A nice collection featuring the best uptempo and left-field ballad hits by Rick James. The anthology shows that James functioned best when riding the rhythm; he was a moderately talented (at best) vocalist, better at yelling and exhorting than trying to interpret lyrics, pace a slow song, or vary a mood. The only significant ballad hit he had was a duet where the contrast between his voice and Smokey Robinson's generated enough response to sell the song. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
Detroit-based the Reflections were a five-man group schooled in doo wop who scored in 1964 on Ed Wingate's Golden World label with "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet," written by Bob Hamilton and Freddie Gorman. (Gorman later wrote songs for Motown ("Please Mr. Postman" and "Forever") and formed the Originals, who hit with "Baby I'm for Real.")
The Reflections were Phil Castrodale, Ray Steinberg, Tony Micale, Danny Bennie, and Johnny Dean. The group's first recording was a remake of the Five Satins' "In the Still of the Night" on Tigre, which did well in some Midwestern markets. Their Golden World debut, "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet," cracked the Top Ten before settling at the number six position.
They recorded seven more 45s for Golden World, but none were as successful as "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet." "Like Columbus Did" cracked the pop 100, but only by four slots, hanging at number 96. "Poor Man's Son," the Reflections' sixth Golden World single, almost cracked the Top 40 but stopped climbing at number 55. Other singles -- "Talking About My Girl," "(I'm Just) A Henpecked Guy," "Shabby Little Hut," "Wheelin' and Dealin'," "Out of the Picture," and their final single, "Girl in the Candy Store" -- did nothing. Their producers insisted they use a hokey falsetto sound on their recordings that didn't bode well with the group members.
Problems with Golden World resulted over both creative differences and royalties, so they opted to go with ABC Paramount when their contract time was up. Neither "Adam and Eve" or "Long Cigarette" did well though, so believing the name the Reflections hindered them, the group became High and the Mighty. They released "Escape From Cuba," written by Ritchie Adams and Larry Kusik, but it failed too. Despite a lack of success, they continued singing for years; members Micale and Dean still gigged around the Detroit area in a band called Larados. ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide
Reflections is a compilation of Rick James songs released in 1984. It also contains 4 until then unreleased tracks, "17", "Oh What a Night (4 Luv)", "You Turn Me On", and " U Bring the Freak Out of Me". It was released on the Gordy Records imprint of Motown Records.
