from 1955's "Only You (And ...

Aaliyah's debut paved the way for a legion of teen-aged female R&B singers, including Brandy, Monica and 702. Aaliyah is no kid, though; she sings with a maturity that belies her age. Much about her life has changed, but she ...

There's probably a better way to celebrate "35 years of soul." This Greatest Hits, oddly enough, is a compacted edition (not advertised as such, for obvious reasons) of another Greatest Hits title released roughly seven years prior. It is that ...

Holiday records were a staple of the Motown, Atlantic, and Stax release schedules during the golden age of soul music, but in the 1980s few R&B acts picked up the baton. Although it hasn't dated particularly well, My Gift to ...

After a stint judging the U.S. TV talent show The Voice, the hugely popular diva returns to making music of her own with this seventh studio album, the follow-up to 2010's Bionic. Having divorced in 2010, she viewed this album ...

It doesn't take much listening to Amy Winehouse's 1960s pop period piece to realize that this is a tribute with an edge--nice girls back then didn't sing about boozing and rehab. Since her 2003 debut album, FRANK, Winehouse has been ...

Aired on VH-1 and PBS, the video of SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE includes new interviews, performances, and additional footage not previously seen. This is a limited edition digipak. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Recorded at the Hit Factory, New York, ...

The '60s Blues Revival begins here. Calling this album influential is an understatement akin to calling the Grand Canyon a rut; suffice to say that an entire generation of musicians (mostly young and white) heard this and had their lives ...

This is an Enhanced audio CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files including the video for "California Love." ALL EYEZ ON ME was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. "California Love," featuring Dr. Dre ...

This is one of the most classic R&B Christmas albums ever recorded; the Temptations come steppin' in prime form. With a chiming introduction, "Give Love on Christmas Day" is an uplifting jingle showcasing Glenn Leonard's unwavering falsetto on lead. "Everything ...

Boz Scaggs's 1976 breakthrough, SILK DEGREES, was not only his biggest-selling album, it was also one of his best. Here Scaggs collaborated with keyboardist and bandleader David Paich, who would soon form the hugely successful band Toto with this record's ...

ME AGAINST THE WORLD was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. "Dear Mama" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance. Forget everything you've heard and assumed about rapper/actor 2Pac and think only of his music, which has ...

Recorded from 1965 to 1972. Includes liner notes by Parke Puterbaugh. A satisfying budget-priced compilation, THE VERY BEST OF THE RASCALS is as good as any (Young) Rascals compilation out there. While Rhino's two-disc ANTHOLOGY 1965-1972 has it beat in terms ...

Recorded in Miami, Florida; The Hit Factory, New York, New York; Ocean Way and Encore Studios, Los Angeles, California; Tarpan Studios, San Rafael, California; Larrabee Sound Studios and Summa Music Group, West Hollywood, California; Studio LaCoCo, Atlanta, Georgia; Quad Studio, ...

Spanning the band's early-'70s genesis as an unhinged funk congregation and their later resurgence with urbane R&B balladry and synth-inflected disco, The Very Best of Kool & the Gang may not be a unified collection, but it is the first ...