Best of the Best

was an awesome talent, possessing a voice that conveyed pain and hurt at an emotional pitch seldom encountered in music. A huge influence on many singers, including and , 's impassioned, -tinged vocals paved the way for the concept of . The only problem with this collection is its sheer brevity. Too short and missing too many key tracks to be a true "best-of," it does contain his best-known track, which he co-wrote, and his first and last hits, A diminutive man with a volatile temper and a drinking problem, stabbed a man and was sent to prison in 1966, where he died two years later at the age of 31, robbing the world of its first true singer. ~ Steve Leggett