Sylvester: Greatest Hits

Nobody did it like SYLVESTER JAMES back then, and nobody...not RuPaul, not Boy George, not Adam Lambert (no disrespect of any of them!),nor any other flamboyant dance music performers since then has ever done itwith such wide open abandon, flair & genuine talent!!Sylvester was so much more than just a disco & dance music diva and a gay pioneer,but by the sheer power of his personality, charisma and talent, he was like amicro movement within himself!Of course, he was just living his life and being true to who he really was inside....but by doing so at the time he did it was a big time pioneer move which just happenedto coincide with the magical moment in time when the gay liberation, free love,and ostentatious self-expression came to the fore on the world stage!Black gays loved him, white gays loved him, as well as THE PARTY CHILDRENfrom all over the globe of all genders and sexual persuasions who loved and respectedthis openly gay androgynous man whose creedo was FABULOUSNESS!! (-:His gospel, soul & blues-tinged powerhouse falsetto voice was just as much a part ofthe gay liberation movement of the 1970's as the late great Harvey Milk's politicalstrategizing and empowerment of the gay agenda was...Harvey's stage was city halland Sylvester's stage was wherever his music penetrated...the radio, the clubs, TV, etc.People even danced to and loved Sylvester's music who weren't gay or who may haveotherwise not even been aware of the cultural and sexual revolution brewing inSan Francisco at that time.Then by the early 80's, the term "disco" was over, but dance music was still very much alive!In San Francisco, there was a very particular style of dance music (called HiNRG)which was shaking up the dance floors all over the bay area & the world!The genius musical mastermind behind this newer more electronic, synth bass &percussion-oriented sound was the late Patrick Cowley, who was a brilliantkeyboardist, producer, songwriter, and synthesizer alchemist who had befriendedand became apart of Sylvester's creative core back in 1977 when he was first signedto Fantasy Records. During the sessions for Sylvester's breakthrough "Step II" album,it was Cowley who suggested to Sylvester, James Wirrick and Harvey Fuqua that he incorporatesome of his (very innovative for the time) synthesizer sound effects, which he felt wouldadd just the right edge to Sylvester's joyous disco sound!He took two good & interesting songs with potential from those sessions called"DANCE (DISCO HEAT)" and "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real", and transformed them fromjust good ideas to worldwide club anthems which topped the charts in several countriesin 1978 and made SYLVESTER the star who he'd always felt he was! (-:After that, there was no looking back, and he and Cowley remained close infriendship as well as in music for the rest of their tragically short lives,but made music which has transcended space & time, musical trends, and which hasnow been inducted into the dance music hall of fame forever!When Fantasy Records dropped Sylvester in 1981, thinking his 15 minutes were over,it was Patrick Cowley who brought him over to his newly formed independent labelcalled MEGATONE RECORDS, which was where he was experimenting with this new"HiNRG Sound" which was to become all the rage of the Bay Area club sceneof the early 80's!!---Their first collaboration was the dance classic "MENERGY",which was another dance chart topper and married Sylvester's flaming gospelfalsetto to Patrick Cowley's electronic polyrhythmic "sex-set-2-a-4/4 beat"opuses and a successful and productive collab was again back on top!Then, in the summer of 1982, came another timeless Sylvester James / Patrick Cowleycollaboration which set the dance world on fire!---"DO YA WANNA FUNK", which soldin the millions and cemented their places forever in the annals of dance music history!Sadly, it was shortly after this song was released that Patrick Cowley startedto fall gravely ill with a then very mysterious disease which was befalling gay menin droves, and was hitting all the major cities of the U.S. and abroad hard.At the time it had no name, nobody knew how it was caused, it acted veryfast and killed in a very insidious way....ravaging the bodies immune systemand opening it up to a multitude of opportunistic infections which it wouldotherwise be able to fight off without a problem.Of course, we all know now that it was AIDS and it's caused by a virus calledHIV, which is transferred from host to host through the exchange of bodilyfluids, usually during sex with an infected person.But at the time that Patrick Cowley succumbed to the disease in November 1982,it was still a mystery and a source of growing fear across the country.The music world lost a brilliant light just as he was just beginning toreally shine, and Sylvester James lost one of his best freinds and musical collaborators.But this would be only the tip of the iceberg....Saddened and hurt, Sylvester did what he had always done...carried on!He recorded a few more albums with Megatone, which fell apart after Cowley'sdeath, did countless club dates and television shows, spreading his specialbrand of joyousness and realness while recording tracks like "All I Need",a remake of Freda Payne's 1970 hit "Band Of Gold", "Rock The Box",and others which still kept him afloat within the club scene and with his core fanbase.Then, the disease which had taken Patrick Cowley began to exact it's toll throughoutSylvester's world, taking freinds and even two of his lovers!Sylvester knew his number was coming up soon....he stilled himself & reconciledhis fate, but at the same time his joyous spirit continued to sing out!In 1986, the clouds lifted a bit and Sylvester was signed to his first major labeldeal with Warner Brothers Records which gave us his last recording, "Mutual Attraction",and the hit "Someone Like You", which did well on the dance charts as well.But the clouds wouldn't stay away for long...for just as Sylvester had reachedthis plateau and again seemed to be on the way to a comeback, he himself beganto succumb to the dreaded illness which had taken alot of his contemporaries.On December 16th, 1988...the diva, the icon, the pioneer, the voice that wasSYLVESTER was silenced in the flesh, yet the indomitable spirit and personality whichfueled him would live on forever for future generations to discover!Sylvester James left quite a musical legacy in his wake...His Blue Thumb Label "Hot Band" era early 70's material from 1973-75 has now beenmade into an amazing 2-disc compilation in 2009, as well as countless compilationsand reissues of his prolific late 70's to mid 80's era material which made him astar of lasting magnitude on the disco/dance scene and beyond!But I must say that this compilation is the best and most complete(OF HIS DANCE HITS!!)and if you are lucky enough to find it, you are in for a treat!It's all on here....all the great dance hits, 12" versions, remixes, etc.But there are songs missing which REAL SYLVESTER FANS will automatically see like:His amazing live version of Patti Labelle's "You Are My Freind", "Down, Down, Down"from 1977's "Sylvester", which became a hit later after his "Step II" success.Also missing are songs like "All I Need", "I Can't Forget The Love" and the othermore soulful Sylvester classics....but this compilation is all about THE DANCE STUFF!!What I did was buy this one and 1989's "The Original Hits"...then later as moreand more of his classic albums were reissued, I added all those songs which weremissing from this compilation and created my own 4-disc "Ultimate Sylvester" collection. (-:But it was well worth the money to me to buy this compilation in 2006, and I still listento it all the time and dance my butt off like I'm a teenager again!Long live the days of Sylvester and that whole wild era!R.I.P. to Sylvester, Patrick Cowley, Jermaine Stewart and many from that erawho had the guts to stand up and be who they were without shame or fear andleft a great legacy! Also, R.I.P. to the late Izora "Queen Mother" Rhodes,who was one of Sylvester's original backup singers, Two Tons O' Fun,and later The Weather Girls.

