Very Best of Patti Austin: The Singles 1969-1986

Patti Austin

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 26, 2008)
• Original Release Date: October 16, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino Records
• ASIN: B0012PJZP8
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #182,153 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Family Tree

2. Say You Love Me [Edit]

3. We're in Love

4. Love, I Never Had It So Good [Edit] - Patti Austin, Quincy Jones, Charles May

5. Body Language [Edit]

6. Razzamatazz - Patti Austin, Quincy Jones

7. Do You Love Me?

8. Every Home Should Have One

9. Baby, Come to Me - Patti Austin, James Ingram

10. How Do You Keep the Music Playing?

11. It's Gonna Be Special

12. Rhythm of the Street

13. Shoot the Moon

14. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme [Edit] - Patti Austin, Narada Michael Walden

15. Honey for the Bees [Edit]

16. Heat of Heat [Edit]

17. Gettin' Away with Murder

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Subtitled THE SINGLES (1969-1986), this single-disc anthology features
17 of R&B superstar Patti Austin's biggest hits on one essential collection. Mentored early on by the great Dinah Washington, Austin was also taken under the wing of the legendary Quincy Jones, whose Qwest label she recorded for
throughout the 80s. Many soulful classics from that era are featured here, including her #1 pop smash Baby Come To Me and How
Do You Keep The Music Playing? both duets with James Ingram and two cuts with Jones, Razzamatazz and Love, I Never Had It So Good. Other highlights include Every
Home Should Have One, The Heat Of Heat, and Austin s debut single, The Family Tree.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Forgotten Diva, August 28, 2003

By	Michael Kerner "Michael Kerner" (Brooklyn, New York U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)

This review is from: The Very Best of Patti Austin: The Singles (1969-1986) (Audio CD)

When we think of the musicial term, R&B, we often seem to not remember exactly some of the ingenues and creators that exactly have made the forms of music that inspire us. In the case of R&B female vocalists, we think of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Mariah Carey. Sadly, nowhere on that list would we put Patti Austin. She has been in this game as a R&B amd Jazz crossover for almost 40 years. Yet, we still don't give our peers any acceptance in the world for showcasing the craft. Her music ranges quite nicely from the soul of Aretha Franklin, with a dash of elegance of Roberta Flack. It is just an amazing voice to master.

The Very Best Of Patti Austin is a collection of her penned tunes from 1969-1986. The collection flows very nicely within Patti Austin's voice, ranging how she has changed with the times, and still scored her way to the top of the charts. There are just so many of her charted waters to flow by, it is just unstoppable. The hits parade also ranges nicely with songs like Say You Love Me, her first song on the Billboard charts The Family Tree, and also Honey Of The Bees. Simply put, her work with Quincy Jones is also featured quite rapidly on this collection, included within her hits Baby Come To Me with James Ingram, and Razzamatazz. These songs still definitely show that even with those modern R&B vibes changing, the style is still the same.

Although Patti Austin hasn't scored a hit in years, she still brings out the talent. I think that it is just a new amazing voice I've recently discovered, and this collection proves it. For all those wannabes like Ashanti, and Milli Vanilli likes', including Jennifer Lopez, they don't know what real music is. It is all manufactured and unnatural. I think that you should give this collection a try, and hear Patti Austin's voice full circle.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Album reveals why Austin ISN'T a bigger star!, May 4, 2007

By	Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

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This review is from: The Very Best of Patti Austin: The Singles (1969-1986) (Audio CD)

Before the "neggies" start a-flying, let me state that I am a HUGE Patti Austin fan, owning ten albums featuring the talented songstress. Austin has been a star in my book since the first time I heard her as a singer of commercial jingles decades ago. However, her skills have yet to be appreciated by the masses because of her eclectic choices, well represented on this compilation of "singles."

Most singers of note are known for a particular genre; that is, they are known as being a performer of either pop, jazz, R & B, or of any other musical genre. Austin can do it all, thus she doesn't have one particular NICHE. Because of that fact, she has yet to be "discovered" by a mainstream audience and that limits her familiarity.

That said, the disc showcases songs associated with the singer from 1969 to 1986. The first is a rarity: "The Family Tree," a song that Austin recorded when she was just a teen. It is more of an "old school" R & B tune that has a uniqueness that distinguishes it from the others.

Three cuts ("Say You Love Me," "We're in Love "and" Body Language") are culled from albums that Austin recorded on the CTI and are more in the light jazz vein.

It was her pairings with mentor and godfather Quincy Jones that really brought Austin some attention. She was more than just a "session singer" and really shines in the characteristic big production values associated with "Q" on "Love, I Never Had It So Good" and "Razzmatazz."

Austin then moved on to "Q's" own label and had some of her greatest commercial successes represented by "Do You Love Me?", "Every Home Should Have One," "Baby, Come to Me" and "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" (duets with James Ingram).

From the remaining selections the best are "It's Gonna Be Special," "Rhythm of the Street," "Shoot the Moon," and "The Heat of Heat," the latter tune remembered by fans of the soap opera "The Young and the Restless."

As far as the packaging is concerned, no one does it better than Rhino and the liner notes features smile-inducing commentary by the singer about each cut, as well as a discography of the albums featuring each song and great photos of the singer.

Though "The Very Best of Patti Austin" is a good album, a better representation of the singer's vocal gifts can be found in "For Ella," a spectacular tribute to the late Fitzgerald.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patti's Past Gems, July 1, 2002

By	Armando M. Mesa (Chandler, AZ) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Very Best of Patti Austin: The Singles (1969-1986) (Audio CD)

This is Patti's long overdue popular tracks collection mostly from her time with Qwest records in the 80's. Yet, an artist of her musical magnitude deserves to have a double c.d. collection of her other tunes with GRP records in the 90's. The Family Tree gives insight to Patti's strong soulful vocals in the late 60's while her rendition of Isaac Hayes' Body Language smolders for the early 80's.Razzamatazz, Do You Love Me?, Baby Come To Me, Honey For The Bees, Heat Of Heat are my alltime favorites for Austin demonstrated that she could move with the times. She would (and still can) jam in the pop, r&b, and dance genres in the 80's to give other artists of that time a run for their money. Also, her version of Alison Moyet's Honey For The Bees is more of a smoother funkified version. Austin's re-recording of Meatloaf's Getting Away With Murder is a surprise (especially if anyone has heard Meatloaf's version). Patti's wins thumbs up without a doubt ! This is a great keeper since her 1984 self titled lp is completely out of print from the c.d world and her 1985 Gettin' Away With Murder c.d. is a rare import to find these days...