As the chronological range in the title confirms, this is a career-spanning, 26-track anthology of the underrated soul singer. Not to its detriment, it does focus very much on the first decade of that career, with just five songs post-dating 1970. Considering that her best recordings were those she made in the mid-'60s (principally for
Atlantic) and those issued by
Apple Records in the early '70s, you'd get a better, more consistent listen by picking up a pair of other releases first, those being the
Ichiban compilation
Just One Look: The Best of Doris Troy (which contains 1963-1965 recordings) and the expanded CD reissue of her self-titled 1970
Apple album. In its favor, however, this does include material, some of it quite rare, not included on those compilations, like pre-
"Just One Look" singles from the early '60s;
Chuck Jackson hits on which she sang (
"Tell Him I'm Not Home" and
"Beg Me"); and her obscure 1967
Capitol single
"Face Up to the Truth"/
"He's Qualified." Of more importance, it also has the bulk of her best
Atlantic recordings, including her sole hit
"Just One Look";
"What'cha Gonna Do About It," covered by
the Hollies; the majestic, anguished, orchestrated ballad
"Heartaches"; the enchantingly sweet
"Please Little Angel"; and the girl group-style
"Tomorrow Is Another Day." Also here is the title cut, a Northern soul staple, and a fine girl group-ish effort done for
Cameo-Parkway,
"But I Love Him." However, the
Apple period is lightly represented with just a couple cuts; not every quality mid-'60s recording is here (the propulsive
"You'd Better Stop" being a particularly notable omission); and, if you want to get really arcane, one of her greatest vocals, the torrential
"Kill Them All!" (from an early-'70s Italian film soundtrack), would have made a great addition that even many
Troy fans are not aware of. It's also true that for all her talent, it's an uneven listen, gems like the aforementioned
Atlantic cuts mixing with relatively pedestrian soul and R&B efforts. These are, admittedly, complaints particular to passionate, collector-oriented fans. As an overview of
Troy's work (especially if you can't get the
Ichiban anthology or
Apple album), it's decent, including detailed liner notes based around a lengthy 1995 interview she gave about a decade before her death. ~ Richie Unterberger
