Customer Reviews

Vanessa Williams - Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever since her 1988 debut release, Vanessa Williams has released a wealth of strong and sweet pop/soul music, and this collection offers us the highlights of her cache. Earlier, dancier material like "The Right Stuff" and "Running Back to You" recall a lighter, less-hardcore period of R&B, while the slick ballad "Dreamin" and the lush midtempo jam "The Comfort Zone" represent mellow soul at its finest. Her monumental, across-the-boards smash "Save the Best for Last" is still elegant and endearing, and the Bossa Nova/flamenco stylings of the Babyface-produced "Betcha Never" sound better with each listen.

The collection is essential even if you have all of William's solo efforts, as it features her memorable contributions to other projects. "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly" (from the "Ain't Nuthin But a She Thing" compilation and featuring Me'shell N'degeocello) is a jazzy revelation, and "Where Do We Go From Here" (from her film "Eraser") is a grand, symphonic pop affair. Then there's the lovely duet with Brian McKnight, "Love Is" (surprisingly strong for a cut from a "90210" soundtrack), but Vanessa truly saves the best for last with a slick cover of Bobby Caldwell's "My Flame," recorded especially for this collection. As always with Williams, a tasteful arrangement and honey-dipped vocal make for a superior pop moment. All in all this compilation is a testament to the warmth of Vanessa's voice as well as her knack for selecting top-notch songs. With material like this, the title "The First Ten Years" is by no means a presumptuous statement.

By now we all know the Vanessa Williams story. Those of us that follow music can acknowledge that it is hard to keep up with the times and still hold tight to your passions. Vanessa has such a talent of both acting and singing. Her first album was the Right Stuff in 1988 and since then she has the determination to continue and grow. Her greatest hits is not what most people would expect. Vanessa is in the ranks of Streisand and Bette. Vanessa has a style and elegance about her music and is not so hip-hop stereotyped. She is more than beauty...she has a talent that backs her. Besides.....there aren't many Miss America's that you can remember that have gone beyond the Contest and survived. I strongly encourage those out there to add this to your music collection,you won't regret it!

I like all of Vanessa's music and I enjoy this album. If you are a Vanessa Williams fan then you would definitely enjoy this album. Because it contains some of her best work. But, this album doesn't do Vanessa any Jusice because it is missing a lot of her best work. But, above all I like it and I enjoy it because it is a great album and she sings well. It contains a lot of good songs that I like but it needs a lot more to complete but maybe one day they will re-release her greatest hits and do a better job . But, it is still a great album and a must have for any Vanessa Williams fan.

For most potential purchasers--those who wish to own one Vanessa Williams album with her most famous performances--this collection will serve that purpose adequately. Such hit ballads as SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST, THE SWEETEST DAYS, DREAMIN', LOVE IS, and COLORS OF THE WIND are included, as are such popular dance tracks such as THE RIGHT STUFF, THE COMFORT ZONE, and RUNNING BACK TO YOU.

However, there's more to Vanessa's career than winning popularity contests, whether it be for beauty or for topping the BILLBOARD pop charts. For me, the ideal Vanessa anthology would be two discs. That allows enough space to go beyond the hits and expose some very intriguing tracks that didn't get issued as singles. There's her jazzy doo-bop Ella tribute ELLAMENTAL, her fine cover of Sting's SISTER MOON (with the composer on backing vocals!), the nightclub jazz vibe of WHAT WILL I TELL MY HEART?, such overlooked dance tracks as HAPPINESS and YOU GOT THE LOOK, and such quality non-album cuts as ALFIE, LOVE LIKE THIS, and the super dope remix of WORK TO DO. Beyond the hits, Vanessa took some subtle yet significant strides by placing her attractive vocal talents into areas to the left of the pop and r&b/soul mainstream.

Excepting her cover version of Flora Purim's OPEN YOUR EYES (with Me'Shell Ndegeocello), that chance-taking is missing from this CD. Perhaps that's excusable given the disc's title...it lives up to its name, no more and no less.

Sure, Vanessa may not the biggest diva out there, but one cannot deny is that Vanessa has proven through out the years that she has talent! She's on Broadway, doing films and commercials, but the one thing that helped to propel to her superstar status is her beautiful voice. "Greatest Hits: The First Ten Years" tries and almost succeeds in recapping Williams' first ten years of her recording career.

The album includes her chart topping hits like "Dreamin'", "The Right Stuff" & of course "Save The Best for Last." Every track on the album is a great representation of Williams' career and that she can really sing, but it also fails to be a complete set. With the album only having twelve of Williams' hits & then "My Flame" a bonus track (which became a hit), this discs makes this collection fall short. There could be been more representation on this compilation from her last studio album "Next", like her smash dance floor hit "Happiness." Also, her top 40 hit "Just For Tonight" from her album "The Comfort Zone" should of been included on this set. This set doesn't do but much justice for showing Williams did start out as a dance artist before switching up and becoming more ballad oriented. The collection should of been more chronological as well and the linear notes could of easily been better than what fans and novices are provided.

