VA Move on Up: The Very Best of Northern Soul Vol.2 (2016)

The Very Best of 1989–2023 is a compilation album by Scottish rock band Texas, released on 16 June 2023 through PIAS Recordings. It includes two new recordings, "After All" and "Keep on Talking". The album debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart.

Similar to Deep Beats' electro collection, the Prelude volume in the Absolutely series covers the disco and proto-house label with tracks by Jocelyn Brown, Sharon Redd, "D" Train, France Joli and Musique, among others. The contributors aren't quite as essential as the remixers, however; no less a collection of production all-stars than Shep Pettibone, Francois Kervorkian, Larry Levan and Tony Humphries contribute extended remixes, all of them contemporary with the original Prelude release. The result is a compilation which charts the changeover from '70s disco to '80s house.

Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to devise a new form of black pop by merging '50s R&B with gospel-powered vocals, adding plenty of flavor from contemporary jazz, blues, and (in the '60s) country. Then there was his singing; his style was among the most emotional and easily identifiable of any 20th century performer, up there with the likes of Elvis and Billie Holiday. He was also a superb keyboard player, arranger, and bandleader. The brilliance of his 1950s and '60s work, however, can't obscure the fact that he made few classic tracks after the mid-'60s, though he recorded often and performed until the year before his death.