"The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 11A: 1971" (January to June) by VARIOUS ARTISTS – featuring The Jackson 5, Joe Hinton, Brass Monkey, Chuck Jackson, R. Dean Taylor, Marvin Gaye, The Undisputed Truth, Ken Christie And The Sunday People, David Ruffin, Kiki Dee, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Eddie Kendricks, Sammy Davis Jr., Gordon Staples & The Motown Strings, Edwin Starr, David & Jimmy Ruffin, Letta, Diana Ross, P.J. (Patti Jerome), Stoney & Meatloaf, The Supremes, Bobby Darin, The Impact Of Brass, King Floyd, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Four Tops, Ivy Jo, The Crusaders, Hugh Masekela & The Union Of South Africa, Arthur Adams, The Stylists, Hearts Of Stone, Rare Earth and Tom Clay (February 2009 US Hip-O Select/Motown 5CD 119-Track Compilation – Hardback DigiBook Set With Front-Cover Attached 45 Vinyl Single – A Non-Numbered Limited Edition of 8000 Copies – CD Volumes Nos. 56 to 60 in the Series - Ellen Fitton Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...What's Going On..."

Thankfully, as I perused the Soul Section of Oxford Street’s HMV Megastore in early 2009, I saw the Marvin Gaye US 45 for "What's Going On" attached to the front cover of this thing-of-beauty and was a goner. Had to have it. I had diligently collected all of these now-legendary Hip-O Select American-issued Hardback DigiBook Volumes except of course (like a pillock) the elusive and expensive Vol. 6 covering 1966 (a very stupid oversight that will now set you back about £300 or more). I was not about to make that 'I'll pick it up later' mistake yet again. 

Volume 11A featured all 45-singles issued January to June 1971, whilst 11B did July to December 1971. You get the Tamla, Motown, Rare Earth, V.I.P., Soul, Ecology, MoWest and Chisa labels all featured and even unreleased alternate mixes and rare promo-only versions. So much to discuss, so let's hear those 'spend it on the have-nots' lyrics one more time, but with proper praise...

US released February 2009 - "The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 11A: 1971" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Hip-O Select/Motown B-0011579-02 (Barcode 602517776555) is a 5CD 119-Track Book Set covering January to June 1971. It comes with a Front-Cover Attached Vinyl 45 (a repro of the US single "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye on Tamla T 54201 inset into a die-cut hole so you can see the label) and is a Non-Numbered Limited Edition of 8000 Copies (CDs are Volumes 56 to 60) that plays out as follows:
 
CD1, Disc 56, 73:38 minutes (23 Tracks)
The A&B-sides of 11 US singles by The Jackson 5, Joe Hinton, Brass Monkey, Chuck Jackson, The Temptations, R. Dean Taylor, Marvin Gaye, The Undisputed Truth, Ken Christie And The Sunday People, David Ruffin and Kiki Dee (extra track is an Alternate Mix of the Kiki Dee A-side "Love Makes The World Go 'Round")

CD2, Disc 57, 77:50 minutes (25 Tracks)
The A&B-sides of 10 singles by Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Eddie Kendricks (extra track is a Long Promo Version of the A-side "This Used To Be The Home Of Johnnie Mae" on Tamla T 54203), Sammy Davis Jr. (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "In My Own Lifetime" on Ecology E 10000), The Jackson 5, R. Dean Taylor, Gordon Staples & The Motown Strings (two extra tracks are a Long Promo Version and Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Strung Out" on Motown M 1180), Edwin Starr, David & Jimmy Ruffin, Letta and Stevie Wonder (extra track is the Stereo Promo Version of "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer", originally the B-side of "We Can Work It Out" on Tamla T 54202 in March 1971, reissued as a double-sided promo-only 45 to promote the "Where I'm Coming From" LP)
 
CD3, Disc 58, 75:24 minutes (24 Tracks)
The A&B-sides of 9 singles by Diana Ross (two extra tracks are a Long Stereo Promo Version and Short Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Reach Out I'll Be There" on Motown M 1184), P.J. (Patti Jerome), Stoney and Meatloaf (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "What You See Is What You Get" on Rare Earth 5027), The Supremes (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Nathan Jones" on Motown M 1182), Bobby Darin, The Impact Of Brass (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Never Can Say Goodbye" on Rare Earth 5028), King Floyd, Diana Ross with The Jackson Five (B-side is Diana Ross & Bill Cosby) and Gladys Knight & The Pips (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" on Soul S 35083), 

CD4, Disc 59, 75:22 minutes (24 Tracks)
The A&B-sides of 9 singles by The Supremes & The Four Tops (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "You Gotta Have Love In Your Heart" on Motown M 1181), The Undisputed Truth, Ivy Jo (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "I'd Still Love You" on V.I.P. 25063), The Four Tops, Diana Ross (extra track is a Mono Promo Version of "Reach Out I'll Be There" on Motown M 1184 issued May 1971 – see Disc 58 for original), The Crusaders (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Pass The Plate" on Chisa C 8013), Hugh Masekela & The Union Of South Africa (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Dyambo (De-Yambo) Weary Day Is Over" on Chisa C 8014, Arthur Adams, The Stylists and Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (extra track is Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Crazy About The La La La" on Tamla T 54206F), 