Not to seem too negative, the album also includes the tune "My Flame", a smoldering piece of R&B, to this day that's played often on the local urban and jazz stations and the gem "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly." The songs that are on this compilation are top-rate and it is good to see all of them on one CD.

Even with the album lacking some tracks, the album is a great starter for a person that is just been enlightened about Vanessa, but I suggest that you go through the other albums and you'll see the masterpieces that were meant to be on this album. Or one could import "The Very Best of Vanessa Williams" which does a better job at taking a look at her career before moving on to Lava Records.

Ever since her 1988 debut, "The Right Stuff," Vanessa Williams has turned in a consistent wealth of material, be it dancey pop, soulful R&B, elegant adult contemporary or inspired jazz. All of her incarnations are represented here, making a wonderfully comprehensive collection. From the itchy rhythm of "The Right Stuff" to the sparkling soul of "Dreamin" and "The Comfort Zone" to the lush warmth of "The Sweetest Days" and "Save the Best for Last," there's something here for everyone.

This compilation even beckons fans who have all of her previous albums, as it includes must-haves from other projects: "Love Is," a stellar duet with Brian McKnight, "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly," a gorgeous jazz number from the "Ain't Nuthin' But a She Thing" compilation disc, "Colors of the Wind" from "Pocahontas" and "Where Do We Go From Here" from her film "Eraser." Vanessa truly saves the best for last with the CD's final track, the newly recorded "My Flame"; anyone needing proof of the sweet soulfulness of her voice or her knack for picking great tunes and matching them with spotless production need look no further than this gem of a track. A lot of artists come out with greatest hits packages when it looks like their career is running out of steam; with the quality of material Vanessa Williams offers here, "The First Ten Years" is not in the least a presumptuous statement.

Vanessa Williams definitely has the right stuff to keep your music bug fed. This album is like the best of the already good stuff.

these songs are really good and have aged well.her voice is solid and she can handle different styles of music.with each new release of music from her she showcases another style.

capitalizing on the resurgance of 1980s nostalgia that has inspired artists such as exposé, george michael, taylor dayne, madonna and janet to release greatest hits packages, williams makes a bold statement by throwing her hat into the ring. unlike artists like madonna and janet--who have remained in the spotlight throughout their careers--or lauper and dayne--who have struggled to keep their careers afloat while establishing themselves as mature artists--williams has maintained an understated modicum of success for the past decade. having transformed herself quietly from a scandal-plagued centerfold-cum-beauty queen-cum-singer/actress, williams has established herself as a broadway sweetheart and adult-contemporary favorite. unlike many compilation albums, _the first ten years_ truly does capture some of williams best work. leaving no stone unturned, collaborations and contributions such as "love is" (from _beverly hills 90210_), "colors of the wind" (_pochahontas_), "where do we go from here" (_eraser_) and "open your eyes, you can fly" are all included. the later, taken from the charity compilation _ain't nothin' but a she thing_ juxtaposes williams smooth-jazz vocals with those of r&b-rock fusion diva me'shell ndegéocello with stunning results. also notable is that williams waited a respectable amount of time to release this career retrospective. too many artists, nowadays, release such compilations prematurely, causing them to scrape the bottom of the barrel. not only all are all of williams' tracks gems, but having waiting until after the release of _next_ has enabled her to show the complete transformation from beauty queen with a mic to talented and accomplished performer.

Sure, Vanessa Williams has never acheived superstardom diva status. Her album "The Comfort Zone" went 3x platinum, "The Sweetest Days" went platinum and she also scooped up two gold albums with her debut "The Right Stuff" and "Starbright." She may not have the number of hits other divas may have, but the handful of considerably large songs she has are great pieces of pop music proving its quality over quantity. Pretty much all of them are here. Of course, her signature ballad and career highpoint is here with the #1 single "Save the Best For Last" which was incidently the #1 song of 1992. This collection includes five other top 20 smashes including her two other top 10 pop hits "Dreamin" and the gorgeous ballad from Pocohontas "Colors of the Wind." "The Sweetest Days" was a moderate hit and a beautiful, sweet ballad and "Running Back To You" was a hit dance single. "The Right Stuff" was only a minor hit, but started her singing career and is another highlight on here. My complaint is that one of Vanessa's top 40 hits was left off being "Just For Tonight." That is the reason for the 4 star rating, but this is still a great album. Definitely recommended to any pop/R&B fan.