Hits 1985-1995: Best of the Best Gold

Performer: Michael Bolton
Artist: Angelo & Veronica; Lisa Bevill; Jim Gilstrap; Cindy Morgan; Lisa Keith
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players. Personnel includes: Michael Bolton (vocals); Dann Huff (guitar); Tommy Sims (guitar, keyboards, bass, programming); Jan Mullaney (keyboards); Walter Afanasieff (keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, synthesizer, programming); Chris McHugh (drums); Danny Duncan, Gary Cirimelli (programming); Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Brenda Braxton, Victor Trent Cook, Pattie Darcy Jones, Larry Batista, Portia Griffin, Pat Hawk, Vann Johnson, Janis Liebhart, Claytoven Richardson, Philip Ingram, Jim Gilstrap, Rose Stone, Alex Brown, Bob Carlyle, Kim Fleming, Vicki Hampton, Angelo Petrucci, Veronica Petrucci, Chris Rodriguez, Micah Wilshire, Lisa Befill, Michael Black, Lisa Cochran, Tabitha Fair, Chris Harris, Robert White Johnson, Lisa Keith, Kim Keyes, Robin Johnson, Michael Mellett, Cindy Morgan, Nicol Smith (background vocals). Producers include: Keith Diamond, Johnathan Cain, Peter Bunetta, Rick Chundacoff, Michael Omartian. Engineers include: Jan Mullaney, Steve Milo, Dana Jon Chappelle. Recorded at Passion Studios, Connecticut; Wally World, California; The Record Plant, Hollywood, California; The Dugout, Nashville, Tennessee; Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, California. This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players. Hits 1985-1995: Best of the Best Gold is essentially a watered-down version of 2006's two-disc Essential Michael Bolton collection: the first 13 cuts are the exact same, while the remaining four are culled from that retrospective's second disc. All of the big hits are here ("When a Man Loves a Woman," "Soul Provider," "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You," and "How Can We Be Lovers," making it a better deal for fans just looking to skim the salt from the tide pool, but listeners with an unhealthier appetite for Bolton would be better off with the two-disc package. ~ James Christopher Monger Although he has always been a favorite target of rock critics, Michael Bolton amassed a large number of hit singles in the late '80s and early '90s, including seven Top Ten hits and two number one singles ("How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" and "When a Man Loves a Woman"). With the notable exception of "Love Is a Wonderful Thing," all of his big hits are collected on Greatest Hits 1985-1995, as well as a handful of new tracks that aren't quite as successful as the older hits. Nevertheless, Greatest Hits 1985-1995 is the one definitive Michael Bolton album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Michael Bolton possesses numerous attributes inherent to a great recording artist--a grandiose voice able to be at once overwhelming and gentle, the vision to convey powerful emotional details with simple vocal inflections, the ability to set his songs in precise musical colors. But what is probably his most overlooked quality is also his greatest strength: The man is a tunesmith non-pareil. Not only is he a powerful songwriter in his own right (having written for everyone from Barbra Streisand to Kiss), but his knowledge and choice of cover songs borders on the omniscient. And they all become hits--the proof is on GREATEST HITS 1985-1995. It was Bolton's renditions of soul classics that first gained him an audience. Zelma Redding, widow of the legendary Otis Redding, called Bolton's chart-topping take on "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" her "all-time favorite version," and his interpretation of "Georgia On My Mind" personifies the timeless elegance of modern pop. Yet his own compositions shine just as brightly: "Soul Provider" glides with a smoky, saloon feel, "How Can We Be Lovers" deftly communicates the complexities of relationships, and "Steel Bars" (co-written with Bob Dylan) moves with classic Bryan Adams-ish abandon. GREATEST HITS also shows off Bolton's knack for nurturing hits out of current songwriters, and finding nuggets ripe for renewing. Among the latter is the remake of Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne's "A Love So Beautiful," a sweeping ballad on which Bolton pays homage to Orbison's unique tenor. Among the former are "When I'm Back On My Feet Again," "Time, Love And Tenderness" and "The River"--all by Diane Warren, all modern-day epics of the heart that place the fleeting, indescribable moments of love (and love lost) into exquisitely poetic pop statements.

Entertainment Weekly (10/6/95, pp.60-62) - "...The music huffs and puffs even when it doesn't have to, and Bolton's nuance-impaired groaning remains an acquired taste..." - Rating: D

Making women swoon with his good looks and soulful voice, Bolton was a major pop star in the 1980s and '90s, winning Grammys and selling millions of records. In the '70s, Bolton was the singer for the hard rock band Blackjack, which also featured future members of Kiss and the Pat Travers Band, but he didn't break through until going solo. His outsized pop versions of soul hits like "Dock of the Bay" scored big with boomers and youngsters alike.

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