Buzzin Pop Music

R&B Anthems: 1979-2009

Yes, the countdown to Christmas, the most lucrative time of the year for the record industry, is in full swing and with it comes more compilation albums than I’ve had hot dinners – and I’ve had a lot of hot dinners!

Many of these albums will compile a selection of both old and new UK hits in an attempt to sell as many ‘units’ as possible; and Rhino Records latest compilation – R&B Anthems: 1979 – 2009 falls squarely into that category. But the title is completely misleading.

It’s a great compilation of 60 tracks from the past 30 years on 3CD’s featuring 12 UK number one singles.  But it is not solely an R&B compilation album.  Tracks like Dawn Penn’s reggae classic ‘You Don’t Love Me’, disco classics from the likes of Sister Sledge (’We Are Family’), Anita Ward (’Ring My Bell’) and McFadden & Whitehead (’Ain’t No Stopping Us Now’) and soul masterpieces from Soul II Soul (’Back To Life’) and Prince (’Kiss’) are all great songs that work well as part of this retrospective.  But R&B they’re not!

CD1 starts off with Gnarls Barkley ‘Crazy’ & massive hits like Chipmunk’s ‘Diamond Rings’, Justin Timberlake’s ‘Rock Your Body’, Outkast! ‘Hey Ya’, Alicia Keys ‘No One’, right up to present day, with Estelle ‘American Boy’, Jordin Sparks ‘Battle Field’ and Flo Rida ‘Right Round’.

CD2 is a collection of older UK pop hits from a wide range of genres including Whitney’s ‘My Love Is Your Love’, Coolio ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, R Kelly ‘I Believe I Can Fly’, Fugees ‘Fu Gee La’, Jay Z ‘Hard Knock Life’, and Brandy & Monica ‘Boy Is Mine’ before embarking on a foray into the soon to be historic 00s with Missy Elliott ‘Get Your Freak On’, SugaBabes ‘Overload’and Craig David ‘Fill Me In’.

CD3 includes classic songs from disco and soul including Rose Royce ‘Love Don’t Live Here Anymore’, Sister Sledge ‘We Are Family’ and McFadden & Whitehead ‘Aint No Stoppin Us Now’, Luther Vandross ‘Never Too Much’, Slave ‘Just A Touch of Love’, Joyce Simms ‘Come Into My Life, Prince’s ‘Kiss’ and the timeless Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince ‘Summertime’.  It also includes my favourite R&B track of all time, the wonderful ‘Right Here’ by SWV.

R&B Anthems: 1979 – 2009 – CD1
Gnarls Barkley – Crazy
Estelle – American Boy
Lemar – If There’s Any Justice
Christina Aguilera – Beautiful
Alicia Keys – No One
Justin Timberlake – Rock Your Body
Kelly Rowland – Work
Alesha Dixon – Breathe Slow
Missy Elliott – Get Your Freak On
OutKast – Hey Ya!
Sean Kingston – Beautiful Girls
Aaliyah – More Than A Woman
Usher – Burn
Chris Brown – Forever
Wiley – Wearing My Rolex
Chipmunk – Diamond Rings
Ciara Feat. Justin Timberlake – Love Sex Magic
Jordin Sparks – Battlefield
Ironik – Tiny Dancer
Flo Rida – Right Round

R&B Anthems: 1979 – 2009 – CD2
Whitney Houston – My Love is Your Love
Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise
R. Kelly – I Believe I Can Fly
Brandy Feat Monica – The Boy Is Mine
Mark Morrison – Return Of The Mack
TLC – No Scrubs
Jay-Z – Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)
Mary Mary – Shackles
Dawn Penn – You Don’t Love Me (No,No,No)
The Fugees – Fu-Gee-La
Ginuwine – Pony
Next – Too Close
Brownstone – If You Love Me
Jade – Don’t Walk Away
Donell Jones – U Know What’s Up
De La Soul Feat Chaka Khan – All Good
Kandi – Don’t Think I’m Not
Pink – There You Go
Sugar Babes – Overload
Craig David – Fill Me In

R&B Anthems: 1979 – 2009 – CD3
Luther Vandross – Never Too Much
Terence Trent D’Arby – Sign Your Name
Soul II Soul – Back To Life
Prince – Kiss
McFadden & Whitehead – Aint No Stoppin Us Now
Sister Sledge – We Are Family
George Benson – Give Me The Night
Slave Feat Steve Arrington– Just A Touch Of Love
Joyce Sims – Come Into My Life
New Edition – Candy Girl
Anita Ward – Ring My Bell
Rose Royce – Love Don’t Live Here Anymore
Chaka Khan -I Feel For You
Levert – Casanova
Lisa Lisa – I Wonder If I Take You Home
En Vogue – My Lovin (You’re Never Gonna Get It)
Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby
Fresh Prince  Feat Jazzy Jeff – Summer Time
SWV – Right Here
Toni Braxton – Breath Again

R&B Anthems: 1979 – 2009 is released on 9th November on Rhino