The Best of Georgie Fame, 1967-1971

Culling the best songs from five of Georgie Fame’s studio albums recorded between 1967 and 1971, this 1996 compilation does a great job of sequencing the cream of his crop to play with a cohesive flow. “The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde” from his 1968 album by the same name opens with a whimsical take on old Dixieland R&B, interspersed with sound effects of police sirens and mobsters. The following cover of Burt Bacharach’s “This Guy’s in Love with You” returns Fame to the buttery-smooth jazz-pop that he’s known for, with an exquisitely arranged string section and a nice little melancholic horn solo. He turns Willie Dixon’s “Seventh Son” into a brass-blasting mod-groover before transforming The Beatles’ “And I Love Her” into a loungy little slice of melodramatic balladry tinged with Tropicália instrumentation. Fame’s take on Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood” retains the song’s strong Stax soul sound, which made for a Carnaby Street club favorite back in swinging London’s heyday.