07 - Love Me Still

Chaka Khan's career is a rich one. As part of Rufus, she brought the funk home through the 1970s, across a staggering nine albums recorded with the band. She then repeated her success across a stronger solo career that spanned three decades. Epiphany is a chunky compilation which showcases the full range of Kahn's work, embracing ballads, deep funkers, and jazzy groovers. Kicking off the proceedings is the blissful "Ain't Nobody," probably the song most closely associated with Khan, and one of the last things she recorded with Rufus. It originally appeared on 1983's live Stompin' at the Savoy, and Kahn's Rufus-era output is completed here with another Savoy track, the Stevie Wonder-penned "Tell Me Something Good." But there are other gems, too, from chart toppers to lesser remembered nuggets. Khan's treatment of Prince's "I Feel for You," which features guest musicians Melle Mel and Stevie Wonder, is still a treat. Ashford & Simpson gifted "I'm Every Woman" to Khan, and it gave her a number one upon its initial release; "The End of a Love Affair," meanwhile, takes its cue from Ella Fitzgerald � to whom the song is dedicated, and which allows Kahn to utilize her voice in an entirely different way. There's more versatility in the funky jazz of "And the Melody Still Lingers On (A Night in Tunisia)," and, while the brash "Papillon (aka Hot Butterfly)" is a weak link, still this is a wonderful compilation, packed with a fair representation of the artist's far-reaching canon. The perfect armchair companion. � Amy Hanson