(May 21, 2021) She’s one of the all-time brightest classic soul stars, and an iconic singer who left us way too soon. Phyllis Hyman means a lot to a lot of music fans, and on July 31, she will get the appropriately royal treatment from Soul Music Records, with a deluxe 9-disc retrospective of her career titled Phyllis Hyman – Old Friend: The Deluxe Collection 1976-1998 (click on link to pre-order).
“Creatively traversing the soul/R&B and jazz genres from the mid-‘70s until her passing in the mid-‘90s ,with her instantly recognizable and distinctive vocal style, Phyllis developed a solid cadre of discerning music buyers with albums for Buddah, Arista and Philadelphia International Records, collated here along with a number of bonus tracks and guest appearances for a total of 113 tracks. Appropriately named The Deluxe Collection, this nine CD box has been lovingly created by SoulMusic.com founder David Nathan in cooperation with Glenda Gracia, manager & executrix of the Phyllis Hyman estate, who contributes a moving up-close-and-personal essay. Renowned writer Janine Coveney provides a heartfelt tribute with an overview of Phyllis’ music; while SoulMusic Records’ Michael Lewis offers his thoughts on Phyllis’ compelling live performances. In a beautifully-designed box with artwork by Roger Williams along with stellar mastering from Nick Robbins, Old Friend: The Deluxe Collection is a fitting celebration of Phyllis Hyman’s contribution through music, to commemorate the anniversary of her 72nd birthday, on 6th July.”
The collection includes the following discs:
Disc 1, PHYLLIS HYMAN (debut album)
Disc 2, SOMEWHERE IN MY LIFETIME
Disc 3, YOU KNOW HOW TO LOVE ME
Disc 4, 1981’s CAN’T WE FALL IN LOVE AGAIN
Disc 5, GODDESS OF LOVE
Disc 6, LIVING ALL ALONE (Philadelphia International Records debut)
Disc 7, PRIME OF MY LIFE
Disc 8, I REFUSE TO BE LONELY,
Disc 9, FOREVER WITH YOU (initially unreleased recordings)
This sounds like an incredible collection and we can’t wait to hear it (especially Disc 9!). Congratulations to the team at Soul Music Records for so lovingly putting this together.