Stephanie Mills - Feel The Fire - The 20th Century Collection [2CD] (2011)

Stephanie Mills is now a beloved star with 30 years of hits. But in 1979 she was a young Broadway phenomenon with failed pop albums. When Mills signed to 20th Century Fox Records, as her star turn in the musical The Wiz was coming to an end, she was teamed with the new production-songwriting duo James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, and together they made pop and R&B gold. Feel The Fire: The 20th Century Collection is a two-CD set that collects all three albums Mills made for 20th Century Fox Records from 1979-81 -- What Cha Gonna Do...With My Lovin'?, Sweet Sensation and Stephanie -- adding a non-LP single and her rare 12-inch singles. Incredibly, the three albums and several of the 12-inch mixes are now on CD in the U.S. for the first time. The sound is superb, as all songs were digitally mastered from the original tapes at Sterling Sound, the same studio where they were originally mastered. Among the timeless highlights: "What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" and "You Can Get Over" from the first album, top 10 R&B and Dance/Disco, respectively, as well as this collection's tour-de-force title song, "Feel The Fire"; "Sweet Sensation" and "Never Knew Love Like This Before" from the second album, top 10 R&B and Pop respectively; and "Two Hearts," a killer duet with Teddy Pendergrass that was a No. 3 R&B and Top 40 Pop smash. Included bonus tracks are rare extended versions of the hits. Feel The Fire: The 20th Century Collection comes with a 24-page booklet with an essay by soul music historian David Nathan, who drew on his memories of witnessing the first album sessions and archival interviews with Stephanie Mills; he also conducted new interviews with writer-producer Reggie Lucas. Adding to the fire are reproductions of each original LP's artwork.