20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rare Earth (CD - 2001)

Rare Earth: Peter Hoorelbeke (vocals, drums); Rod Richards, Ray Monette (guitar, background vocals); Gil Bridges (flute, saxophone, percussion, background vocals); John Persh (trombone, bass, background vocals); Mark Olson, Kenny James (organ, keyboards); Michael Urso (bass, background vocals); Edward Guzman (congas, percussion).

Producers: Rare Earth, Tom Baird, Norman Whitfield.

Compilation producer: Harry Weinger.

Recorded between 1969 and 1973. Includes liner notes by Tony Green.

Digitally remastered by Suha Gur (Universal Mastering).

This is part of MCA's 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection series.

Personnel: Rod Richards, Ray Monette (vocals, guitar); Gil Bridges (vocals, flute, saxophone, percussion); John Persh (vocals, trombone); Mark Olson (vocals, keyboards); Michael Urso (vocals); Kenny James (organ, keyboards); Eddie Guzman (congas, percussion).

Liner Note Author: Tony Green.

Rare Earth's edition of the 20th Century Masters series is a near-definitive collection of their singles for Motown. Over the course of seven tracks, all the group's biggest hits -- "Get Ready," "(I Know) I'm Losing You," "Born to Wander," "I Just Want to Celebrate," "Hey Big Brother," and "What'd I Say" -- are included, all in their original album versions. This means "(I Know) I'm Losing You" runs over ten minutes, "Ma" over 17, and "Get Ready" a shattering 21-plus minutes. This is means that it's for the serious casual fan, since these extended versions certainly demand patience. Still, this gives a good idea of what Rare Earth was about, and that makes it a first-rate compilation. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize