Anthology - Héctor Lavoe / Anthology - Hector Lavoe

Fania has issued and reissued so many Héctor Lavoe compilations that it's difficult to keep track of them all— especially when they change names. Ultimately, it mostly comes down to marketing. The two-disc Anthology contains 27 tracks, including all 14 from 2010's Greatest Hits (which was originally issued in its current remastered form in 2007—confused yet?) and 13 more. This set contains almost all of Lavoe's fan favorites, best-sellers, and other aesthetic achievements. All of disc one, and three selections on disc two were recorded during his tenure with Willie Colón. Disc two is made up of his solo album cuts and "El Rey de la Puntualidad" with the Fania All-Stars. Essentially, there isn't a miss on the entire collection, so anyone looking to discover Lavoe or to get an extensive best-of would be well served by this. That said, 2007's two-disc A Man and His Music: La Voz (which also contains 27 tracks with slight variations), is an arguably better compilation in terms of presenting a more well-rounded overview of Lavoe's career, and it contains far more extensive liner notes than this dashed-off bunch. More than likely, Fania will continue to issue Lavoe anthologies as long as there are those willing to buy them, but this, or either of the aforementioned collections, is all that's necessary for most fans.