More Ultimate Power of Love

The second installment of Warner's Ultimate Power of Love series continues where the excellent inaugural left off. A two-disc set covering a wide range of styles from pop-rock (Bread, the Cars, a-ha) and oldies (the Association), to soul (Percy Sledge, Dionne Warwick) and quiet storm (James Ingram, Bill Withers, Atlantic Starr), it's a soothing blend of enjoyable favorites and radio staples, no stone is left unturned and no style is left behind. At first glance, it appears as if many of these tracks have been staples in value-line soft rock collections for years, but rarely have they been assembled with such attention to importance. Every single song here was a significant hit in its heyday, leaving no room for filler. The track sequencing is a bit uneven at intervals; it doesn't detract from the overall listening enjoyment that More Ultimate Power of Love brings. Most seasoned connoisseurs will already have most of these songs on previous compilations or artist full-lengths, but casual listeners will revel in having many of these songs on one complete set.