Personnel: Gladys Knight (vocals).
Collectables' 2003 release of Gladys Knight & the Pips' The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me is essentially the same as BMG Special Products' 1997 release of the same name. All that is different about the Collectables version is the cover artwork. Inside you will find a decent mix of tunes culled from Knight's '70s recordings for the Buddah label -- decent apart from leaving off their biggest hit of the era, "Midnight Train to Georgia," that is. There are still hits like "The Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," the beautiful Curtis Mayfield-penned and produced "On and On," and "I've Got to Use My Imagination," as well as good album tracks like Eugene McDaniels' politically charged "Money" and the Van McCoy-produced foray into disco, "Baby, Don't Change Your Mind." Without "Midnight Train to Georgia," however, this collection is incomplete and irrelevant. For a good collection of mid-'70s work by the group, look to Hip-O's Essential Collection or Buddha's Platinum & Gold series instead. ~ Tim Sendra
BMG Special Products' Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me is an inconsistent but entertaining overview of Gladys Knight & the Pips' work for Buddah and Soul Records during the mid-'70s. Certainly, the title track is featured, as are the hits "I Feel a Song (In My Heart)," "Love Finds Its Own Way," "Baby Don't Change Your Mind," "Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right," "Money," and "Make Yours a Happy Home"; the rest of the album is devoted to album tracks, which vary in quality. Despite the relatively uneven quality, the good outweighs the weak, and even if it isn't a comprehensive collection, it's a nice sampler for the budget-minded casual fan. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize