Patti LaBelle - Greatest Love Songs (CD)

All Music Guide

Patti Labelle's Greatest Love Songs collection draws from a broad selection of her solo albums, beginning with her 1977 debut for Epic and extending all the way to her 1997 Flame album for MCA. As you can imagine, Labelle's music went through quite a few changes over that 20-year period -- from disco and quiet storm to adult contemporary RB and urban -- and though her vocals don't necessarily reflect these changing times, the music backing her vocals certainly does. Here's what you get on his well-rounded best-of: a few tracks from her late-'70s flirtation with lite disco, most notably "Joy to Have Your Love"; a few of her quiet storm recordings on Philadelphia International with Kenny Gamble and Bunny Sigler at the helm, most notably "Love, Need and Want You" and "If You Only Knew"; a late-'80s Diane Warren-penned song, "If You Asked Me To"; and quite a few of her adult contemporary '90s hits, most notably the Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis-produced "Someone Like You" and "The Right Kinda Love...r," the Teddy Riley-produced "This Word Is All," and the post-Philadelphia International Bunny Sigler-produced "Somebody Loves You Baby (You Know Who It Is)." As you can see, there's no shortage of highlights here -- every song on this collection is a career highlight for Labelle. However, there's a glaring shortage of her '80s material and an overemphasis on her '90s work with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. And though this is arguably an appropriate bias on the part of Hip-O, those who aren't familiar with Labelle's pre-'90s work are a bit cheated with this collection's contemporary focus. Still, this is a petty complaint; for the most part, there's nothing to complain about here -- this collection is filled to the brim with great love songs. You shouldn't be disappointed. - Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide Read more Less