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The start of a legendary run for vocalist Alexander O'Neal – and a set that really helped redefine the sound of male soul in the 80s! O'Neal got his start in an early version of The Time, and he's working here with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis – but the sound of the record is way deeper than all of those references put together – a careful, classy set that definitely lives up to the vintage look of Alexander on the cover! Jam and Lewis play tightly in the group, handling most of the key instrumentation – often with a restrained style that's quite different than their pumping hits, which lets O'Neal's great vocals flow out with an undeniably soulful power. Rhythms often hit the best sort of groove for Alexander's style – which sounds best in a mellow or midtempo mode – and the set's filled with classics, including "A Broken Heart Can Mend", "If You Were Here Tonight", "Innocent", "What's Missing", "You Were Meant To Be My Lady", and "Look At Us Now". 2CD version features a cool book-like cover, new notes, and lots of bonus tracks – including "Are You The One", "Innocent (dance rmx)", "If You Were Here Tonight (soft version)", "You Were Meant To Be My Lady (ext dance rmx)", and "What's Missing (dance rmx)".

The 80s hits of Alexander O'Neal are remixed and compiled here, in a style of album that was briefly the rage for US soul acts at the end of the 80s. All the original tunes were produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and the remixers include Keith Cohen, Steve Beltran, and Ben Liebrand. Titles include "Fake 89", "Innocent", "(What Can I Say) To Make You Love Me", and "Never Knew Love Like This".

One of the crowning achievements of Alexander O'Neal – a set that uses cool little intro tracks to help structure the standout songs on the set – giving the whole thing a much more well-conceived approach than other mainstream soul albums of the time! Some of the cuts draw from O'Neal's own life and experience, and that feel is definitely augmented by the spontaneous, conversational feel of the intros and links – a really nice contrast to the wonderfully tight R&B production from the superteam of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis! Of course, lots of these tracks also struck big as singles for Alexander – proof that the cuts are more than strong enough to stand on their own – yet taken over the course of the whole album, with all the extra bits, the whole thing really sounds great. Titles include "Hearsay", "The Lovers", "Fake", "Criticize", "Crying Overtime", and "Sunshine". 2CD version is overflowing with bonus tracks – including "Fake (patty mix)", "Fake (inst)", "Fake (edit)", "Sunshine (edit)", "Never Knew Love Like This (edit)", "Hearsay '89", "The Lovers (bonus beats)", "Criticize (critical mix)", and "Criticize (nag mix)". Great package too – book-style cover, with new notes!

Smooth modern grooves – and a great collection of tunes that break big on the Chicago steppers scene! There's a really specific vibe running through the set – modern soul with a mellow feel, but plenty of emphasis on the groove, no matter how slow the tunes may be – all making for a perfect batch of tracks to glide onto the dancefloor, and stay until the late hours! Tracks span a few decades of vintage, but tie together nicely – and titles include "Cool Out" by Leroy Hutson, "All We Need Is A Place" by Freddie Cole, "If It Isn't Love (inst)" by New Edition, "All True Man (inst)" by Alexander O'Neal, "Everytime I See A Pretty Lady" by Gemini, "Love Ain't No Holiday" by Native, "Jus Reach" by Galliano, "Ms" by David Oliver, and "Suger Mama Baby" by Steve Arrington.