When
Legacy put together
The Essential Teddy Pendergrass for release in 2007, four years had come and gone since the Philly soul singer's hits had last been anthologized in double-disc form. So, is this really all that necessary? Yes, it is completely necessary. Unlike 2003's
Anthology, released through
The Right Stuff,
The Essential Teddy Pendergrass does not cut off just prior to
TP's mid-'80s switch from
Philadelphia International to
Elektra/
Asylum. This means that later R&B number ones
"Joy" and
"It Should've Been You," along with the 1984
Whitney Houston duet
"Hold Me" (number five), are all included -- but this is at the expense of some of
TP's lower-charting singles from the earlier years, which are squeezed out. Regardless, due its greater breadth, it is the more attractive set of the two.
William C. Rhoden, who was a jazz critic and editor at
Ebony prior to becoming a well-known sports columnist and author, penned the liner notes. ~ Andy Kellman
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