Latimore - Sweet Vibrations - The Best Of Latimore (2004)

As far as this little set goes, it's great. Simply great. It captures Latimore at the very beginning of his hitmaking career with his stellar soul-blues reading of T-Bone Walker's "(They Call It) Stormy Monday" in 1973 on the Glades label, moves through his influential period with "Keep the Home Fires Burnin'" and "Snap Your Fingers," and continues straight through to the groovin' lithe and gentle funky soul of the title cut and the bluesy, steamy backbeat funky soul of "I Get Lifted," with many stops in between -- and then it goes further. Yes, yes, yes, the slick Miami sound is here on "Qualified Man" and "It Ain't Where You Been," where clavinet and fretless basslines were added to the mix, but the quality of the tunes and especially Latimore's delivery were unchanged. The set closes with the monster "Long Distance Love," but Latimore's career didn't; it continued into the 21st century without slipping a notch. This is a terrific little compilation that is priced right and is sonically nice as well.© Thom Jurek /TiVo