AMG Review of Greatest Hits: The Power of Great Music

Jose Promis
All Music Guide

James Ingram racked up a number of adult contemporary-styled R&B pop hits in the 1980s, many of them duets, and the bulk of those hits are collected on this 12-track 1991 compilation. His music may at times seem somewhat melodramatic, registering on the pop spectrum somewhere between Michael Bolton and Billy Ocean, but nonetheless exemplifies top-notch 1980s adult contemporary pop production at its zenith. This set includes his two hit duets with Patti Austin, those being "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" and their timeless chart-topper "Baby Come to Me." Also included is his monster duet with Linda Ronstadt, "Somewhere Out There," and his hit duet with Michael McDonald, the funky "Yah Mo B There" (definitely one of Ingram's coolest songs). A few rarities make an appearance, including "Where Did My Heart Go?" from the film #City Slickers, and the BET theme "Remember the Dream." To round out the collection are his solo hits, among them the Grammy-winning "Just Once," "One Hundred Ways," and his only solo chart-topper, "I Don't Have the Heart." Buyer beware, however, because a more "extensive" hits collection, Forever More, was issued in 1999, with newly recorded (and inferior) versions of "Just Once," "One Hundred Ways," and "I Don't Have the Heart." To this date, however, this short set stands as the definitive James Ingram retrospective.