Customer Reviews

Arista Heritage Series: Phyllis Hyman

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Arista is to be commended for issuing this CD, along with some of her standards that have been on several discs, this gem contains some of her best earlier work that has not been on disc. Phyllis has long been known as a ballad vocalist extraordinaire, but listen to her kick it on the old Exile tune, "Kiss You All Over", which is worth the price alone. There is also Phyllis with a piano on "Twenty Five Miles To Anywhere", a tune that stands out as a showpiece for that Voice. "Just Another Face in the Crowd" is a soulful ballad of a broken heart as only she can do them, and "Riding The Tiger" is a silly disco tune that Phyllis at least has fun with, and elevates to club dance tune. The best part of this song is hearing her throaty laugh. "But I Love You" is one of her all time best, a lovely song that lets her soar with emotion, and "Your Move, My Heart" is just beautiful. This release is worthy of your collection, and who knows, maybe Arista will give us more if it sells well.

Most of the songs on this CD have been duplicated on various Hyman compilations. The only reason to buy this CD is because it includes 3 never before released on CD tracks from Hyman's much ignored swansong album for Arista, 1983's "Goddess Of Love". Super rare tracks like "Riding the Tiger", "Your Move, My Heart" and the unbelieveable "Twenty Five Miles To Anywhere" are well worth the budget price of this CD. However, fans may want to wait because Arista is in the process of slowly reissuing Hyman's catalog domestically over the next several months. This is long overdue.

If you are only an occassional Hyman fan or just starting a collection, this compilation only gives a very small sampling of how truly great Phyllis was.

If you are just starting your Phyllis collection, in order to get an idea of how powerful Phyllis was, you should start by collecting her Philadelphia & Zoo recordings, which were done in the mid 80's and early 90's.

Unliked Arista's recent Dionne Warwick, Taylor Daye and 5th Dimension collections that Offered fans NOTHING new to cd. Hyman fans will be pleased to see 6 new tracks to the US cd market (three of the tracks were out on a Japan Arista compilation in 1988 called Sophiscated Lady") But 6 new tracks here makes this a good deal at the budget line GET IT!

Being the HUGEST fan of Phyllis Hyman for many,many years...I am quite surprised that they are giving us anything on this lady.I have virtually "screamed" thru the internet pleading for re-releases on CD what I possess in album.But they have yet to respond...like they are DISMISSING her or something.They could not imagine the lucrative market that this lady will always maintain.(The very same w/earlier Peabo Bryson & Capitol records....just can't seem to get a direct answer from these people).

Phyllis Hyman and Angela Bofill were Arista's early 80's Pop/Jazz divas. Arista helped broaden their careers and expose these 2 unique voices to the public. While Angela enjoyed top success with the Dance hit Too Tough, Phyllis enjoyed her's with Riding The Tiger. It had a tremendous hook remincient of M. Jackson at the time. It's always ignored on her collections, but is finally here in long version. The single would have made her fans happy since it's not her most popular with her die-hard fans. It also includes her collaboration with Barry Manilow Somewhere In My lifetime. Her club classic You Know How To Love Me. it also includes her re-make of Exile's Kiss You All Over (which becacme a hit later on for Arista's No Mercy). There are 2 hot collaberations! One with Norman Connors' Betcha By Golly Wow (a Stylistic's hit) and Can't We Fall In Love Again with Michael Henderson. There are a few tracks left out like Under Your Spell, You Sure Look Good To Me and Tonight You And Me. Most of the tracks are on CD for the first time. A nice collection at a nice price. Thank you Arista.

Despite the inclusion of some of Phyllis' biggest hits, what really makes this CD special is album tracks like "Complete Me", "Just 25 Miles To Anywhere" and "Kiss You All Over".