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(2001) Michael McDonald - The Very Best of Michael McDonald
Wikipedia:
Michael McDonald (born February 12, 1952) is an American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone[1] singing style. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan. He became a member of The Doobie Brothers from 1976 to 1982, a period which resulted in several hit songs for the band. He has won five Grammy Awards.
Review:
On one hand, Michael McDonald's new collection is an amazing collection of his best work. It gives us his duets "Yah Mo B There" and "On My Own" in the same place. The previously unreleased "Higher Ground" is a powerful number, and "Get the Word Started" is a good one from after his first hits collection "Sweet Freedom-Best of". And yet most of these songs are repeats, which is understandable, since you can't forget "I Keep Forgetting" or "By Heart." But 6 of the songs are from his "No Lookin' Back" album, while his recent album "Blue Obsession" is mentioned in the liner notes but not represented by any song on the cd. Is "Bad Times" essential McDonald? I would be more curious about a track from his latest album sounds like so I could see if I wanted to get it. Instead, I'm fed nearly the whole "No Lookin' Back" album and thus would have no need to purchase that cd for only a couple different songs. And although it's hard to cover everything McDonald did even with 16 tracks, his first solo album "If That's What It Takes" only scored two songs, equal to the amount from "Blink of an Eye" which failed to chart. In spite of these questionable inclusions and exclusions, The album has a clear sound that celebrates McDonald's unique voice. That is what I feel it raises to level of a five-star album, every song is good when McDonald sings it. And the liner notes are about 8 pages and give a biography and photos of Michael while noting trivia about the individual songs on this disc. Some would argue for marketing reasons that it's important to "fill it with hits" rather than show the artist's range from "Ain't that Peculiar" to "Down by the River." And yet if they put in more reasons to check it out like the one previously unreleased "Higher Ground", it would have been a more rewarding album. Nonetheless, whether seen as a former Doobie Brother, a pop hitmaker, or a pure musician, McDonald delivers the goods.
Review By Edgar Alberts
Rate 5/5
Track List:
01. No Lookin' Back - 3:51
02. I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near) - 3:42
03. I Gotta Try - 3:53
04. Our Love (Theme from "No Mercy'') (Single Version) - 4:22
05. Yah Mo B There (with James Ingram) (Single Version) - 4:32
06. On My Own (with Patti LaBelle) - 4:39
07. By Heart - 4:37
08. Bad Times - 4:23
09. Matters of the Heart - 4:29
10. Sweet Freedom (Single Version) - 4:05
11. Get the Word Started - 5:40
12. Any Foolish Thing - 4:24
13. Take It To Heart - 5:54
14. Higher Ground (Previously Unissued) - 4:03
15. Lost In the Parade - 3:49
16. Blink of an Eye - 4:53
Summary:
Country: USA
Genre: R&B, soul, blue-eyed soul, pop, soft rock
Format: Track + .cue file
Media Report:
Source : CD
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : ~750-977 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
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