The 2006 version of The Ultimate Luther Vandross swaps out some of the earlier cuts contained on the 2001 version in favor of later material, such as "Dance with My Father" and he and Beyoncé's version of "The Closer I Get to You". What's baffling is that it leaves out some major hits in favor of a pair of previously unreleased tracks (including the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced, Chic-sampling "Shine"), and the ballad Got You Home which could serve as a sequel to Take You Out (from 2001's Luther Vandross), both of which are front-loaded in the sequence. Vandross was clearly one of the greatest singers of all time and this collection shows it.

Since he had joined Santana in 1972, keyboard player Tom Coster had been Carlos Santana's right-hand man, playing, co-writing, co-producing, and generally taking the place of founding member Greg Rolie. But Coster left the band in the spring of 1978, to be replaced by keyboardist/guitarist Chris Solberg and keyboardist Chris Rhyme. Despite the change, the band soldiered on, and with Inner Secrets, they scored three chart singles: the disco-ish "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)" (#59), "Stormy" (#32), and a cover of Buddy Holly's "Well All Right" (#69), done in the Blind Faith arrangement. (There seems to be a Steve Winwood fixation here. The album also featured a cover of Traffic's "Dealer.") The singles kept the album on the charts longer than any Santana LP since 1971, but it was still a minor disappointment after Moonflower, and in retrospect seems like one of the band's more compromised efforts.

Columbia's 1998 collection of Earth, Wind & Fire's Greatest Hits in many ways stands as the group's definitive compilation. Even though there have been more extensive overviews of the group's work, such as the triple-disc set The Eternal Dance, this is the first collection to contain all of the group's biggest hits on one disc. All but one ("Love Music") of the ten songs from 1978's The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire are included, while six of the ten songs from The Best Of, Vol. 2 are featured; the remaining two cuts on the 17-track collection are the minor early single "Kalimba Story" and the album cut "Gratitude." These are fine additions to the album, but the true meat of the collection lies in the hits – "Shining Star," "That's the Way of the World," "Sing a Song," "Getaway," "Got to Get You Into My Life," "September," "Boogie Wonderland," "After the Love Has Gone," "Let's Groove," and so many others. They might not be presented in chronological order (the only flaw in this otherwise flawless collection), but it's a sheer delight to have all of the hits on one terrifically entertaining and valuable disc.

A 9CD collection entitled 'My Song' is the first and definitive Labi Siffre box-set and is released to celebrate 50 years of an outstanding musical career.A total of 146 recordings - compiled by Labi and including 44 bonus tracks - together with a 32-page picture booklet in which Labi speaks candidly about his career. This exclusive edition contains a photo personally signed by Labi Siffre, limited to Just 500 copies. Containing all of Labi's nine albums: Labi Siffre (1970) The Singer and The Song (1971) Crying Laughing Loving Lying (1972) For The Children (1973) Remember My Song (1975) Happy (1975) So Strong (1988) Man of Reason (1991) and The Last Songs (1998), all of which presented individually in its own CD wallet facsimile of the original album sleeve artwork.

One of the most obscure albums Covay cut, Funky Yo Yo slipped out in 1977 on the tiny Versatile label, with such little notice that it's even escaped getting listed in some discographies. It's a strange record, too, with production so sparse (and some dull muffle to the sound fidelity, though it's not a serious impediment) that one suspects these might be demos, or perhaps not even 1977 recordings. Yet in a way that very rootsy, stripped-down feel makes it appealing, particularly as it was appearing at a time when many fellow soul greats of Covay's generation were issuing bloated, hopeless attempts to jump on the disco bandwagon. Far from emulating Barry White, Covay sounds rather like Van Morrison on much of this material, though the similarity's probably coincidental. Particularly on the more bare-bones arrangements, these actually have a cool intimate feel, as if they're songwriter demos intended for pitches to '60s Atlantic recording artists.