You Might Need Somebody: The Warner Bros. Recordings (1976-1993)

Randy Crawfords Warner Bros. recordings have been distilled by several anthologies of varying makeup, reissued in multiple series of two-for-one album sets, and bundled cheaply and incompletely. SoulMusics You Might Need Somebody isnt as comprehensive as the labels work for the likes of Deniece Williams and Phyllis Hyman, but it finds a fulfilling middle ground between introductory and completist that does justice to Crawfords rich Warner years. Instead of sequencing these 57 tracks as a chronological overview, compiler and liner notes writer A. Scott Galloway arranges them as three themed discs. They play out like discerning mixtapes made for a friend who asked him about the beaming and masterly voice of the antiheroine theme to Jackie Brown. "Street Life," Crawfords 1979 breakthrough crossover collaboration with the Crusaders, is indeed here (as a previously released edit that differs from the versions on the soundtracks of Jackie Brown and Sharkys Machine). Its placed neatly between two of Crawfords subsequent songs written by Will Jennings and Crusader Joe Sample, the slippery and smoldering album cut "Blue Flame" and the wistful if effervescing charting single "Last Night at Danceland." Crawfords quietly powerful version of "At Last" precedes the transportive original "Almaz," a number four pop hit in the U.K., providing subtle affirmation of Crawfords ability to write songs that measure up to pop standards. Even a choice that might seem ill-advised on the surface -- three successive songs with "rain" in the title, starting with Crawfords lilting 1981 update of "Rainy Night in Georgia" -- is more than just clever, laying out the ingredients of a medley. A few surprising omissions aside (the Top 20 R&B hit "I Dont Feel Much Like Crying" perhaps missed most of all), this is a judicious selection spotlighting the rare natural versatility of a singer who could personalize anything she chose or was handed. It finds room for almost all of Now We May Begin (1980) and Nightline (1983), four or five cuts each from Everything Must Change (1976), Miss Randy Crawford (1977), Raw Silk (1979), Secret Combination (1981), and Windsong (1982), and one to a few songs from each of Crawfords four other Warner albums. Among the few nonalbum inclusions (all of which were previously released), there are Montreux performances of Ashford & Simpsons "Your Precious Love" (a duet with Al Jarreau) and John Lennons "Imagine" (with the Yellowjackets), and a version of Bob Dylans "Knockin on Heavens Door" (featuring Eric Clapton and David Sanborn, recorded for Lethal Weapon 2). ~ Andy Kellman