Soul Ballads, Vol. 1 [Retro] (1998)

About this title: Traipsing through the '50s, '60s, and '70s, Soul Ballads, Vol. 1 makes for a flimsy and unfocused after-hours soundtrack. Bookended by the now-calcified Percy Sledge hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" and Sam & Dave's still provocative "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby," the ten-track set both misses the mark badly (the Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk" and Dobie Gray's "Drift Away") and hits it spot-on (Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones" and the Chi-Lites' "Oh Girl"). After you get tired of skipping cuts, cue up Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On or Barry White's Greatest Hits and select repeat mode. ... read more

Tracks:

1. When a Man Loves a Woman [Lewis/Wright]
2. Me and Mrs. Jones [Huff/Gamble/Gilbert]
3. Oh Girl [Record]
4. Rainy Night in Georgia [White]
5. Drift Away [Williams]
6. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right [Banks/Hampton/Jacks]
7. Under the Boardwalk [Resnick/Young]
8. Tell It Like It Is [Davis/Diamond]
9. Only You (And You Alone) [Ram/Rand]
10. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby [Hayes/Porter]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.