It took quite a while for a definitive
Barry White compilation to hit the market, but All-Time Greatest Hits -- part of Mercury's Funk Essentials series -- finally filled the bill in 1995. Boasting a full 20 tracks from
White's heyday of 1973-1978, more than half of which made the
r&b Top Ten, All-Time Greatest Hits is easily the most generous single-disc
White collection on the market. It includes the edited single versions, not the full-length album tracks, which actually makes for a more digestible introduction to
White's achievements. Like his forebear
Isaac Hayes,
White was not just a deep-voiced crooner, but a talented producer and arranger who'd spent years honing his craft behind the scenes in the industry. And like
Hayes,
White spent a great deal of time setting up moods on his albums, using lush, sweeping orchestrations to build very gradually to climaxes. (Actually, that probably explains a good deal of his effectiveness.) But
White was not simply a
Hayes disciple; his swirling productions were less complex than
Hayes', but more in tune with the emerging
disco sound, which certainly boosted his popularity. Plus, he took full advantage of
r&b's new lyrical permissiveness in the wake of
Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On. If his voice was limited, it was also a tremendous asset for the kind of music he recorded -- deep, resonant, caressing, but always suggestively masculine. The total package made
White an
r&b love-man icon not just for the
disco era, but all time. For all but the most dedicated fans, All-Time Greatest Hits is one-stop shopping. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
