Hank Crawford Heart And Soul [the Hank Crawford Anthology] (2cd) (1994)

Hank Crawford's fifth in his long string of Milestone recordings was the first of several to team the soulful altoist with organist Jimmy McGriff. Guitarists George Benson and the lesser-known Jim Pittsburgh are on three songs apice while Bernard Purdie is on drums except on "Frim Fram Sauce" where Mel Lewis takes his spot. The superior material and the infectious swing supplied by McGriff and his rhythm mates inspire Hank Crawford to some of his best playing of the era.

I have a collection of 135 titles (142 CDs) issued by Goldmine/Soul Supply record company. This is not a box set but rather it is a collection of albums that are similar in that they all are rare soul compilations by the same company. There are some tracks that are on more than one album but considering the scope and magnitude of this collection, the number of duplicated tracks is small. Some CDs have good artwork, some have none, most have some artwork of varying quality. All are 320 CBR MP3 and are fully tagged. Original post now has added CDs.

One of the most consistent and most soulful of all jazz altoists, Hank Crawford sounds at his best when he has strong melodies to wrap his tone around, and when he can dig into the blues. Both aspects are true during this quartet outing which he co-leads with organist Jimmy McGriff. Crawford sounds particularly strong on "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid" and "Hank's Groove" and even if "Any Day Now" is a bit of a misfire, the interplay between the altoist and the organist (helped out by guitarist Jimmy Ponder's occasional solos and strong support from drummer Vince James) makes this an excellent soul jazz effort overall.

The subtitle on this anthology is correct: this is truly the definitive collection of the 5th Dimension's music, including all the hits and most of the album cuts that anyone could want. The 20-bit digital mastering provides a crisp, bright audio experience, and the joyous harmonies bring back the positive side of the late-'60s/early-'70s era in which the songs were recorded. The megahits are all here.

This collection is a comprehensive, 4-CD curation of T'Pau's Virgin Records career: all those glorious singles from the mighty, quadruple platinum debut album Bridge Of Spies ('87), the two Top Ten albums which followed, the platinum-selling Rage ('88) and Top 10 gold-selling The Promise ('91), plus a glimmering collector's grotto of B-sides, remixes, tantalising rarities and unreleased demo versions of the songs which lit up the late-80s skyline like luminous shooting stars. This sumptuous box set includes unseen photos, memorabilia and an essay by Sylvia Patterson, ex-Smash Hits writer and author of acclaimed book (nominated for the Costa Award) I'm Not With the Band.