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I was fortunate to see Jennifer Holliday's legendary performance as Effie Melody White in Michael Bennett's original production of "Dreamgirls", and just last month, a quarter century later, in a solo performance in the rotunda of the San Francisco City Hall as the headliner for the 2007 Equality Awards. Her full-throttle, gospel-fueled voice was a marvel then and it still is now. Even though it has been superseded by the Millennium Collection, this 1996 compilation is still worth seeking out for several tracks not available on the later release. It should come as no surprise that the two best known songs from "Dreamgirls" are still her finest moments on record simply because they fit the contours of her outsized voice and often theatrical delivery - the conciliatory urgency of "I Am Changing" and of course, her do-or-die signature anthem, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Not even Jennifer Hudson's superb cover can approach the heightened emotional desperation and roof-raising volume that Holliday delivers.
It seems inevitable and something of a shame that the rest of her recorded output feels somewhat marginal despite often stellar vocal performances. Holliday was surrounded by grade-A talent like David Foster and Maurice White during the 1980's, when most of these songs were obviously recorded. However, most of the results now sound over-arranged and often dated. Pulsating disco beats saturate unmemorable tracks like "Just Let Me Wait", the echo-dominated "No Frills Love", and "Heart on the Line", while "Hard Times for Lovers" just sounds like generic, synth-saturated filler. "This Game of Love (I'm Never Coming Down)" is pure Ashford and Simpson with its hooks and hiccupping rhythm, and Dean Pitchford and Tom Snow's "Read It in My Eyes" sounds like a mix between Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire" and Christopher Cross's "Arthur's Theme" down to the melancholy trumpet solo.
When Holliday's voice is allowed to soar unencumbered by multi-tracking, the results can be sublime - the lush power ballad, "I Am Love"; the gospel-tinged "I'm on Your Side", and the quiet storm of "Say You Love Me". Easily the most impressive non-Effie track is the most elegant as she wraps her sizable voice with supple conviction around a sauntering cover of Duke Ellington's "Come Sunday". Probably to make the disc sound less like an eighties time capsule, there are three remixed dance-oriented tracks included, the so-called "Love to Infinity 96" sessions - a hyped-up, clubby version of "No Frills Love"; a sassy cover of the Bee Gees' oldie "Love Me"; and the more generic "Early Warning". An unreleased track from 1983, Maurice White's "Someday", is a nice if overproduced R&B cut. Holliday's recording career has been hamstrung by such excess behind the scenes, but as "Come Sunday" proves, she really could soar with more timeless material. Her voice is a true force of nature.
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