Phyllis Hyman - Old Friend: The Deluxe Collection 1976-1998 [9CD Box Set] (2021)

An insane tribute to one of the greatest female soul singers to emerge in the 70s – the magnificent Phyllis Hyman, a vocalist who first began in jazz, then moved to soul music to help chart a whole new sound for the future – a new sort of sophistication that was key to a shift in the way that female soul singers came across – with plenty of pride, maturity, and subtle power that really comes through in these recordings! Right from the start, Hyman was very much her own artist – as you'll hear in this set, which begins with some of her earliest, jazziest work, and includes a few contributions with Norman Connors – then moves through a rich legacy of full length albums before Phyllis was taken from our planet all too soon! The set features nine full albums, most with some bonus tracks – and albums include Phyllis Hyman, Somewhere In My Lifetime, You Know How To Love Me, Can't We Fall In Love Again, Goddess Of Love, Living All Alone, Prime Of My Life, I Refuse To Be Lonely, and Forever With You. 119 tracks in all!

CD 1: Phyllis Hyman (Buddah) marked Phyllis’ official album debut and includes the U.S. R&B/dance charted single, “Loving You, Losing You,” co-penned by Philly soul maestro Thom Bell who also co-wrote
“Betcha By Golly Wow,” which Phyllis recorded with jazz drummer Norman Connors in 1976 along with a duet with Michael Henderson (“We Both Need Each Other”), resulting in her first exposure to a wider audience. Also on this expanded edition, both sides of Phyllis’ 1976 single for Desert Moon Records. [SoulMusic expanded this album in 2013 with four bonus tracks. The John Davis-produced outtake “You’re the One” has been retained while the other three cuts have been dropped as all feature on CD 2 of this collection. In their place are three more collaborations with Norman Connors: “Betcha by Golly Wow,” “We Both Need Each Other,” and “Just Imagine,” all from his 1976 album You Are My Starship.]

CD 2: Somewhere in My Lifetime (Arista) marked Phyllis’ addition to the Arista Records roster when Buddah Records was acquired by the Clive Davis-helmed label. The title cut was freshly co-produced by Barry Manilow and Ron Dante [was a lush ballad with the dynamics one expects of a recording with the Manilow imprimatur], and six tracks were included from Phyllis’ second Buddah LP Sing a Song which only gained release outside the U.S. in 1978. This expanded edition features bonus tracks from Sing A Song and a guest appearance with saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, “As You Are,” as well as 12″ single versions of “Kiss You All Over” and “So Strange.” [SoulMusic reissued Somewhere in My Lifetime in 2013 with five bonus cuts. Three songs which Clive Davis dropped when he transformed Sing a Song into Somewhere in My Lifetime have been retained, as have the aforementioned 12-inch mixes. This edition adds a sixth bonus: Pharoah Sanders’ 1978 track “As You Are.” It was produced and co-written by Norman Connors, and features Phyllis’ vocals.]

CD 3: You Know How to Love Me (Arista) teamed Phyllis with James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, hitmakers for Stephanie Mills; the result was Phyllis’ biggest R&B/dance hit with the now-classic title track. This expanded edition includes the Thom Bell-produced “Magic Mona” [from the soundtrack to the Lorimar film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, the full soundtrack of which was reissued on CD by Second Disc Records and Real Gone Music]; three tracks on which Phyllis guested with jazz pianist McCoy Tyner; and “In A Sentimental Mood” from the Duke Ellington Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies, in which Phyllis starred and was nominated for a Tony Award. [Funky Town Grooves revisited this title in 2015 with seven bonus tracks including titles associated with Can’t We Fall in Love Again and Goddess of Love. From the FTG version, this disc keeps the single edits of “You Know How to Love Me” and “Under Your Spell” and moves the other tracks to their appropriate albums.]

CD 4: 1981’s Can’t We Fall in Love Again (Arista) featured Phyllis’ highest-charting R&B hit, the Norman Connors-produced title duet with Michael Henderson. Connors also helmed Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, and Peter Allen’s silky “The Love Too Good to Last” (also recorded by The Pointer Sisters) while Chuck Jackson contributed productions, too. This expanded edition features six bonus tracks. [SoulMusic reissued Can’t We Fall in Love Again back in 2008. From that release, “Sleep on It,” “If You Ever Change Your Mind,” and Bacharach and Hal David’s “In Between the Heartaches” have been retained. Single edits of “You Sure Look Good to Me” and “Can’t We Fall in Love Again” as well as the disco mix of “Tonight You and Me” have been added. The 2008 edition’s remaining tracks have been moved to the albums to which they’re better-suited.]

CD 5: Goddess of Love was Phyllis’ final LP for Arista with production from Narada Michael Walden (the R&B/dance hit “Riding the Tiger”) and Thom Bell, with a bonus track from the Bell sessions, “I’m Not Asking You to Stay,” added to this expanded edition. [The dance mix and single edit of “Riding the Tiger,” both included on SoulMusic’s 2013 reissue, are also here. The instrumental single version of “Riding the Tiger” from that reissue has been dropped, and is not featured on this box set.]

CD 6: Living All Alone marks Phyllis’ 1986 pacting with Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records’ label and resulted in immediate success with two Top 20 R&B hits, the title track and the Thom Bell/Linda Creed perennial “Old Friend,” which remained a staple of Phyllis’ live shows. This expanded edition features guest appearances with Barry Manilow [“Black and Blue” from Manilow’s 1987 album Swing Street, also featuring Tom Scott on saxophone] and Grover Washington Jr. [“Sacred Kind of Love” in its full-length version from Washington’s 1989 Time Out of Mind LP; a single edit was also released on 45 RPM and CD]. Edsel’s 2005 reissue of Living All Alone added “Run Jesse Run,” featuring Phyllis, Lou Rawls, Rev. James Cleveland, The James Cleveland Choir, and Leon Huff. The 1988 political anthem for Rev. Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign was released in four versions – short and long instrumental and vocal versions – but none of them are included on the upcoming box. Neither is the extended version of “Screaming at the Moon;” the Extended, Instrumental, Percussapella and edited versions of “Ain’t You Had Enough Love;” or the edit of “Old Friend.”]

CD 7: 1991’s Prime of My Life (PIR) brought Phyllis her first R&B chart-topping single, “Don’t Wanna Change the World” (with the rare non-rap version included on this expanded edition) and included notable tracks “Living in Confusion” and “Meet Me on the Moon.” The additional bonus track, “Hottest Love Around,” was only previously available on a CD single [and on the Japanese CD release of the album. However, the Radio Edits of “I Found Love,” “When You Get Right Down to It,” and “Living in Confusion,” and the Extended Rap Version of “Don’t Wanna Change the World” from various singles are not included.]

CD 8: I Refuse to Be Lonely (PIR), with primary production by Nick Martinelli (who had worked on Phyllis’ 1991 CD) was released after her passing in June 1995 and features five tracks co-written by Phyllis including the title track and standout “It’s Not About You (It’s About Me)”. [This album is not expanded in the box set. A Radio Edit of “I’m Truly Yours,” about a minute-and-a-half shorter than the album version, was released on CD and cassette.]

CD 9: Forever with You (PIR, 1998) consists of a collection of previously-unreleased recordings that Phyllis had recorded for Philadelphia International Records, including four she co-wrote, notably “The Strength of a Woman,” as well as a memorable version of “Hurry Up This Way Again,” a 1980 R&B hit for The Stylistics. [Note that “Come Right or Not at All” has appeared in a couple of different edits on earlier pressings; this disc utilizes the 4:35 version, not the 5:17 one.] Forever with You has not been expanded for this presentation.]