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Rick James
Anthology
RELEASE
June 18, 2002
LABEL
Universal Distribution
GENRES
Rhythm & Blues, Funk, Urban
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Album Review
The release of the
Rick James
Anthology
completes a set of
James
best-ofs at various price points. 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rick James is a discount-priced album,
Ultimate Collection
is a full-priced single-disc set, and
Anthology
is a two-and-a-half-hour, two-CD version of the
Rick James
story. Eighteen of the 23 Top 40 R&B hits that
James
scored between 1978 and 1988 are included (the most notable omission is the 1985 R&B Top Ten and pop chart entry "Can't Stop" from the movie Beverly Hills Cop) along with some key album tracks, two of them, "Fire and Desire" and "Happy," duets with
James
protégée
Teena Marie
. His other collaborators include
Smokey Robinson
("Ebony Eyes") and
the Temptations
(with a 12" remix of "Standing on the Top" that runs nearly ten minutes). Included for the first time on a
James
compilation is his final major hit, "Loosey's Rap," featuring
Roxanne Shanté
, which appeared originally on Reprise Records in 1988.
James
' influence on popular music remains apparent on these tracks, largely in his grooves -- the rhythm pattern on "Give It to Me Baby" was borrowed by
Michael Jackson
for "Thriller," for example, and of course
MC Hammer
created "U Can't Touch This" by rapping over the musical track of "Super Freak" -- but also in his unabashedly lascivious lyrical content. "I led the life I was singing about in my songs,"
James
tells
David Ritz
in the excellent liner notes, and that may help explain why he had such a hard time in the 1990s. But the best of his '70s and '80s material is to be found here.
–
William Ruhlmann, Rovi
Track Listing
You and I
Mary Jane
Hollywood
Bustin' Out (On Funk)
Fire It Up
Love Gun
Come Into My Life
When Love Is Gone
Big Time
Island Lady
Give It to Me Baby
Super Freak
Fire and Desire
Dance Wit' Me
Standing on the Top [12-Inch Version]
Hard to Get
Happy
69 Times
My Love
U Bring the Freak Out
Cold Blooded
Ebony Eyes
P.I.M.P. the S.I.M.P.
17 [Single Version]
Glow
Moon Child
Sweet and Sexy Thing
Loosey's Rap
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