Music Review: - Ultimate Grammy® Collection (7 CD Series)

As the Grammy® awards get ready to celebrate their fiftieth anniversary with its annual show to air February 10, 2008 on CBS, Shout Factory has released the 7 CD Ultimate Grammy® Collection.

The set consists of Contemporary R&B, Contemporary Pop, Classic R&B, Classic Pop, Contemporary Rock, Classic Country, and Contemporary Country collections. Each of the artists featured on this 100 plus song compilation is a Grammy® winner. One thing is for sure, there isn’t a real dud in the entire set.

In his liner notes for each CD, 27 time Grammy® Award winner Quincy Jones writes: “A Grammy® song is one that has done the impossible: It has burned its way into your DNA. Grammy® songs are our shared history. They are the songs of the places and people that matter. They mark time."

All of the songs on the Ultimate Grammy® Collection are capable of bringing back memories: a first date, a prom, a marriage, the birth of a child, etc. Music plays a powerful role in many people lives, and the Ultimate Grammy® Collection serves to bring some of the best songs of our time together in one collection. Some are legends, while others only had one or two big hits, but all influenced our musical culture in some way.

Contemporary R&B features a wide range of artists. Anita Baker, Terence Trent D’arby, Soul II Soul, Luther Vandross, Ray Charles, Sade, Toni Braxton, Boys II Men, Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre, R. Kelly, Brandy & Monica, TLC, Whitney Houston, D’Angelo, Usher, Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z. The set offers a pretty nice overview of the artists that have won Grammy®s in the R&B categories from 1988-2006.

Contemporary Pop spans the last 14 years and includes the winners of Grammy®s for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Dance Recording, and Best New Artist. The set begins with k.d. lang’s 1992 hit “Constant Craving,” and ends with John Mayer’s 2006 hit, “Gravity.” Most of the songs on this disc are instantly familiar and provide a solid overview of Grammy® winning pop music over the last 14 years.

Classic R&B stands as one of my favorites in the Ultimate Grammy® Collection. This set covers almost 20 years, spanning 1967-1985. Any compilation that begins with Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” and continues with Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man” is getting off on the right foot. Otis Redding is featured with his 1968 double Grammy® winning tune “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay.” Of course, Redding died before the song became a massive hit. Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” is a bona fide classic; the man put the rhythm into rhythm and blues. “Midnight Train to Georgia” by Gladys Knight & The Pips remains the perfect sing-a-long-song, and Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” is likewise a tribute to his tremendous talent. The man was taken too soon.

Article Author: Rebecca Wright

Rebecca is a freelance writer, concentrating in the areas of film, television and music criticism. Her B.A. is in the Humanities with an emphasis in film and writing.She holds an M.A. in American and British literature with an emphasis in dystopian …

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