The Notations

Some years back this CD would have been a dream come true. Now we have pretty much seen all their slow jams on the many rare soul oldies compilations out there. None the less this is a must have for any serious collector. With the exception of the last track the sound quality is solid and you get good liner notes to help us gain a little insight on the group. Highlights include the classic "I'm Still Here", "What More Can I Say", "At The Crossroads", "Leading Lady"..........just go pick up your copy. The Numero Group gives us the real thing here! This is far better than the "Very Best Of"  compilation out there, no comparison on sound quality.
8 out of 10

Switch

"Love Over And Over Again" is my choice for standout here.
3 out of 10

The Persuaders

I reviewed their two disc release some time back but given the poor sound quality in some of that material I have to post and recommend this import over the other. The title track is their strongest ballad by far. Others worth noting are "Love Gonna Pack Up (And Walk Out"), "Let's Get Down Together" and 'Can't Go No Further And Do No Better".
5 out of 10

The Chosen Few

The main jam here is "I Can't Take No Chances". Another decent track worth mentioning is "Something's Bad".
4 out of 10

The Manhattans

I have picked up a few more CD's on the Manhattans since by original post. These guys got down on mellow ballads. Highlights include "The Picture Became Quite Clear", "If My Heart Could Speak", "It's Gonna Take A Lot To Bring Me Back", "It's The Only Way", "One Life To Live", nothing really unknown to the collector.
5 out of 10

Brainstorm

Judging by the cover I would have never thought this group would have such a nice ballad as in "You Put A Charge In My Life". The rest of the tracks are upbeat dance numbers.
4 out of 10

The One-Derful Collection: One-Derful! Records

First release in this series counts with "All For You" by The Admirations, "Meet Me Halfway" by Beverly Shaffer and "The Town I Live In" by McKinley Mitchell.
4 out of 10

Step By Step

A nice but not outstanding ballad in "Don't Leave Me" included here. Not sure about other copies out there  but in mine track 10 plays a few seconds only. Sound quality is not as good as I would have liked.
2 out of 10

Love & Happiness

Standard tracks by The Chi-Lites, Al Green, Aaron Neville and others that are available in countless other compilations. Makes good listening for the casual soul music fan but not for those who seek the obscure.
4 out of 10

Michael Valvanos Contours

Took a chance since the price was too low to ignore but to me it ended up not worth it. You can skip this one if you dig ballads only like myself.
1 out of 10

The One-Derful Collection: Mar-V-Lus Records

I am picking these up as they come out to add to my collection. This released does not have a solid ballad that would make me recommend this pick up.
1 out of 10

The Eliminators

If you don't mind rough lead vocals these guys have a couple of very good ballads in "Taking Love, And Making Love" and "Try, Try, Try". The rest of the material is upbeat.
4 out of 10

Deniece Williams

I picked this one up solely for her cover of "It's Gonna Take A Miracle". "Silly" is decent but I just could not get into the rest of the material here.
2 out of 10

Rhyze

One nice slow jam ("What Can I Do About This Feeling) mixed in with upbeat numbers.
3 out of 10

Soul Generation

Standout here is "I Wonder What She's Doing" with other nice tracks in "I've Got That Loving Feeling" and "Hooked On Love". It also has a few more modern sounding tracks that I did not care much for.
4 out of 10