TIME LIFE Music back in 2000 produced a box set of 10 2-CD volumes of Soul and R&B hits marketed and sold on TV. Later, the individual volumes were sold in stores. Body + Soul: Sweet Seduction is Volume Two in this series and features songs from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s digitally remastered. As in most collections like this, there are some hits and misses. I’m a fan of Brenda Russell’s “Piano In The Dark” and “Do Me Baby” (written by Prince) by Meli’sa Morgan. Familiar songs like Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” and The Temptatons’ “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” rub shoulders with less familiar songs like “You Don’t Have to Cry” by Rene and Angela. Do you remember these songs? Do you see any favorites here? GRADE: A-
TRACK LIST:
Disc: 1
1. Power Of Love/Love Power – Luther Vandross
2. If Only You Knew – Patti Labelle
3. I Believe In You And Me – The Four Tops
4. Distant Lover – Marvin Gaye
5. Reunited – Peaches And Herb
6. La La Means I Love You – The Delfonics
7. You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song) – Jeffrey Osborne
8. Do Me Baby – Meli’sa Morgan
9. Just To Be Close To You – Commodores
10. If I Were Your Woman – Glady’s Knight And The Pips
11. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) – The Temptations
12. You Don’t Have To Cry – Rene And Angela
Disc: 2
1. Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe – Barry White
2. Baby Come To Me – Regina Belle
3. Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
4. Special Lady – Ray, Goodman And Brown
5. I’ll Be Good To You – The Brothers Johsnon
6. Cherish – Kool And The Gang
7. Being With You – Smokey Robinson
8. You Are My Lady – Freddie Jackson
9. Love Ballad – L.T.D.
10. Stairway To Heaven – The O’Jays
11. Turn Off The Lights – Teddy Pendergrass
12. Piano In The Dark – Brenda Russell
My favorites would be The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. Not familiar with a lot of these. Always hated Barry White.
Steve, there’s a musical in previews on Broadway about The Temptations and their music. I might have to travel to NYC to see it!
A lot more misses than hits for me!
Bob, I thought you were more soulful!
I have soul up the ying yang! There are some great songs in there but a lot of chaff, too.
Bob, I’ve noticed this TIME LIFE CD compilations include some “weak” songs. I’m guessing they came at a bargain price!
Wow—primo make-out music here! My favorites in this collection are “La La Means I Love You,” “Just to Be Close to You,” “Love Ballad,” and “I’ll Be Good to You”—which brings up the question, whatever happened to the Brothers Johnson? They were protégées of Quincy Jones and they had some great songs like “Strawberry Letter 23” and (my favorite) “Stomp” and then seemed to go radio silent.
Deb, I’ll have to do some research into the Brothers Johnson. I like your choices!
Also—I hope your surgery went well, George, and you’re recovering with Netflix and ice cream!
Deb, I watched most of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY yesterday (7 of the 10 episodes). The Netflix version varies from the graphic novels (no surprise). My nose looks pretty chewed up by the laser, but I’m applying the medications and hopefully everything will turn out okay. I meet with my plastic surgeon for a follow-up visit tomorrow. I’ll update my blog entry when I learn more. Thank you for your concern!
BROTHER JOHNSON UPDATE: George and Louis Johnson achieved most of their success in the 1970s. They broke up in 1982. Every few years thereafter, the Brothers Johnson would unite for a recording project or a “Farewell” tour. Lewis Johnson died in 2015.
What was I doing when all of you were listening to these? I have to reach the conclusion that I am not that much of a music lover. (Shame!) We tend to play classical if anything.
Patti, when I was a teenager, I listened to my transistor radio (remember them?) constantly. I loved popular music. Later, I got into my parents’ Broadway soundtrack albums (CAMELOT, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S, etc.). And I finally grew fond of classical music. I have hundreds of classical music CDs that I haven’t gotten around to listening to yet. Netflix and HULU and AMAZON PRIME TV cut into a lot of my former listening time!
A parental record collection is usually fun to explore…my mother had rock and dance-music albums and a bit of blues and my father had jazz and classical and a few comedy records. I eventually brought in the bluegrass, folk, spoken word and a lot more rock, jazz, classical and comedy, and some more blues and world music, before I moved out (I would spend my lunch money on books, magazines and records fairly often). My younger sister was happy to delve in the family collection.
Todd, my parents loved Broadway musicals. They had soundtracks–CAMELOT, MY FAIR LADY, OLKAHOMA, etc–that I have etched into my brain because they were played hundreds of times. Same for BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S. The first album I bought was Bob Dylan’s HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED in 1965. A little more than a decade later, when I first started dating Diane, one look at her album collection convinced me we would be compatible. There was significant overlap in our album collections. We still have similar musical tastes today.
I don’t think anyone could call “Let’s Get It On” ‘forgotten’ by any standard, but that aside, a few good choices there. I’d add the Delfonics and Temptations to the Marvin Gaye in my Top Three. I did not care for Barry White at the time, but his stuff has grown on me over the years.
I first saw The Temptations in concert in the mid-60s. Their choreography was dazzling and of course they had some of my all time favorite songs. I’m hopeful about their jukebox musical but not counting on it.
Jeff, Diane and I have seen several “jukebox” musicals over the years. We loved the Carole King musical, BEAUTIFUL. We were less impressed by the Billy Joel musical, MOVIN’ OUT. MOTOWN: THE MUSICAL was okay, but the original music by the original artists was much better.
I agree. BEAUTIFUL was good. One that you missed (lucky you!) that was eminently missable (even though Maggie Mason loved it) was Jimmy Buffett’s ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE. (The Times credit quipped that it should have been called ESCAPE FROM MARGARITAVILLE.) We’ve seen him in concert many, many times, but this was so bad that Jackie was almost ready to walk out at intermission.
The better ones for us: JERSEY BOYS and (yes) MAMMA MIA. Also SMOKEY JOE’S CAFE (Leiber & Stoller songs). MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET was okay.
Jeff, we loved MAMMA MIA! We’ve seen JERSEY BOYS twice. MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET and SMOKEY JOE’S CAFE were okay.
TImes “critic” rather than credit.
I have to admit that I never heard of most of these artists, with the exception of the Temptations and Marvin Gaye whom I really liked – but my choice of favourite
songs would be different:
I heard it through the grapevine of course and my all time favourite: It Takes Two
and “My Girl” and Papa was a Rollin’ Stone.
But I really was into Blues and enjoyed the resurrection of the blues by those British musicians.
I’ve probably written about this before:
From listening to AFN (American Forces Radio) i learned many songs (and tried to understand American English …).
And when I bought my first 7inch record and played it all afternoon my parents almost fainted:
What’d I say … 🙂
Wolf, you must have heard that the Freddie Mercury bio pic, Bohemian Rhapsody, did well in the States at the Box Office. It’s out on Blu-ray and DVD now. I’ve already seen a preview of an upcoming bio pic of Elton John that’s going to be released this Summer. Who said there’s no money in music!
Who is the woman on the cover
Shamat, the woman on the cover is not credited in the liner notes. Sorry.