20th Century Masters: The Best Of Patti LaBelle (Millennium Collection)
Possessed of one of pop music's great voices, Patti Labelle has done the girl-group thing with theBluebells, and thrown down the full-on funk withLaBelle. Her solo career found LaBelle trying on both up-tempo dance hits and classy soul ballads. This short set is from her latter period, reflecting such triumphs as "On My Own," her duet withDoobie BrotherMichael McDonald that was a No. 1 pop hit, and the touchingly compassionate "Oh People." "New Attitude" and "Stir It Up," her R&B; hits from theBeverly Hills Copsoundtracknow sound dated because of the '80s-specific production touches, but other songs--"When You Talk About Love" and "When You've Been Blessed"--show off her dynamic voice to good advantage. This set is not quite the equal of 1996'sGreatest Hits, but it has a lot to recommend it nonetheless.--Daniel Durchholz