Dennis Edwards is a dynamic performer even to this day and was the perfect replacement for David Ruffin back in late '68'  when the legendary Temptations needed a new front man to work alongside Eddie Kendricks. The following years saw the Temptations clock up endless hit recordings on both side of the Atlantic of which Dennis provided the lead vocals. Hit songs such as 'Cloud Nine' 'I Can't Get Next To You' 'Superstar' and who could forget his opening line on 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone' from 1973.

Dennis Edwards has a unique vocal style that very few people today can claim to possess, and it was a sad day when he originally left the Temptations to pursue a solo career (although thankfully he has regularly performed and recorded with the group since) but during the early 1980's Motown issued his first solo 45 at that time performing a duet with Seidah Garrett entitled 'Don't Look Any Further' which resulted in them clocking up a hit song and at the same time introduced a whole new audience of soul fans at this time to the voice of Dennis Edwards. So popular has the song been over the years a cover version by Manchester's 'M People' proved equally successful at chart level.

Sadly Dennis never recaptured the hit status of this song in the years to come although it is without question that many songs on this CD are equally as good, and his commitment to delivering a powerful and soulful performance was never in question. The 1980's soul scene was much different to the previous decade and the only similarity was that the scene was inundated with artists wanting to make a quick buck on the back of the dance groove many of which were faceless poor performances. This is at least where Edwards held his own. This collection of songs from his two albums of the eighties feature Dennis performing a mixture of uptempo and ballad songs that were very typical of the era, and whilst the arrangements on some of them are less than inspiring, his vocal delivery adds sparkle to an average song.

Standout tracks include the perky 'Shake Hands' and 'I'm Up For You' which has a similar arrangement and bass line to DeBarge's 'Rhthym Of The Night' and is one of the strongest dance cuts on this set. As always good singers always shine through on ballad tracks and the lovely 'Your My Aphrodisiac' and 'Just Like You' had me reaching for the repeat button on the CD player time and time again, and one other track that stands out head and shoulders above the rest is his rendition of Otis Reddings 'Try A Little Tenderness' which still manages to capture the raw soul that Redding put into the opening lines of this classic song before settling into a steady dance groove, and yes, I consider this version to be the better of the two.

Here is a mixed bag of songs that will delight Dennis' fans whilst at the same time introducing a new generation of soul fans/collectors to this timeless singer that sounds as good today at 60 as he did back in the late sixties. Perhaps Universal Music had saved the best track for last as the album closes with the killer ballad 'Coolin' Out' which apart from being a brilliant soul tune was interestingly written by Dennis Lambert with Dennis as well as David English/Richard Street/Otis Williams (Temptations) and which really is the icing on the cake.

Rating 8/10.