The Ultimate Collection (Gladys Knight and The Pips album)

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The Ultimate Collection
Ultimategladysknight.jpg
Compilation album by
Gladys Knight and The Pips
ReleasedOctober 7, 1997
Recorded1966-1974
GenreSoul music
Length74:01
LabelMotown Records
Producer
Gladys Knight and The Pips chronology
Anthology (version 3)
(1995) 		The Ultimate Collection
(1997) 		Essential Collection
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4.5/5 stars[1]

The Ultimate Collection is a compact disc by Gladys Knight and The Pips, released on Motown Records, catalogue MOTD 0826, in October 1997. It is a collection of singles comprising many of the group's greatest hits, with liner notes written by .

Content[]

The disc contains every Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and twelve top ten Rhythm and Blues singles chart hits enjoyed by Gladys Knight and the Pips that were released on the Motown associate label Soul Records imprint. One track was never released as a single, her cover of "Every Little Bit Hurts" previously done by fellow Motown artist Brenda Holloway, this version appearing on a full album of cover songs from 1968, Soul SS711 . One track is a b-side, "" the flip of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," released a year before the version by Marvin Gaye. The song "" was initially slated to be Soul 35111 and withdrawn from release; that single designation went to "." The disc was part of an "Ultimate Collection" series issued that year by Motown for many of their top-selling classic artists.

Starting in the late 1960s and early 1970s, standard industry practice shifted to a focus on album sales, where a single became less a separate entity and more simply an advertisement for an LP, and a lead single would be pulled off an album as a promotional tool. Prior to this, singles were concentrated upon as a profitable commodity, especially for smaller record labels, and albums were often built around already successful singles. Since Motown fixated on the hit single until the very end of its stay in Detroit, single versions of songs often featured different mixes than versions that would be later placed on albums. Singles were usually mixed "punchier" and "hotter" to sound better on car radios receiving AM broadcast.[2] The single versions are the ones appearing here.

Personnel[]

Track listing[]

Track Song title Writer(s) Time
1. I Heard It Through the Grapevine Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong 2:53
2. The End of Our Road Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Roger Penzabene 2:21
3. Everybody Needs Love Edward Holland, Jr., Norman Whitfield 2:56
4. Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me Barrett Strong, Roger Penzabene, Cornelius Grant 2:55
5. It Should Have Been Me Norman Whitfield, Mickey Stevenson 2:58
6. I Wish It Would Rain Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong, Roger Penzabene 2:54
7. Every Little Bit Hurts Ed Cobb 3:03
8. Didn't You Know (You Have to Cry Sometime) Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson 3:33
9. Just Walk in My Shoes Helen Lewis, Kay Lewis 2:47
10. The Nitty Gritty Lincoln Chase 3:01
11. Friendship Train Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong 3:45
12. You Need Love Like I Do (Don't You?) Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong 3:35
13. If I Were Your Woman Gloria Jones, Pamela Sawyer, Clay McMurray 3:12
14. I Don't Want to Do Wrong Johnny Bristol, Gladys Knight, William Guest
Merald "Bubba" Knight, Katherine Schaffner		 3:22
15. Here I Am Again Clay McMurray, Patricia Foster 3:39
16. Make Me the Woman That You Go Home To Clay McMurray 3:45
17. Help Me Make It Through the Night Kris Kristofferson 4:19
18. Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye) Jim Weatherly 4:21
19. Daddy Could Swear I Declare Johnny Bristol, Gladys Knight, Merald "Bubba" Knight 3:43
20. All I Need Is Time Bud Runeau 3:22
21. Between Her Goodbye and My Hello Jim Weatherly 3:50
22. It's Time to Go Now Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong 2:42

References[]

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ George, Nelson. Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. ISBN 0-312-86698-4, pp. 113-114.
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