Rhino's 2001 retrospective The Very Best of Miki Howard is a generous, near-definitive overview of Howard's biggest R&B hits from the '80s. She didn't have many crossover hits, but she did have numerous entries on the R&B charts, all of which are here, including a duet with Gerald Levert, "That's What Love Is." Although this is a little lengthy for listeners with abbreviated attention spans, it does summarize Howard's peak very well, and is as comprehensive a Howard retrospective as could be hoped for.

"Intuition" is the 8th album by Angela Bofill, and was her first and only release on Capitol Records in 1988. It is produced by Norman Connors. The album peaked at position #38 of the Billboard 200 chart on January 6, 1989, and stayed on the chart for 20 weeks. The album also reached position #50 on the Billboard Top Black Albums chart. Bofill recorded "For You And I", a song she performed live at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center in 1980 as a duet with Peabo Bryson.

British pop group that amalgamated soul, jazz, and funk with a Stevie Wonder sound-alike named Jason Kay as its frontman. A Collection includes: Emergency on Planet Earth (1993); The Return Of The Space Cowboy (1995); Travelling Without Moving (1997); Synkronized (1999); A Funk Odyssey (2001); Dynamite (2005); High Times: Singles 1992-2006 (2006); Rock Dust Light Star (2010).

It's hard to believe, but there hadn't been a Billy Ocean hits compilation released in the U.S. since the initial 1989 attempt Greatest Hits on Jive, so the 2004 release of BMG's Ultimate Collection would have been welcome even if it didn't live up to the expectations of the title. Thankfully, it does fit the bill quite nicely. There is one or two minor hits - such as "I Sleep Much Better (In Someone Else's Bed)," the new song tacked onto Greatest Hits - that aren't here, but the time was ripe for BMG to release a new disc, and this generous 18-track collection otherwise contains all of Ocean's hits, both big and small.

Smooth soul singer Lew Kirton was born in Barbados and grew up singing in his church choir; he later performed with island vocal groups as Jiggs Kirton. Also an accomplished drummer, he later moved to the United States and took over the drum chair in Sam & Dave's touring revue in 1969. He joined the Philly-styled soul group the Invitations in 1972 as lead vocalist, and they attracted some attention with singles like "They Say the Girl's Crazy" and "Look on the Good Side." Kirton went solo in the late '70s, signing with the Miami-based TK label family (best known for hits by George and Gwen McCrae) in 1977. Teamed with writer/producer Clarence Reid (whose alter ego was, of course, the bawdy comedian Blowfly), his first releases on the Marlin subsidiary included the future collector's item "Do What You Want, Be What You Are." 1978 saw the single release of his best-known song, "Heaven in the Afternoon".

Millie Jackson has never had the full recognition she deserves as one of the great soul voices of the 70s as her theatrical 'rap' material became her signature sound. With Exposed, we go a long way to rectifying that with a dozen remixes by producer/engineer Steve Levine. Steve has piloted hits for a very wide range of artists from Culture Club's huge chart successes to the Beach Boys and Motörhead, having collected a Grammy along the way for his work with Deniece Williams. He has also produced the long-running radio program, The Record Producers, in which he has worked with such greats as Holland, Dozier & Holland, Nile Rodgers, Brian Wilson and the late Sir George Martin. A huge fan of Millie's work, Steve's background makes him the ideal man to bring these fantastic tracks into the 21st century. These remixes stay true to the original recordings and the great musicians who played on them. No extra 'beats' have been added, everything you hear was played on the original versions. Some have been extended to accentuate the grooves and all have been opened out using modern technology to better hear the quality of the playing and recording. Millie is loud and clear in the mix, exposing that great soul voice to maximum effect.

"I Love You So" is a 1979 album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released on March 19, 1979 by Capitol Records, The album reached peak positions of #52 on the Billboard 200 and #11 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart.

