Customer Reviews

Jody Watley - Greatest Hits

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The late 80's were the best time in pop music. Pop was fun and enjoyable and not taken too seriously. With women artists like Jody Watley, Expose, Taylor Dayne, Debbie Gibson, and Paula Abdul dancing their ways up the charts, it was a very feel-good time. I find it sad that today, few people seem to remember Jody Watley. She won the Grammy for best new artist in 1988 and had an impressive six top 10 hits from 1987-1990. "Looking For A New Love" was her break-through hit. It was huge and perched itself @ #2 on the pop charts for four weeks. She had two other top 10 hits from her debut which were "Some Kind of Lover"(#10 on pop charts) and the infectious "Don't You Want Me" (#6). My favorite Jody Watley song also came from her debut which is the catchy dance pop of "Most of All" which wasn't as big on pop radio, but did climb to #11 on the R&B chart. All of these songs are represented here. Her sophomore album "Larger Than Life" gave her three more top 10's. "Real Love" hit #2 while "Friends" also hit the top 10 @ #9. It was an innovative song. Now everyone and their mama uses rappers in their songs, but it was still a relatively new concept when Jody did it. "Everything" was her top 5 smash pop ballad, and of course it's here too. Later singles didn't do as well although "I'm the One You Need" did crack the top 20. Also on here are the dancey "Ecstacy" which is sure to have you grooving and the more artsy "When A Man Loves A Woman."

I'm going to vent that its ridiculous that this is out of print. It's her "Greatest Hits" collection for goodness sake! It's bad enoughthat her all her studio albums are out of print.How can anyone enjoy her music???

Jody Wately was the reigning diva of the dance music scene in the late eighties with good reason. Her songs were infectiously light and fun. She might be the most underestimated dance/R&B singer just do to the fact that she only had one important time period, and it wasn't exactly a stellar time in musical enlightenment.

She can just about do it all from the American dance hooks of "Don't You Want Me" to the hip-hop convention/confection of "Friends" with the unforgettable rhymes of Rakim and Eric B. The track is fun R&B faire but with sensibly biting lyrics and a cool almost Europe club groove and rap wisdom. "Some Kind Of Lover" is one of those almost lost club tracks with keyboard sharpness and a voice that a sexy voice that keeps the song fun yet also legitly R&B. A beautiful street pop ballad in "Everything" proves her vocal beauty that could have been masked as production. Also choice vocals are found the funky jazz of "Your Love Keeps Me Working On Me". Sexy R&B faire but perhaps not radio friendly enough. What do they know anyway? "Ecstasy" is also a lost case for radio with a great club beat and a passionful voice. Don't forget the simple pop pleasure of songs like "Most Of All" and her breakthrough "Looking For A New Love". "When A Man Loves A Woman" is the only true loser. It's a monotonous odd pop tune that is more new age than pop. Kind of a lost cause.

Unlike most hits sets, this doesn't miss a beat if you ask me, touching on all of her career from huge monsters like dance pop of "Real Love" and what-could-have-been hit funky R&B of "I Want You". She isn't just a creature of the dance pop movement but rather a great soul singer that just got musical cast. Her voice has a lot of desire that you hear in songs like "Everything". For a great mix of nineties R&B and eighties dance, this set is a must.

Jody Watley came to the music scene after leaving her former group Shalamar, she overshadow anything she did with them, cuz honestly her fame and achievment was greater than anything that she did with the funky soul train group. Her funkyness was unique, different, from many upbeat artist like Paula Abdul or Janet Jackson, she was saussy in a point of view, with a much deeper voice, that somehow granted her the surprise of becoming Grammy's Best New Artist back in 1987. This cd includes all Jody's singles releases from her MCA years, except for "Precious Love" wich for my taste wasn't necesary either, all her songs deliver classiness and beauty, this collection should be consider upbeat cos there is only two slow grooves here, the tender ballad "Everything" that proved that she could deliver amazingly tender vocals, but what Jody does best is funky R&B grooves like the total classic "Looking For A New Love", other that reach the same amount of success are the joints from her first two albums "Real Love", "Some Kind Of Lover", "Friends", "Don't You Want Me", some songs that didn't make the charts as great as the previous mention, where ahead of their time, the great deeply "Still a Thirll", the club anthem ready "Ecstasy", a Madonna-like pop tune "Most Of All", and many other 90's grooves that faded in the charts, because it didn't fit the standards that some thought of what they should play in radio, but after all Jody stands out and takes risk making her a truthful artist that with time will get the respect she deserves, she's truly a human with great capability of sensitive music taste.

Jody is so amazingly full of artistry: she is classy, with a great voice, great looks and great songs to allure you with.
As the booklet liner notes go, she's more than a trend follower, she is a trend-setter.
Jody may not be too much of a balladeer (EVERYTHING is the only slow-tempo track on the whole collection) but she definitely is one artist that rocked - in the real sense of the world - dancefloors for a good period of time.
LOOKING FOR A NEW LOVE and REAL LOVE were her biggest hits, the ones recognized mostly by the casual listener, but then you take a more attentive look at the track list and find out that she has delivered so much more.
DON'T YOU WANT ME and SOME KIND OF LOVER are other chart toppers, while FRIENDS sees her collaborating on a rap bridge.
WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN is a delicate subject as domestic violence being treated in a very hip hop way.
I'M THE ONE YOU NEED and ECSTASY team up with David Morales, for the joy of remixers fans...
And then you have her most sensual song, sung in a low-keyed voice, STILL A THRILL...goosebumping...!
And if that's not enough yet, then get a listen to YOUR LOVE KEEPS WORKING ON ME - jazzy influences all along...
No question asked, when it comes to dance music in the '80's ther were only two winners to me: Taylor Dayne and Jody Watley.
You can't buy one and leave the other out, they are complimentary to eachother and to a generation...

