Patti LaBelle Albums (24)
'Live in Washington, D.C.'
Release Date 6/10/2008
Tracks 14
Label SMG
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What The Critics Say
Live in Washington, D.C. serves up nearly 80 nonstop minutes with all the energy and attitude that define Patti LaBelle in performance. The venerable R&B diva -- heard here in front of a very responsive crowd -- is captured on the road supporting her then most recent long-player, 1982's The Spirit's in It. That early-'80s project marked LaBelle's multi-album run on Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records label. And according to their liner notes essay, it was in Gamble & Huff's tape vault that this concert has languished for the better part of three decades. The ensemble backing LaBelle includes her longtime musical director and keyboardist, James "Budd" Ellison, who leads the musicians through a thoughtfully chosen sampling of selections ranging from material from her concurrent effort and reaching all the way back to the days when she was the namesake of the glam-funk trio simply named LaBelle, alongside Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash. The artist pumps every ounce of her musical being into the riveting and edgy update of the chart-topping "Lady Marmalade." Likewise, the LaBelle ballad "Isn't It a Shame" retains all the command of the original. Patti LaBelle's most recent solo output dominates the remainder of the set. She certainly knows how to work the assembled masses as she quips, "[A]nything you want me to sing, just ask me baby and I'll do that for ya," adding, "That's what I came here for." LaBelle is greeted with an eruption of approval as she launches into a stunning reading of "Come What May" from 1979's It's Alright with Me. Two more tunes from that album -- "Music Is My Way of Life" and the title track -- are presented in a medley along with the last of the vintage LaBelle classics, "What Can I Do for You?" Although it would be another three years before Patti LaBelle would release her version, another standout comes from none other than the Gamble & Huff songbook as she reworks "If You Don't Know Me by Now" into her own statement. Other inspired inclusions are the groovy "Joy to Have Your Love" and the highly personalized and otherwise showstopping adaptation of "Over the Rainbow." ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
'Miss Patti's Christmas'
Release Date 10/9/2007
Tracks 10
Label Def Soul Classics
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What The Critics Say
Like the Isley Brothers' I'll Be Home for Christmas, Patti LaBelle's Miss Patti's Christmas was released on Def Soul Classics and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It's a brief set at ten songs, and it's made mostly of interpretations, including material that is both secular and spiritual. It's not a given that the disc will become part of each listener's annual holiday listening tradition, but it's all pleasant and enjoyable, and there are several moments where it is obvious that LaBelle is giving everything she has, rather than coasting through (a common issue with Christmas albums). Jam, Lewis, and LaBelle should seriously consider repurposing the very upbeat "Nativity" -- one of four originals -- into a song with an everyday lyrical theme. It's too well-made to be suitable only for once-a-year rotation. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Patti LaBelle's 1989 album, Be Yourself, boasts a bevy of the day's brightest songwriters and producers, including the ubiquitous Diane Warren, who penned the album's lead single, "If You Asked Me To," which several years later became a massive hit for Celine Dion. Despite LaBelle's masterful, tear-inducing performance, the real gems on this set are two tunes written and produced by Prince: "Yo Mister," the set's second single (and a Top Ten R&B hit amazingly omitted from her 1996 Greatest Hits album), and "Love 89," which was co-written by Sheena Easton. These two songs find LaBelle at her funkiest -- they each have unstoppable beats, and despite the late-'80s production, still manage to sound fresh and undated, which is not entirely the case with the Full Force production "I Got It Like That." Other standouts include the funky title track, the melodic, Narada Michael Walden-produced "Still in Love," and the ballad "I Can't Complain." Most of the album's other ballads are toward the end, with the Bacharach-Sager-penned "Need a Little Faith" rising above the others. Despite a couple of unmemorable moments, Be Yourself doesn't disappoint by any means and is definitely worth having if only for the forgotten gems "Yo Mister" and "Love 89," which rank as some of Prince's better songs as well. ~ Jose F. Promis, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Patti Labelle's When a Woman Loves displays much of the appealing warmth that has endeared her to millions of fans. It also marks another tribute to the most successful songwriter of the '90s, Diane Warren. Johnny Mathis recorded a whole album of Warren songs on his 1998 Sony CD Because You Loved Me- The Songs of Diane Warren. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced the bulk of this mostly mellow album that is sprinkled with Labelle's intimately voiced listener-aimed spoken interludes. Highlights are the Khris Kellow-produced "If I Was a River," "Why Do Hurt Each Other," and "Tell Where It Hurts." The pace does pick up on the four-on-the-floor house track, "Too Many Tears, Too Many Times," mid-tempo hip-hop-flavored "Call Me Gone," and "Time Will." It's appropriate that Patti Labelle should make a CD full of Diane Warren's songs: she had the first hit with "If You Ask Me To" (Celine Dion covered it three years later), and some of Warren's songs echo Philly soul (ex. Mary J. Blige's "Give Me You"). ~ Ed Hogan, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
By the time she released Flame in 1997, Patti LaBelle had settled into a comfortable, reliable groove. Following her mid-'80s comeback, LaBelle gradually moved toward a neo-sophisticated, laid-back, adult contemporary style that only occasionally touched on urban soul. Which means Flame is largely a slick, seductive collection of ballads punctuated by a handful of restrained dance-pop numbers. And in that sense, it's no different than any of her '90s albums, but that isn't a bad thing, since LaBelle works with top-notch, classy professionals. A team of producers -- including David Foster, Gerald LeVert, Arif Mardin and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis -- worked on Flame, but instead of making the album sound diverse and sprawling, their highly skilled craftsmanship keeps the album unified. All that effort makes the record a pleasurable, listenable album, yet there aren't enough killer hooks or great songs to make it a standout in LaBelle's catalog. Instead, Flame is merely a good Patti LaBelle record, and sometimes that's all you need. ~ Leo Stanley, All Music Guide
'Patti LaBelle & the Bluebirds'
Release Date 11/21/1995
Tracks 10
Label Pilz
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'Our Christmas Songbook'
Release Date 8/30/1994
Tracks 14
Label Collectables
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What The Critics Say
Our Christmas Songbook finds Patti LaBelle & the Bluebelles tackling traditional Christmas songs, and unfortunately their approach to this material was also very traditional. The R&B/soul arrangements associated with LaBelle at the time are instead replaced with standard and, at times, mediocre versions of "White Christmas," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "Silent Night," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." ~ Al Campbell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Patti LaBelle's ballad-heavy 1994 album, Gems, doesn't necessarily rank as one of the singer's crowning achievements, but as the title (and cliché) implies, this set certainly offers more than a few gems to unearth. Gems also features a couple of prolific productions courtesy of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (on the set's up-tempo first single, "The Right Kinda Lover") and new jack swing maestro Teddy Riley (on LaBelle's mellow yet hypnotic cover of DeBarge's "All This Love"). The true standout, however, is "Stay in My Corner." That song, with its gospel undertones, features Labelle wailing as only she can, holding out her famous long notes and delivering a truly mesmerizing performance. The song is so good, in fact, that any self-respecting Labelle fan would have to own this set if only for that number. Other highlights include another gospel-infused tune, the ballad "If I Didn't Have You," the smooth "Time Will Tell," and the album finale, "Come as You Are." As a final note, this album also contains some truly stellar background vocals. ~ Jose F. Promis, All Music Guide
