Rick James

Universal's overseas arm developed the Collected series as a line of compilations that would appeal to both casual and hardcore fans, combining an artist's biggest hits with harder-to-find material. (For instance, a 2017 volume on Huey Lewis and The News offered rare edits and 12" mixes, guest appearances and even a single track from the group's pre-News existence as American Express.) Now distributed through the Music on CD label, Collected is still going strong - as evidenced by a forthcoming volume offering a comprehensive summary of the king of punk funk himself, Rick James.  Rick's 3CD Collected volume offers his biggest and most soulful hits for Motown's Gordy imprint, from "You and I," "Bustin' Out," "Give It to Me Baby" and "Super Freak" to "Standing on the Top," "Dance Wit' Me," "Cold Blooded" and "Ebony Eyes." But that's not all: the triple-disc offering shines a light on his earliest recordings with groups like The Mynah Birds and The Great White Cane, an album he produced for his backing group The Stone City Band, off-label duets and productions with Chaka Khan and comedian Eddie Murphy, highlights from his late '80s work on the Reprise label, and even a selection of 12" dance mixes. (By our count, about 10 of the 47 tracks are new to CD, and some of the material didn't even make Motown and UMe's digital box set of Rick James' albums, issued alongside his posthumous memoirs in 2014.) As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.