"E.S.P. (Extra Sexual Persuasion)" is a Millie Jackson album released in 1983. In addition to her signature soul music songs, it also includes somewhat more Hi-NRG and Funk dance song production popular at the time such as "This Girl Could Be Dangerous", "Sexercise" and the title track.

With their long track record, Kool & the Gang have always offered dance-provoking rhythms and Something Special fits that bill, too. Featuring the number one single "Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)," James "J.T." Taylor approaches the song in a cool, mesmerizing tone, closing out the vamp in his falsetto with a burst of energy while the background vocals chant the subtitle throughout the chorus. Not known to lead a song in falsetto, Taylor further utilizes this talent on the motivated rhythms of the nocturnal scenario of "Steppin' Out." It maintained a steady stride, rising to the number ten spot on the charts. The third single from the album was "Get Down on It." As the title indicates, this is a gritty funk track that worked its way up the charts to claim the number three position, selling more than 500,000 copies. Although there were no more charted singles from this album, the entire collection is deserving of recognition. On a slower note, "Pass It On" and "No Show" received regional airplay.

"Finesse" is the first full-length album released by R&B/soul singer Glenn Jones. Released in 1984, the album includes one of Jones' early hits, "Show Me," along with the semi-hit "Bring Back Your Love."

"Real Love" is an album by the American R&B duo Ashford & Simpson, released in 1986 via Capitol Records. The album peaked at #74 on the Billboard 200. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" category. All tracks from the album were written and produced by Ashford & Simpson. Stevie Wonder contributed a harmonica solo to "Nobody Walks in L.A."

Diana King's sophomore outing Think Like a Girl is a well-crafted, diverse set of soul/pop/reggae that merited much more attention it received. The album contains several ultra catchy songs that have hit written all over them, namely the infectious title track and "Wicked." King is also an extremely earnest and sincere singer, and nowhere is that more evident than on the album's 30-second a cappella interlude "Mi Coffee." On some tunes, such as "Love Yourself" and the single "L-L-Lies," King sings in her trademark, powerful reggae style.

Original Album Series contains the first five albums from the mighty Dayton funk band Slave: Slave (1977), The Hardness of the World (1977), The Concept (1978), Just a Touch of Love (1979), and Stone Jam (1980). Each disc is in a thin cardboard pouch with reproductions of the original front and back sleeve designs. Since the series limits itself to five discs, the band's phenomenal sixth album – Show Time (1981) – couldn't fit, but this is a convenient way to snap up the majority of the output from one of the planet's best funk bands. Not even the two-disc The Definitive Groove Collection covers all the great singles and album cuts featured within this small box.

Tougher Than Love is the debut album by singer-songwriter Diana King. The album peaked at #179 on The Billboard 200, #85 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #1 on the Top Reggae Albums chart. It features the four hit singles, "Shy Guy", "Love Triangle", "Ain't Nobody" (a cover of the Rufus & Chaka Khan song from 1983), and "Treat Her Like a Lady." Diana King is a Jamaican singer-songwriter who performs a mixture and fusion of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall. She was born to an Indo-Jamaican mother and an Afro Jamaican father. She is best known for her hit 1995 single "Shy Guy" and her remake of "I Say a Little Prayer" which was featured on the soundtrack to My Best Friend's Wedding.

Complete Collection is a six-disc, U.K.-only set celebrating the breadth and depth of Lisa Stansfield's extensive and impressive career. It includes her five studio albums – Affection; Real Love; So Natural; Lisa Stansfield; and Face Up – as well as an exclusive sixth disc, with recordings from a 1992 Wembley date, club mixes (including a great Massive Attack version of "Live Together"), B-sides, and three songs from Stansfield's Blue Zone days. Not enough? Each studio album is augmented with at least two bonus tracks. Complete Collection is definitely the most comprehensive Lisa Stansfield retrospective; it borders on overkill. But since it's only available in the U.K. – and is also quite pricey – the single-disc Biography is perfectly acceptable for the casual Stansfield fan.