Santa Monica, CA (Top40 Charts/ Universal Music Enterprises) The new year kicks off with more than a dozen new releases in the Iconseries from Universal
Music Enterprises (UMe) featuring great artists and great songs at a great price. The 14 new collections of greatest hits, signature tunes and fan favorites, released January 4, 2011, embrace pop, rock, R&B, jazz and country.
From the first two-CD retrospective for Sheryl Crow to Vanessa Carlton's first compilation; from albums from a resurgent El DeBarge to love song collections just in time for Valentine's Day from Motown legends Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, jazz immortals Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and R&B's Brian McKnight to "best ofs" from pop diva Cher; The S.O.S. Band,Alexander O'Neal and Cherrelle, three Tabu artists now exclusive to UMe; country's Lee Ann Womack and Jerry Clower, and the eccentric Imogen Heap & Frou Frou, their Icon editions are the ultimate fan-friendly albums. Each boasts 12 tracks except for 16 for Clower and the added 24-track double-CD for Crow.
The Icon albums are:
-Sheryl Crow - Icon (A&M/UMe): All of the hits from the rock queen are heard on the single-CD edition, from the gold "All I Wanna Do," "Soak Up The Sun" and "The First Cut Is The Deepest" to "Strong Enough," "If It Makes You Happy" and "Everyday Is A Winding Road." Her first two-CD collection adds a disc of other favorites, such as "C'mon C'mon," and updates her career, including "Summer Day" from 2010's 100 Miles From Memphis.
-Vanessa Carlton - Icon (A&M/UMe): Her 2002 platinum album Be Not Nobody turned her into a Grammy-nominated somebody with hits such as "Ordinary Day" and "A Thousand Miles." Her first retrospective adds tracks from two subsequent albums, including "White Houses" and "Hands On Me."
-El DeBarge - Icon (Universal Motown/UMe): Hot on the heels of his recent acclaimed solo comeback album, the smooth singer is heard with classic earlier performances both solo and as lead singer for the DeBarge family group, including "Rhythm Of The Night," "Time Will Reveal" and "You Wear It Well."
-Cher - Icon (Geffen/UMe): These 12 memorable solo hits from the pop diva and movie star appear together for the first time on one CD. Included are "If I Could Turn Back Time," "Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves," "I Found Someone," "We All Sleep Alone" and her cover of "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)."
-The SOS Band - Icon (Tabu/UMe): The flagship group for Tabu Records scored super-sized '80s hits thanks to producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, including "Take Your Time (Do It Right)," "The Finest" and "Just Be Good To Me" (heard here in its rare 12" vocal remix).
-Alexander O'Neal - Icon (Tabu/UMe): Contemporary and classic, the R&B singer hit in the '80s and '90s with a pair of gold albums and the singles "Fake" (here in a rare extended version), "Criticize" and "Never Knew Love Like This," a duet with labelmate Cherrelle.
-Cherrelle - Icon (Tabu/UMe): Soaring to No 1 R&B in 1988 with the Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis-helmed "Everything I Miss At Home" as well as the Top 10 R&B "Saturday Love" with labelmate Alexander O'Neal (here in its rare extended version), the singer earlier hit Top 10 R&B with her debut "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On."
-Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Icon - Love Songs (Universal Motown/UMe): R&B's and Motown's most revered male-female duo recorded immortal classic after immortal classic, including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing," "Your Precious Love" and "Come On And See Me."
-Billie Holiday - Icon - Love Songs (Verve/UMe): The legend's greatest love songs on Decca, Verve and MGM include her brilliant interpretations of the standards "All The Way," "Crazy He Calls Me," "It Had To Be You" and "Come Rain or Come Shine" plus the rarely anthologized "Everything I Have Is Yours."
-Ella Fitzgerald - Icon - Love Songs (Verve/UMe): The First Lady of Song helped create the Great American Songbook with her renditions of the Gershwins' "Someone To Watch Over Me" and "I've Got A Crush On You," Cole Porter's "From This Moment On" and Irving Berlin's "Always."
-Brian McKnight - Icon - Love Songs (Universal Motown/UMe): The R&B singer with an impressive 16 Grammy nominations and three platinum-plus albums notched five solo R&B Top 10s in the '90s and all of them are here-"One Last Cry," "Anytime," "The Only One For Me," "Crazy Love" and "Back At One."
-Lee Ann Womack - Icon (MCA Nashville/UMe): The popular country chanteuse updates her previous "best of" with her recent Top 10 "I May Hate Myself In The Morning." Also heard are the No 1 "I Hope You Dance"; No 2s "The Fool," "You've Got To Talk To Me," "A Little Past Little Rock" and "I'll Think Of A Reason Later," and her Grammy-winning Willie Nelson duet "Mendocino County Line."
-Jerry Clower - Icon (MCA Nashville/UMe): The folksy country comedian and clever storyteller is heard with these live performances from the '80s and '90s. Wholesome and Southern, "whoooweee, that boy could talk!"
-Imogen Heap & Frou Frou - Icon (Hip-O/UMe): Her innovative work fused electronica and pop and garnered critical acclaim, both solo and in the duo Frou Frou with Guy Sigsworth. Six of the tracks are from her solo work, including "Shine" and "Come Here By," and six from Frou Frou, including "Breathe In."
