Barrett Strong - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Barrett Strong (2003)

Barrett Strong was there for the very early days of Berry Gordy's Motown empire, but his sound bears no resemblance to the later smooth soul stylings that dominated the label's output. He was a R&B rocker all the way. His most famous song is Gordy's first smash hit, "Money (That's What I Want)" from 1960 on the Anna label. The rest of the disc contains some solid R&B ballads like "Oh Yes I Apologize" and "Do the Very Best You Can" and Strong's strong suit, raw rockers like "You Knows What to Do," "Yes No Maybe So," and "Let's Rock." The collection's highlights are a couple of songs, the bitter and tough lament "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right" and the haunting Steve Mancha-penned "Misery." From the sound of these two songs, Strong had what it took to be a full-fledged Soul Man. Sadly, however, his career behind the mic stalled quickly and apart from "Money (That's What I Want)," he has been forgotten. It took until 2003 for a Strong compilation to be available in America. Too bad it is on the skimpy side, poorly packaged and liable to be overlooked by R&B and soul fans. Motown proper should have undertaken this project and made it a big deal. As it is, fans of R&B and early soul should make do with this collection until something better (hopefully) comes along.