Search - Sylvester :: Immortal

Perhaps To Complete Your Sylvester Discography...

R. J. Marques | Scottsdale, AZ United States | 12/16/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"To begin with, I'm a huge admirer of Sylvester's work and albums - I have his entire discography on CD and listen to each album every so often which takes me back in time - always in a good way.



With that said, this is not the greatest investment, for those who want to get into Sylvester's music, or those who already love Sylvester, but never heard this album. I say this respecfully too, not to slam Syl or this album. This was compiled by Marty Blecman, President of Megatone Records, after Sylvester's death. He had also released the 12 X 12 Collection [which is superior to this], prior to Syl's passing as well.



After a distribution deal that Megatone entered with Warner Brothers for Syl's previous album "Mutual Attraction", he was back in the studio [Different Fur Studios in San Francisco] working on tracks for his second Warner Brothers / Megatone release. Unfortunately, only 3 cuts had enough of the tracks laid down to be able to doctor them a bit, mix & release them. The remaining tracks never got any lead vocal tracks laid down, and were useless.



Thus - Marty released "Man Enuff", "I'm Not Ready" and "How Great Thou Art", and added remixes of other cuts; some of which were already available, some not. The remix of Rock The Box, which opens this collection is an abomination - much better mixes of this tune are readily available elsewhere. Two of the new songs, while 'ok' [I would have considered them filler on a regular Sylvester album] were really not all that great. "How Great Thou Art" was a great remake of a Mahalia Jackson tune - and Sylvester really makes it his own.



While I think Sylvester was an incredible artist, I would only recommend this CD for the purist, to complete their Sylvester discography. If you want to get into Sylvester, his discography is easy to get with a bit of searching. Unidisc Records out of Canada bought Megatone's entire catalog and re-released almost all of them, [some under different titles than the originals], but kept original album art intact.



For someone getting into Syl for the first time, I'd recommend "All I Need", which Unidisc renamed "Do Ya Wanna Funk", "Call Me", and "M-1015" [Which Unidisc renamed "Rock The Box"]. These are the best of Syl's albums for Megatone, where he REALLY got into the Hi-NRG / Eurodisco groove. Also highly recommended is "Mutual Attraction", his 'last' full album recorded for Warner Brothers.



The balance of his material [77-81] for Fantasy Records includes "Sylvester", "Step Two", "Stars", "Living Proof", "Sell My Soul" and "Too Hot To Sleep" which are all good albums, although they have more of a soul / R&B vibe than dance.



The rich legacy of music Syl left behind will delight countless listeners for decades to come, but I wouldn't recommend this release for anyone but the purists and collectors."

Postumous material

Dario Margeli | San Jose, CA United States | 04/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD was released after Sylvesters death.
This CD is of huge interest because it
contains his final 3 studio recordings
which were meant for a full length album
of new material. These new songs include
the industrial track "I'm not ready" and
the beautiful "Man enuff". These are
great songs. He was unable to finish the
albume, so the record company had only
3 new songs to work with, so the three songs
were complemented with remixes of his older
work. As for the sleeve, its another interesting
thing. These were pictures that were taken
and never used previously because they were
considered too gay and outragous, but Sylvester
himself would have loved to have them released,
and so it was very nice to finally see the pictures
on a record sleeve. All in all this is a great
CD."

THE VOICE !!!..

BATLONGUE-LESPIELLE Patrice | ARCACHON | 02/27/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is just INCREDIBLE !.. Why?.. Because on this CD, you can hear some of the best Sylvester's performances. I love the track "Ineed you" with The Two Tons of Fun, aka, The Weather Girls, aka, Martha WASH and Izora ARMSTEAD-RHODES!!! Sylvester's friends, great voices too!..
But, most of all, on this CD, you can hear the Great, amazing and much talented Voice of SYLVESTER, as a REAL ARTIST!.. Listen to "He'll understand", and YOU'll understand what i mean. But the best of all is, Syl's cover of Mahalia JACKSON's "How great thou art". How great his heART!!! I love Mahalia JACKSON, but to me, Syl's version is really THE Best!!!.. If you wanna feel great sensations... GET THIS CD, and enjoy it!.."