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Personnel includes: Oleta Adams (vocals, piano, keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, synthesizer); Michael J. Powell, Donnie Lyle, Ray Fuller, Michael Landau, Roland Orzabal, Vernon "Ice" Black, Stef Burns (guitar); Tom Scott (tenor saxophone); William Gregory (baritone saxophone); Chuck Findley (flugelhorn); Frank Martin (piano, electric piano); Vernon Fails (electric piano); Michael J. Powell (keyboards, percussion); Vasssal Benford, Dave Bascombe, Mike Mani, Aaron Zigman (keyboards); Simon Clark, Joel Brooks, Neil Larson (Hammond B-3 organ); Roland Orzabal (synthesizer); Al Turner, Pino Palladino, Tommy Brown, Freddie Washington, Larry Kimpel (bass); John Cushon, Mario Winans, Narada Michael Walden, Richie Stevens (drums); Irene Cara (background vocals).
Producers include: Roland Orzabal, Dave Bascombe, Vassal Benford, Stewart Levine, Narada Michael Walden.
Compilation producer: Bas Hartong.
Digitally remastered by Fred Meyer (Polygram Studios).
Personnel: Oleta Adams (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, background vocals); Michael J. Powell (guitar, keyboards, percussion, keyboard programming); Roland Orzabal (guitar, synthesizer); Donnie Lyle, Michael Landau, Ray Fuller, Vernon "Ice" Black (guitar); Stef Burns (bottleneck guitar); Tom Scott (tenor saxophone); Chuck Findley (flugelhorn); Dave Bascombe, Aaron Zigman (keyboards); John Cushon, Richie Stevens (drums, drum programming); Narada Michael Walden (drums); Lenny Castro, Luis Jardim (percussion); Paul D. Allen (keyboard programming, percussion programming); Eric White (drum programming, background vocals); Claytoven Richardson, Sandy Griffith, Pamela Clark, Bunny Hill, Lori Perri, Valerie Pinkston-Mayo, Tina Gibson, Sharon Perri, Darlene Perri, Ian Wilson, Irene Cara, Jennifer Newell, Paulette Brown, Nikita Germaine, Andy Caine, Arnold McCuller, Skyler Jett, Tessa Niles, Linda Tillery, Tony Lindsay, Carol Kenyon (background vocals).
Arranger: Narada Michael Walden.
The Very Best of Oleta Adams primarily consists of material from her first three albums. The big mystery of this 1998 collection is the lack of material from 1990's Circle of One, by far her strongest and more musically varied set of songs. A mere three tunes are included here: "Get Here," the Soul II Soul-styled "Rhythm of Life," and the rousing "Circle of One." Her weaker second album, Evolution, however, is represented by no less than five tracks, and four songs from Moving On also appear. The Very Best of Oleta Adams also includes material that was never previously available on an Oleta Adams album. Tears for Fears' Seeds of Love hit "Woman in Chains" is here, and Adams' pitch-perfect vocal harmonies play off Roland Orzabal's melodramatic bombast surprisingly well. Though a more subtle arrangement may have been more successful, her rendition of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (which appeared on the Elton John/Bernie Taupin covers album Two Rooms in 1991) is performed with such gusto Elton John's version pales by comparison. Adams also shows off her astonishing range on the Gershwin classic "Embraceable You" and a nice reading of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross." Although The Very Best of Oleta Adams lacks two of her best performances -- Circle of One's gorgeous version of "Everything Must Change" (which has been recorded by countless artists, including Gene Harris, Nina Simone, Carmen McRae, and Barbra Streisand) and the aforementioned "New York State of Mind" -- it is a pleasant collection that showcases Oleta Adams' beautiful voice, even on lackluster material. ~ William Cooper
