David Ruffin - Ultimate Collection

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Free Music Notes for Ultimate Collection

Free Music Review: Pretty Thorough Retrospective Of Ruffin's solo career
Hit: 5 Stars

Motown did a pretty good job of assembling Ruffin's best recordings for this twenty-track set. Aside from the two big hits, we get all of Ruffin's minor solo chart efforts like the desperate "I've Lost Everything I Ever Loved" (too similar to "My Whole World Ended..."?) the inspirationally upbeat "I'm So Glad I Fell For You," and the pretty "Everything's Coming Up Love." There are also some dynamite album tracks, including the reflective "Who I Am" and a scorching "I Miss You" which is the equal of Teddy Pendergrass' hit version with the Blue Notes.

Most noteworthy is the haunting "Statue Of A Fool," which continues to be a favorite at oldies and adult contemporary stations everywhere. (An odd sidenote to this recording. It is listed in the booklet's track lineup as a Ruffin composition, with lyrics quoted and attributed to Ruffin by annotator David Ritz - who should know better - in his accompanying essay. In actuality, this gorgeous ballad was a number one country hit by Jack Greene in 1968 and was penned by noted Nashville songwriter Jan Crutchfield).

The only conspicuous omission on this set is Ruffin's charting duet with brother Jimmy on the Ben E. King classic "Stand By Me." Maybe they are saving it for a long overdue Jimmy Ruffin collection (we could only hope). Or perhaps it was left off since this "buddy" version doesn't fit in thematically with the rest of the songs, which all deal in various stages of romantic relationships. Whatever the reason, one oversight isn't too bad - particularly for Motown. It's also far more in-depth than the sets which came out at the same time on Eddie Kendricks and Edwin Starr.

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