(2001) Michael McDonald - The Very Best of Michael McDonald    


Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
For too long, there wasn't a Michael McDonald compilation available domestically. Rhino/Warner Archives' 2001 release The Very Best of Michael McDonald corrects that situation, offering a generous 16 tracks, including duets and a previous unreleased version of Higher Ground. The collection concentrates solely on his solo recordings for Warner/Reprise, which means it ends in 1993 and doesn't include anything from his long-delayed 2000 album. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because McDonald stopped having hits in the late '80s, so there's nothing missing (even though casual fans can be forgiven for wondering why latter-day Doobie Brothers singles aren't here; at a certain point, those became indistinguishable from McDonald's solo work). At its best -- which would be "No Lookin' Back," "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)," "Yah Mo Be There," "On My Own," and "Sweet Freedom" -- this captures everything that's good about laid-back, West Coast, soul-tinged soft rock. At its worst, it's professional, well constructed, and listenable, lacking only songs that work their way underneath your skin. In a way, the length works against the compilation, since the merely pleasant feels like padding, but McDonald's greatest hits remain sterling examples of finely made, soft blue-eyed soul. — allmusic


   


Track List:
01 No Lookin' Back
02 I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)
03 I Gotta Try
04 Our Love (Theme from ''No Mercy'') (Single Version)
05 Yah Mo B There (with James Ingram) (Single Version)
06 On My Own (with Patti LaBelle)
07 By Heart
08 Bad Times
09 Matters of the Heart
10 Sweet Freedom (Single Version)
11 Get the Word Started
12 Any Foolish Thing
13 Take It To Heart
14 Higher Ground (Previously Unissued)
15 Lost In the Parade
16 Blink of an Eye


Media Report:
Genre: Pop, Rock
Country: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)


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