MUSIC UPFRONT - 12.01.08: Catalogue reviews.

M People: One Night In Heaven - The Best Of (Music Club Deluxe MCDLX073)

All 20 of the Mancunian's soulful dance hits from the Nineties are here on a quality double-disc set. Vocalist Heather Small has one of those `love or loathe' voices but her contribution is key, and ideally suited to fare like How Can I Love You More, One Night In Heaven and the stately Search For The Hero.

Johnnie Ray: The Prince Of Wails (Acrobat ACRCD 300)

Known more to latter-day audiences as the man namechecked in Dexys Midnight Runners' Come On Eileen than for his own recordings, Johnnie Ray was, as this title suggests, a man prone to histrionics. He would get so wound up that he would involuntarily shed tears on stage and was also known as "the cry guy". He was a serviceable crooner at his most popular in the mid-Fifties - the source of many out-of-copyright performances included here - with hits such as Just Walkin' In The Rain and Hey There. Also included are a dozen rare tracks from a 1974 album that turned out to be his last, which included updates of some of his early hits, plus his take on The Beatles' Yesterday.

The Ramsey Lewis Trio In Person Volume Two: 1965-1967 (Rev-Ola CRREV235)

Combining 1965's Hang On, Ramsey! And 1967's Dancing In The Street, this feelgood compilation features Lewis's distinctive piano-led jazz trio tackling traditional fare such as Duke Ellington's Satin Doll and unique slants on hits including Hang On Sloopy and What Now My Love. His fondness for The Beatles is crystallised here in fine versions of And ...