Johnnie Taylor - Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits CD

Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits buy CD music Additional personnel includes: Bobby Martin, Bert DeCoteaux, Teddy Randazzo (arrangers); James Mack (arranger, piano, Fender Rhodes electric piano); Norman Harris, Bobby Eli, Roland Chambers, Byron Gregory, Ira Siegel, Keith Henderson, Danny Leake (guitar); Chris Cioe (saxophone); Ron Kersey, Theodis Rodgers (piano); Larry Pakula (organ); Lloyd Landesman (keyboards, synthesizer, programming); Terry Fryer (keyboards); Ed Tossing (synthesizer); Steve Goldman (synthesizer, percussion); Vince Montana (vibraphone); Ronnie Baker, Paul Richmond, Russell Keating (bass); Earl Young, Morris Jennings, Jr. (drums); Larry Washington (conga); Bobby Christian (percussion); Morrie Brown (programming); Don Renaldo. This is part of Legacy's Rhythm And Soul series. Recorded at Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Total Experience Sound Studios, Hollywood, California; Universal Studios, Chicago, Illinois; Celestial Sounds and Columbia Recording Studios, New York. Includes liner notes by Virginia Millicent Prescott. Producers: Bobby Martin, The Manhattans (tracks 1-7, 9-12, 19); Bert DeCoteaux, The Manhattans (track 8); Leo Graham (tracks 13-16); Leo Graham, Morrie Brown, Joe McEwen (track 17); Morrie Brown (track 18). Compilation producer: Leo Sacks. Engineers: Kenny Present (tracks 1-2, 7); Don Meehan (track 8); Bob Hughs (tracks 11-12, 19); Stuart Walder (tracks 14-16); Stuart Walder, Mike Ferraro, Steve Goldman, Steve Addabbo (track 17); Steve Goldman (track 18). Personnel: Edward "Sonny" Bivins, George "Smitty" Smith, Gerald Alston, Kenneth "Wally" Kelly, Richard Taylor , Winfred "Blue" Lovett (vocals); Danny Leake, Ira Siegel, Byron Gregory, Keith Henderson, Norman Harris, Roland Chambers, Bobby Eli (guitar); Don Renaldo (strings, horns); Chris Cioe (saxophone); James Mack (piano, Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer); Theodis Rodgers, Theodis Rogers, Ron Kersey (piano); Terry Fryer (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards); Lenny Pakula (organ); Lloyd Landesman (keyboards, synthesizer, drum programming); Steve Goldman (synthesizer, percussion); Ed Tossing (synthesizer); Vince Montana (vibraphone); Morris Brown (drums, drum programming); Earl Young, Morris Jennings (drums); Larry Washington (congas); Bobby Christian (percussion). Recording information: Celestial Sounds Recording Studio, New York, NY; Celestial Sounds, NY; Columbia Recording Studio, New York, NY; Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, PA; Total Experience Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA; Universal Studios, Chicago, IL. Director: Adam Block . Arrangers: James Mack; Bobby Martin ; Teddy Randazzo; Bert de Coteaux. The Best of the Manhattans: Kiss and Say Goodbye is a terrific, 19-song overview of the Manhattans' recordings for Columbia in the '70s. All but two of the group's Top Ten R&B hits for the label are featured -- there's no "We Never Danced to a Love Song" or "Crazy," but "There's No Me Without You," "Don't Take Your Love," "Hurt," "Kiss and Say Goodbye," "I Kinda Miss You," "It Feels So Good to Be Loved So Bad," "Am I Losing You," and "Shining Star" are all present -- and several fine lesser-known singles and album tracks are added for good measure. Although the collection might be a bit too extensive for casual fans, it's the definitive overview of the Manhattans' time as a smooth soul group, illustrating how they helped develop the quiet storm subgenre. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine The Manhattans: Winfred "Blue" Lovett, Gerald "Smut" Alston, Abdul Rashid Talhah [Richard Taylor], Kenneth ...

Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits CD music Additional personnel includes: Sammy Lowe (conductor); Sylvia Robinson (spoken vocals); Tommy Keith (guitar). Recorded between the late 1960s and 1982. Includes liner notes by A. Scott Galloway. The Moments charted regularly on the R&B charts and copped the number three position on the pop charts with "Love on a Two-Way Street." Best of the Moments: Love on a Two-Way Street [Rhino 1996] chronicles a group that underwent some changes before Billy Brown, Al Goodman, and Harry Ray meshed and made the Moments a popular R&B entity. Die-hard fans will notice two omissions: "Girl I'm Going to Miss You," a floater sung by Brown in an aching falsetto, and "Somebody Loves You Baby," the B-side of "Sunday." The inclusion of "I'm Willing" by Harry Ray (one of his solo releases), and an extended version of "Sexy Mama" soften the oversights. Incidentally, Billy Brown sings all the parts on "I Do" -- the lead, the background, and the spoken parts. Essential listening; don't hesitate to add this one to your shopping cart. ~ Andrew Hamilton Willie & The Mighty Magnificents: Willie Feaster (guitar); Bert Keyes (piano); Val Burke (bass); Arnold Ramsey (drums). Live Recording Producers: Sylvia Robinson, Larry Roberts (track 1); Sylvia Robinson, Bert Keyes (track 2); Sylvia Robinson, Nate Edmonds, Kenneth Ruffin (track 3); Sylvia Robinson (tracks 4-5, 9, 15-17); Sylvia Robinson, Nate Edmonds (track 6); George Kerr, Sylvia Robinson (tracks 7-8); Staff (track 10); Sylvia Robinson, Harry Ray, Al Goodman (track 11); Al Goodman, Harry Ray (tracks 12-13); Al Goodman, Harry Ray, Walter Morris (track 14); Sylvia Robinson, Tommy Keith, Joey Robinson, Jr. (track 18). Compilation producers: Scott Galloway, Cary Mansfield. Audio Remasterers: Chris Clarke; Dan Hersch. Liner Note Author: A. Scott Galloway. The Moments: Al Goodman, Billy Brown, Harry Ray, John Morgan, Mark Greene (vocals).

Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits songs Contains material recorded for the Duke-Peacock subsidiary, Back Beat, between 1964 and 1974. O.V. Wright is part of the Pantheon Of 1960s Soul, up there with Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding. He's not as well known as them--at least in America--but his songs have been covered by Redding, the Rolling Stones, Robert Cray, and Ann Peebles. Like Burke and Franklin, his vocal style was heavily based in Southern gospel music, passionately balancing the sacred and the secular. Wright fervently implored, pleaded, and howled his tales of love lost, strayed, thwarted, or shattered. "A Nickel and a Nail" is one of the finest distillations of no-way-out desperation ever recorded. Wright affirms his love to the heavens by crying out the dramatically devotional "I'd Rather Be Blind, Crippled and Crazy." The music is prime Memphis rhythm & blues: full of sharp, terse guitar, rich Hammond organ, and gospel-informed background vocals--tight and funky but never slick. Compilation producer: Andy McKaie. Personnel: O.V. Wright (vocals). Liner Note Author: Bill Bentley. Recording information: 1964-1973.

Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits album for sale Recorded between 1967 and 1991. Includes liner notes by Bill Dahl. The blessing and the curse of Rhino's 2002 collection The Best of Tyrone Davis is its very completeness. It spans from his very first single for the tiny Sack records, "I Tried It Over (And Over Again)," in 1967 to his '90s recordings for Ichiban. This does mean that it's a comprehensive retrospective, tracing the story of his career, but that is a fault because his best material is from the late '60s and early '70s. Although there are certainly fans of Davis' entire career, those classic recordings are what many collectors and fans prefer to hear, and this collection would have been better if it stuck to that. As it stands, this is good for what it is, but there are other collections -- collections without a preponderance of '80s and '90s cuts -- which are better listens. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Rhino's 'Best Of Tyrone Davis' gathers 18 of the R&B love man's biggest hits, many cross-licensed. Features 'Can I Change My Mind', 'Turn Back The Hands Of Time', 'Turning Point' & more. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Compilation producer: Bill Inglot. Audio Remasterer: Dan Hersch. Liner Note Authors: Leo Graham; Tyrone Davis; Bill Dahl. Personnel includes: Tyrone Davis (vocals); Willie Henderson (arranger, baritone saxophone); Tom Washington, James Mack (arranger); Carl Woolfolk (guitar); Bernard Reed (bass); Quinton Joseph (drums). Producers: James Mack, Willie Henderson.

Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits CD music When he died in 1984 at the relatively young age of 48, Z.Z. Hill went down in history as a great blues singer. But he was also an excellent soul singer, and this 1990 CD reminds us that he had as much to do with earthy, gospel-drenched Southern soul as he did with B.B. King-influenced electric blues. Focusing on Hill's Malaco output, Greatest Hits contains some inspired 12-bar numbers (including "Open House at My House," "Shade Tree Mechanic" and Denise LaSalle's "Someone Else Is Steppin' In") but is just as heavy in its R&B content. "Right Arm for Your Love," "Get a Little, Give a Little" and "Cheatin' in the Next Room" serve as fine examples of his unpretentious approach to Stax-influenced soul. And, of course, the CD boasts what became Hill's signature song, the infectious "Down Home Blues." For those who haven't experienced the impressive material Hill was delivering during the last years of his life, this CD would be the appropriate starting point. ~ Alex Henderson Personnel: Z.Z. Hill (vocals); Leroy Emanuel, John Barranco, Jimmy Johnson, Vasti Jackson, Dino Zimmerman (guitar); Stuart McDonald , Brian Gum, David Chappell, Jorge Orbon, Gail Bauser, John Frantz, Bogdan Chruszcz, Bennett Randman, Linda Geidel, Kathy Robinson, Guy Weddle, Marjorie Lash, Ann Mason, Bob McNally, Mickey Davis, Peggy Plucker, Janet Dressler, Claudette Hampton, Marguerite Haldeman (strings); Walter King, Harrison Calloway, Chris Colelessor, Jim Horn, Ben Cauley, Whit Sidener, Dana Teboe, Charles Rose, Harvey Thompson, Ronnie Eades, Kenneth Faulk (horns); Carson Whitsett (keyboards); Carl Marsh (synthesizer); George Allen, Ray Griffin, Don Barrett (bass guitar); Glen Holmes, James Robertson, Owen Hale (drums); Valerie Williams, Charlotte Chenault, Jewel Bass, Kathy Young, Thomisene Anderson, Tommy Tate (background vocals). Photographers: Peter Damroth; Marion Vance.

Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits buy CD music Digitally remastered by Ivan Joseph Goldberg (Miracle Mastering Studios, New York, New York). Tyrone Davis seems to have more than his share of hits compilations, both domestic through Brunswick and imported courtesy of Diablo, but the rejuvenated 20 Greatest Hits earns the recommendation because of its digital remastering job. Davis' gritty yearning and the stylish, brassy productions of Brunswick's Willie Henderson and Carl Davis sound better than ever on his biggest and best hits, "Can I Change My Mind" (quickly followed by the nearly identical "Is It Something You've Got") and "Turn the Back Hands of Time." Though 20 Greatest Hits doesn't feature as expansive a track listing as Diablo's Turning Back the Hands of Time, the crisp sound and detailed liner notes make it an easy first pick for fans of Davis' expressive uptown sound. ~ John Bush Includes liner notes by Robert Pruter. 20 Digitally Tracks Liner Note Author: Robert Pruter.