This CD summarizes Jody Watley's solo career very nicely. True fans and people who just enjoy funky\uptempo musics will enjoy this CD. Brings back great memory when the Queen of Dance Music was sitting on her throne. "Don't you wanna dance with Jody"

There was Jody Watley. Before I begin my own review, let me say that what one reviewer said was wrong! He/she said in their review that Jody Watley was trying to copy Madonna, Paula Abdul and Taylor Dane. True, Madonna was before Jody as far as a solo artist goes (Jody was already in the music business in the late 1970's with the group Shalamar) but the other two you named came out AFTER Jody so if anything, they were trying to copy her!

In fact, if you count her Shalamar days, she was already in the limelight before Janet Jackson. Even if you don't count her time with that group, Jody was already solo in 1984 and 1985. Janet was a solo artist in the early 80's but Janet didn't hit big until she hooked up with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with her "Control" album in 1986. By that time, Jody already had hits with both Shalamar and on her own. Look up the dates if you don't believe me!

Anyway, for those that want an idea of what Jody Watley was like in the 80's and early 90's and don't have the money to buy her albums individually, this is a good place to start.

Back to the comparisons to Janet, Jody (in my view) was just as sexy as Janet (or any other female artist of today for that matter including Britney Spears and Beyonce) but had twice the talent both dancing and especially singing (though Beyonce could give her some competition on that score)! The only thing Janet had over Jody was a better marketing team and her last name plus her time on TV as "Penny" on the now TV classic "Good Times" and as Willis' girlfriend on "Different Strokes." Don't get me wrong, I actually like Janet's work but I am just telling it like it is.

Back to the CD, it has her big hits like "Looking For A New Love", "Don't You Want Me" (in remix form), "Everything", "Friends" and "Real Love." It also has more obscure hits for R & B purists like me like "Still A Thrill" and "Most Of All."

Again, if you want know more about Jody or are into good artists who are relatively unknown to the general public, then this is a good one to get.

One of the very few complete Greatest Hits CD's around, this collection includes all of Jody's hits. It has the great radio remix of "I'm the One You Need", plus key tracks like "Everything" and "Don't You Want Me". It also contains some very good dance remixes, which further add to the diversity of the disc. If you like dance music with a twist of R & B, this is the compilation for you.

1987 was a time of Taylor Dayne and Whitney Houston. Jody Watley came from nowhere, had a few great dance floor hits and then disappeared. 13 years later the songs still hold up pretty darn well. "Don't You Want Me" and "Looking for a New Love" are slickly produced and a lot of fun. She might lack the powerful vocals of the Taylor Dayne, but Watley had style and wrote some great lyrics and introduced the phrase "Hasta la vista, baby" into our consciousness (Sorry, Schwarzeneggar fans).

In the late 1980's, many female singers came in to cash in and ride in on the dance-pop wave that Madonna and Janet Jackson brought back to the forefront after the disco backlash.

One of the most significant of the lot was Jody Watley. Although her first solo album came out in 1987, she was no stranger to the music industry as she had several hits with Shalamar in the early 1980's and was also part of Band Aid. Her debut album went top 10 and launched several major hits. Her followup "Larger Than Life" (1989) was equally successful. Latter albums like "Affairs Of The Heart" (1991), "Intimacy" (1993), "Affection" (1995) and "Midnight Lounge" (2003) didn't quite move from shelves the way her first two did, but she solidified that she had a loyal following.

From "Jody Watley" comes the career-defining "Looking For A New Love", the great "Still A Thrill", the Madonna-esque "Most Of All". "Some Kind Of Lover" and "Don't You Want Me" are both represented by the single/video remixes.

From "Larger Than Life" comes "Friends", "Real Love" and "Everything"

From "Affairs Of The Heart" comes "I Want You" and "I'm The One You Need" (her last top 40 hit)

"Intimacy" is represented by three tracks, but all in remix form (which there's nothing wrong with). "Ecstasy", "Your Love Keeps Working On Me" and "When A Man Loves A Woman"

If you miss the days when r&b music and club music were more closely connected and hip hop hadn't taken over r&b influence... check this CD out. You will be surprised at how many of these gems you remember.

Nothing can be added that has not already been said about this compilation of best-sellers from the 80's diva. They are the ones that we most associate with the singer who is in the midst of a "comeback," of sorts with the new album, "The Makeover."

However, this particular collection suffers because the recording emphasiazes the rhythm and bass sections, drowning out Watley's voice, with the exception of the last track, "Real Love." The cuts, even though some are remixes, lessen Watley's voice and she's almost inaudible on a few of them.

This is a major disappointment for those fans of her (myself included) that are seeking a quality compilation of her best.

The major plus, if there is one, is the prose of soul singer expert, David Nathan. The author of "The Soulful Divas" has crafted very informative and entertaining liner notes that do justice to Miss Watley.