Some historic trivia here: As I write this, I'm looking at an original LP version of this set (Soul label No. 718), and for track five the back cover listing is not "What Does It Take," but "Hip City Pt. 1." What had happened was, when Motown was preparing this set for retail in the spring of 1969, "What Does It Take" was pulled from Walker's then-current LP "Home Cookin'" and released as a single at the end of April. It quickly and increasingly showed it was going to be a monster hit - comparable in impact to another "Shotgun." Some hasty changes were clearly in order for the pending "Greatest Hits" LP, which DOES carry "What Does It Take" on the disc itself, but the LP covers must have been printed earlier. And indeed, the song certainly heralded a new, seductive and romantic Jr. Walker sound - I remember it all over the radio that summer I was 15.

There is not a dud among these 12 tracks, but there is more to Junior than one "Greatest Hits" package can fairly cover. For more of the direction Mr. Walker took his music post-"What Does It Take," you'll also want the tracks found on "Ultimate Collection": "Gotta Hold On To This Feeling," "These Eyes," "Do You See My Love For You Growing," and the achingly beautiful nostalgic ode, "Way Back Home."

Mr. Walker took his last farewell of us around Thanksgiving of 1995, but like his music continues to outlive him, it's also going to outlive his first-generation fans like myself. And I'm glad.