David Ruffin - The Best of David Ruffin (2000)

Things got off to a good start when David Ruffin left The Temptations. He had a smash hit with "My Whole World Ended(The Moment You Left Me)" and a decent hit with "I've Lost Everything". But then he did not have another hit until 1975, with "Walk Away From Love". Whats more interesting is what took place during the intervening years, such as his legendary unreleased album, recorded between 1970 and '71. Hardcore Ruffin fans maintain that this was his best solo material and would have taken him to another level of stardom, but strangely, Motown did not release it. Some of these songs have turned up over the years on compilations like this one,(Each Day Is A Lifetime) and his scorching version of The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back",(Motown's Greatest Rarities Vol. 1). Also of note was an album of duets with his brother Jimmy entitled "I Am My Brothers Keeper", which is very hard to come by, and featured a hit duet of "Stand By Me". Vocally, David was like the bridge between Ray Charles and Teddy Pendergrass. In fact he does Teddy P's "I Miss You" on here and the vocal resemblance is uncanny. I was very pleased to see the medley of "The Way You Do The Things You Do"/My Girl" with Eddie Kendricks and Hall and Oates on here, as it was a fluke top 20 hit in 1985. Hall and Oates also took David and Eddie with them to perform at the legendary Live Aid concert later that year. Sadly, David would die of a drug overdose several years later. You can almost hear this tortured man trying to exorcise his demons through his emotional vocals on songs like "Statue Of A Fool", which was a highlight of his live performances. As a solo act, David had trouble finding material that matched his talent, however, his magic, soulful vocals always shone through. Overall, one of the best soul singers of all time, though his best work was with the group he never should have left.

Tracklist:

01. My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)
02. I've Lost Everything I've Ever Loved
03. I'm So Glad I Fell For You
04. Each Day Is A Lifetime (Previously Unreleased LP Version)
05. I Miss You-Pt. 1
06. Common Man
07. Walk Away From Love
08. Statue Of A Fool
09. Everything's Coming Up Love
10. Heavy Love
11. Just Let Me Hold You For A Night
12. A Nite At The Apollo Live! The Way You Do The Thhings You Do/My Girl