Teena Marie - Icon (2011)

Most of the releases in Universal’s Icon series overhaul compilations released during the ‘90s. The Teena Marie volume is no exception. It’s a slight variation on 1994’s I Need Your Lovin’: The Best of Teena Marie, offering the same number of tracks (a dozen) but not the same selections from Marie’s four Gordy albums (released from 1979 through 1981). Here, you get “Aladdin’s Lamp,” the classic Rick James duet “Fire and Desire,” and “Young Love” in place of “Don’t Turn Your Back on Me,” “Every Little Bit Hurts,” and “Turnin’ Me On.” Weigh the pluses against the minuses, and the two compilations are just about even. Each one of Marie’s Gordy albums is either solid or excellent, so there’s plenty to dig beyond this -- a nice overview that features three Top Ten R&B singles (“I’m a Sucker for Your Love,” “I Need Your Lovin’,” and “Square Biz").