Whoa. There are many Etta James collections out there. The standard-bearers thus far have been the Chess Box and the Essential Etta James. This set attempts to do something else and goes deep into her catalog to dig out the gems from her years with Modern, Argo, Cadet, Chess, Warner Brothers, Island, and Private Music/BMG, and presents the full spectrum of her five-decade career. As such, there are many different kinds of songs here revealing the complexity of the vocalist herself, and as such, thus becomes a real portrait of the artist. Juxtapose, for instance, early sides like "The Wallflower Dance (Dance With Me Henry)," with its wild R&B bravado and the deep soul-blues of "All I Could Do Is Cry," the balladry of "The Man I Love," the bone-crushing blues of "The Sky Is Crying," and the torch song ballad technique on "My Dearest Darling," and the despairing soul inherent in songs such as "All the Way Down," and the listener begins to get an idea of just how vast and deep James talent really is. These 23 cuts give a fine and full picture of all that diversity without sacrificing a note of quality.

With a passel of familiar faces in the cast (ex-James Brown bassist Tim Drummond, pianist Dumpy Rice, harpist Rusty York), the reclusive Mack rocks up some memorable dusties his way – the Falcons' "I Found a Love," and Bobby Bland's "Share Your Love with Me," Little Walter's "My Babe," and Jimmy Reed's chestnut "Baby What You Want Me to Do," along with his own "Gotta Be an Answer".

Darker Than Blue: Soul From Jamdown, 1973–1980 is a compilation album released in 2001. It consists of soul and R&B-styled songs recorded by Jamaican reggae artists, including a number of covers of contemporary American singles.

Spanning the entirety of Luther Vandross' solo career, Lovesongs is stacked full of quiet storm favorites from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. All 17 selections are hits, and like practically everything Vandross ever sang, they're all love songs. Lovesongs is the third in a series of Vandross best-of collections released in the wake of his 2005 passing. The first of those compilations, The Ultimate Luther Vandross (2006), covers his greatest hits chronologically, rounding up 16 songs and then tacking on two previously unreleased ones at the end. Then there's Love, Luther (2007), a 56-track box set filled with previously unreleased material for hardcore fans and completists. Like The Ultimate Luther Vandross before it, Lovesongs is a single-disc collection that goes from the singer's first album, Never Too Much (1981), to his last, Dance with My Father (2003).

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, most from the original master tapes or best sources available. The best pre-1965 Beach Boys album featured their brilliant number one single "I Get Around," as well as other standout cuts in the beautifully sad "Wendy," "Little Honda" (one of their best hot rod tunes, covered by the Hondells for a hit), and their remake of the late-'50s doo wop classic "Hushabye." The nostalgic "All Summer Long," another great production, seemed (whether intentionally or not) like a sort of farewell to the frivolous California beach culture that had supplied the lyrical grist for most of their music up to this point, with a longing, regretful chorus that was totally at odds with the bouncy arrangement.