Rarely have Americans given British soul and funk a look. Yanks loved Loose Endz and Soul II Soul, and even dallied with Level 42 for a minute, but never really caught on to the mellifluous vibes of acid jazz songster Omar. A shame, since he can hold his own next to any American soul singer and is often far more adventurous musically. With Floetry and Craig David spearheading the current US love affair with Brit neo-soul, perhaps Omar will finally have his day with the re-release of Best By Far, his greatest hits compilation from 2000.