To my mind, Donny Hathaway was the greatest soul man ever. In terms of sheer natural talent, he was unassailable, a genius, a giant. His voice – smooth, rich, and supremely soulful – had a majestic, cathartic power and not only could he sing beautifully, Donny could play the keyboard with a virtuoso-like technical ability. If that wasn't enough, he was also a gifted arranger and also wrote some good tunes too. So what went wrong? Maybe Hathaway – who was a child gospel sensation – peaked too soon and burned himself out. After all, the key albums on this new 5-CD set ('Everything Is Everything,' 'Donny Hathaway,' 'Live,' and 'Extension Of A Man') were all created within an intense, fertile, three-year period. After 1973, Hathaway's output declined to almost nothing until his tragic suicide in January 1979. He was just 33. But the real cause of Hathaway's creative decline was mental illness. In fact, Hathaway was more of a tortured genius than Marvin Gaye ever was.

It all began so brightly in 1970 when Jerry Wexler signed Hathaway to Atlantic after hearing an album that the singer had recorded and co-produced with drummer Rick Powell. That LP was 'Everything Is Everything,' a superb debut that showcased Hathaway's musical gifts in various settings. The killer cut was 'The Ghetto,' an electric piano-led funky groove with a chanted vocal chorus which became a big US hit. Jerry Wexler took the production reins for Hathaway's next album, a self-titled set that was quite sombre in mood (it was dominated mostly by gospel-infused ballads) but which also contained an incredible blues-drenched rendering of Van McCoy's 'Giving Up' and a superlative take on Leon Russell's 'A Song For You' (most experts agree that Hathaway's version, with an exquisite orchestral arrangement by the late Arif Mardin, is the definitive one).

The same year (1971), Atlantic cashed in on Hathaway mania with a combustible live album ('Live'), undoubtedly one of the greatest in-concert recordings ever (it includes a 13-minute version of 'The Ghetto'). After that came Hathaway's one and only movie score, the recently reissued 'Come Back Charleston Blue' (but not included in this set) and then his magnum opus,1973's 'Extension Of A Man.' An ambitious musical venture, 'Extension...' opened with an extended quasi-classical piece scored for a large orchestra ('I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry'), which showed off both Hathaway's compositional ability and arranging skills. The best cuts though were the anthemic 'Someday We'll All Be Free,' a funky, jazz-tinged instrumental, 'Valdez In The Country,' the Marvin Gaye-esque groover 'Love, Love, Love,' and an incredible Leon Ware-penned closer, 'I Know It's You.' After this, Hathaway was rarely heard on record again, apart from the occasional cameo with Roberta Flack (a rare appearance on Flack's 1977 'Blue Lights In The Basement' on the track 'The Closer I Get To You').

For those people that aren't familiar with Donny Hathaway and his music, this collection is a good starting point – sure, it's a no frills package and sadly lacks remastering (as far as I can tell) and liner notes. The fact that none of Hathaway's collaborations with Roberta Flack are included might irk some collectors, but as an introduction to the man's music, it's seriously worth investigating.