I'll Do Anything: The Doris Troy Anthology 1960-1996

As the chronological range in the title confirms, this is a career-spanning, 26-track anthology of the underrated soul singer. Not to its detriment, it does focus very much on the first decade of that career, with just five songs post-dating 1970. Considering that her best recordings were those she made in the mid-'60s (principally for Atlantic) and those issued by Apple Records in the early '70s, you'd get a better, more consistent listen by picking up a pair of other releases first, those being the Ichiban compilation Just One Look: The Best of Doris Troy (which contains 1963-1965 recordings) and the expanded CD reissue of her self-titled 1970 Apple album. In its favor, however, this does include material, some of it quite rare, not included on those compilations, like pre-"Just One Look" singles from the early '60s; Chuck Jackson hits on which she sang ("Tell Him I'm Not Home" and "Beg Me"); and her obscure 1967 Capitol single "Face Up to the Truth"/"He's Qualified." Of more importance, it also has the bulk of her best Atlantic recordings, including her sole hit "Just One Look"; "What'cha Gonna Do About It," covered by the Hollies; the majestic, anguished, orchestrated ballad "Heartaches"; the enchantingly sweet "Please Little Angel"; and the girl group-style "Tomorrow Is Another Day." Also here is the title cut, a Northern soul staple, and a fine girl group-ish effort done for Cameo-Parkway, "But I Love Him." However, the Apple period is lightly represented with just a couple cuts; not every quality mid-'60s recording is here (the propulsive "You'd Better Stop" being a particularly notable omission); and, if you want to get really arcane, one of her greatest vocals, the torrential "Kill Them All!" (from an early-'70s Italian film soundtrack), would have made a great addition that even many Troy fans are not aware of. It's also true that for all her talent, it's an uneven listen, gems like the aforementioned Atlantic cuts mixing with relatively pedestrian soul and R&B efforts. These are, admittedly, complaints particular to passionate, collector-oriented fans. As an overview of Troy's work (especially if you can't get the Ichiban anthology or Apple album), it's decent, including detailed liner notes based around a lengthy 1995 interview she gave about a decade before her death.