Ultimate Jukebox Hits of the '70s, Vol. 2

The second volume of Collectables' Ultimate Jukebox Hits of the '70s sticks to soul music of various stripes and offshoots -- Philly soul, smooth soul, and disco. In doing so, this particular volume avoids a common problem with many of the other installments in the Ultimate Jukebox Hits series by retaining a theme that runs throughout. The other discs stick to popular music during their respective time periods, yes, but those are the only common factors behind the assembly in most cases. This disc doesn't offer anything that plenty of other '70s soul anthologies haven't, but a good selection of music is a good selection of music, and the Collectables label is one of the better catalog labels around. Here is MFSB's "T.S.O.P. (The Sound of Philadelphia)," Sly & the Family Stone's "If You Want Me to Stay," the O'Jays' "Backstabbers," Bill Withers' "Lean on Me," the Isley Brothers' "Fight the Power," Cheryl Lynn's "Got to Be Real," and a handful of other timeless soul hits. ~ Andy Kellman