Sylvestor was a pioneer of Disco and the gay club seen. Popular the world over. This is a great double CD package to start your collection. I was familar with Sylvestors work but I never had invested in a CD. I wanted a collection of all the hits before exploring his whole back catalogue. This CD was a good place to start and has not detered me from buying all his CD's. It's especially fun to hear Martha Wash and Izora Rhodes (The Weather Girls) featured so heavily on some of the tracks. Sylvestor, at times pushed them into lead vocals and for good reason. Both Martha and Izora were Diva's in their own right (in Martha Wash's case she still is a DIVA. Izora died a few years ago). I have all The Weather Girls (also known as Tons O' Fun) CD's and I'm a huge fan of Martha so I wanted to see where her career began. We salute you - Sylvestor!

Sorry folks but if you are a true Sylvester fan you know that this compilation is missing a few great songs. Where is Sex, Fever, Call Me, Over and Over, the original Rock the Box not this remix. All the songs from the fantastic Stars album and all the songs from the All I Need album later renamed Do You Wanna Funk album should have been included. Also a few fantastic remixes should have been included. Buy this, but also buy the rest of his albums that are available on CD and then you will have his Greatest Hits.

I contact customer service, like other customers, I only recieved 1 CD. Also, you can see there are 11 tracks. I wanted at 50% off since it was NOT A COMPLETE ORDER. However, they are SENDING another New CD. I just HOPE IT'S THE CORRECT ONE. Would like to give it 5 stars. But only 1/2 the order, so 3 stars

This compilation is sold by Amazon, and is described as a 20 song, two disc compilation. What I received looks to be the same packaging, but it is only an 11 song, single-disc compilation. Songs are great, but this is not what I paid for.

Sylvester, just one word described the style and energy of an era. Just as he was about to cross over to the "mainstream" , we lost him. One of the most talented and entertaining men of his time. This package starts with his "Fantasy" label, to the end, with the much loved "Megatone" label. I was never that pleased with his covers on "Menergy" etc, But loved Patrick Cowley (his last producer). My only complaint: the beautiful "You Are My Friend" was missing from this disc.It was taken from his last LP. Not a dance track, but an intense song about meeting people. My fav. has to be with where it all started, Stars!

This is the best compilation of this late .artists hits. If you liked any of this Divas hits you must fin an buy a copy. Item arrive in good condition and played perfectly. The price was right also as I have seen this item at double and triple the price. I was on the waiting list for months with no success from one seller who shall remain nameless. Sure am glad that I swooped in and picked this up. Thanks.

The only reason I cannot give this cd 5 stars is because it is not 2 disks like advertised, it is only one. Needless to say, I was quite disappointed when I received it, so much so I returned it!!!

Article décrit comme double cd / 20 titres alors qu'il s'agit d'un cd simple 11 titres, ce qui fait cher le cd.

Good music from the Disco age.

Die Musik ist super, auch die Aufmachung der CD. Aber es gibt seit 2017 nur noch eine CD, nicht 2, wenn man diese Compilation bestellt. Es fehlen dann die 1970er, z. B. "You Make Me Feel".

Absolutely love this cd! One of the best I’ve purchased in 2019!I knew the song “do you wanna funk” but never knew of Sylvester or his music.I thought I’d buy it just to see what it was like and I was not disappointed!!!Every track is high energy!!! Brilliant. I even purchased a second copy just incase I play my original copy to the point where it craps itself!Do yourself a favor and get it! High energy camp goodness!!!!

The cd arrived in about a month. The cd is not a described. It is not a two cd set. Wish I could return it.