Liner notes by David Nathan narrate the story of Philadelphia’s Barbara Mason, most of whose best-known work is compiled here. Mason began her career as a teen singer, a Monica or Brandy of her time, recording the nubile "Yes, I’m Ready" in 1965, at the age of 18. That performance isn’t included, but we do get a re-recording of the song that she made in 1973 in which she talks to her fans about it and what it meant.

This was an era when Luther Ingram and Millie Jackson were in their prime and red-clay soul ruled with romantic predicaments and sung monologues. And Mason became the genre’s sexiest presence. Hits like "Shackin’ Up" and "From His Woman to You" followed, winning even the disco audience (which always appreciated sexy naughtiness). The latter song was her answer to Shirley Brown’s hit "Woman to Woman," and it pitted her cute ferocity against Brown’s dignified cool — a contest Mason was well equipped to win. She had wit and sarcasm, and she also had a tiny falsettoish soprano (listen to Curtis Mayfield’s "Give Me Your Love"), a voice that sounds uncannily like the falsetto Prince would use to advantage a decade later. Also included here is Mason’s "Me and Mr. Jones" (her answer to Billy Paul’s big 1973 hit "Me and Mrs. Jones"), "Caught in the Middle," and "Bed and Board," in which she flaunts her sexiness with relish but also with affection.