CD5, Disc 60, 78:49 minutes (23 Tracks)
The A&B-sides of 8 singles by Marvin Gaye (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Mercy Mercy (The Ecology)" on Tamla T 54207F), Hearts Of Stone (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "If I Could Give You The World" on V.I.P. 25064), Ken Christie & The Sunday People (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "The Reverend John B. Daniels" on Rare Earth 5029F), R. Dean Taylor (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Candy Apple Red" on Rare Earth 5030F), Rare Earth (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "I Just Want To Celebrate" on Rare Earth R 5031F), The Jackson 5 (extra track is a Stereo Promo Version of the A-side "Maybe Tomorrow" on Motown M 1186F), Tom Clay (extra track is a Short Promo Version of the A-side "What The World Needs Now/Abraham, Martin and John" on MoWest 5002F) and The Temptations

The thing about a set like this is how it allows you to go deeper - acts like Ken Christie And The Sunday People, Gordon Staples & The Motown Strings, Letta, The Stylists, The Impact Of Brass, Brass Monkey, Tom Clay, P.J. or even Ivo Jo (who turns out to be Ivory Joe Hunter of Atlantic Records fame) are not exactly household names that trip of your average Soul fan's tongue.  Marvin Lee Aday and Cheryl "Shaun" Murphy are the real names of Meatloaf and Stoney, while P.J. is the life loving and damn sexy Patti Jerome – wife of Harry Balk – a musical power couple who went back to the end of the 50ts and beginning of the 60ts. And while Groove-Ambassador for his troubled country Hugh Masekela and crossover Rock-Soul-Funk crews like The Undisputed Truth and Rare Earth will up any compilation with class and swivel-hips - how cool is it to see great names like Guitarist Arthur Adams, male and female Soulful vocalists from different sides of the pond in the shape of Sammy Davis Jr. and Kiki Dee – all sided by the best Jazz-Funk band on the planet - The Crusaders. There are an awful lot more Stereo Promo Versions too – one for almost all of the singles on CD60. 

But first - you have to talk about the presentation of these things that in every case will have a Motown/Soul Music fan weak at the knees. I have bought and reviewed a lot of tasty Hip-O Select reissues – Muddy Waters, Jimmy Cliff, Emitt Rhodes, Tammi Terrell, Howlin’ Wolf, The 15-Disc Chess Story, Stephen Bishop, Buddy Miles and so on. But these Motown Volumes are the best they ever did – a profoundly fab project that eventually stretched out from 1959 to 1972 with 75 CDs and 1847 Tracks. All transfers were taken from original tapes and included the Single Mono Mixes, Stereo Versions if on Promo 45s, Previously Unreleased Variants and full annotation for every single song. You get catalogue numbers, musician personnel, Producers, overdub details, Billboard R&B and Pop chart placements (if any) and long paragraphs on the recording and its history.
 
As the packaging has to fit a 45 single on the front cover – the 140 pages of text are large inside the hardback book – allowing full-page colour plates that are genuinely some of the most beautifully rendered photos of Soul Artists that I’ve ever seen (even Sammy Davis Jr. looks hip with his head band). The five discs are housed in individual card leaves at the back with three indexes preceding them – By Artist, By Title and By Label. This allows collectors a way of tracking what they need – very thorough. The only minor miscall for UK fans would be that every catalogue number is American – if you want their British equivalents – I cannot recommend enough a book I reviewed a good few years ago now called “TAMLA MOTOWN: The Stories Behind The UK Singles” by TERRY WILSON - a tall paperback with over 710 pages published by Cherry Red Books. It provides both the US and UK details and is the very best reference source on TM you can get.

The Audio comes via an Engineer I’ve sung the praises of before – ELLEN FITTON – one of Universal’s top Remaster types. Across a total of 119 tracks, you get 47 singles and there are just so many great discoveries in here – the beautifully soulful Joe Hinton urging us to "Let's All Save The Children" – a one-off single that was also featured on one of the rarest Motown LPs ever issued called "Souvenir" – an album handed out to attendees only at a Benefit gig in April 1971 in Detroit, the wall of male-singer class that was Chuck Jackson on his "Is There Anything Love Can't Do" and the lovely voice of Letta Mbulu from Soweto. 

And of course you get to return to absolute Mono classics as you would have heard them on the radio of the day – the film-staple "Reach Out I'll Be There" by Diana Ross, the flange-tastic "Nathan Jones" by The Supremes and Stevie Wonder doing the Fabs with his excellent cut of "We Can Work It Out". Then there are probably three of my all time rave-faves in the Soul World - "Smiling Faces Sometimes" by The Undisputed, "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" by The Temptations and the sublime heaven that is "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye ("Mercy Mercy Me (Ecology Song)" is probably up there too). And so much more...
 
The physical product in 2021 ranges from £80 to over £125 - with the MP3 download version somewhere about £75 (individual tracks are usually 99p). But it's the real deal that you need. Either way - if you want to hear 'The Sound Of Young America' at its best – then look no further my fellow traveller. Stunning...
 

"The Complete Motown Singles" Series by Hip-O Select

(14 Hardback Digibook Releases as of January 2021)

75 x CD Volumes, 1847 CD Tracks Plus 28 Tracks On 14 x 7" Vinyl Singles

 
1.  Volume 1: 1959-1961, Released January 2005, Catalogue No. Hip-O Select B-0003631-02 (Barcode 602517643310), 6CDs, Ltd Edition of 5000 (Non-Numbered), 155 Tracks, CDs are Volumes 1 to 6
 
2.  Volume 2: 1962, May 2005, 4CDs, B-00004402-02 (Barcode 602517807552), Ltd Edition of 8000 (Non Numbered), 112 Tracks, Volumes 7 to 10
 
3.  Volume 3: 1963, October 2005, B-0005352-02 (Barcode 602517845691), 5CDs, Ltd Edition of 7500 (Non-Numbered), 119 Tracks, Volumes 11 to 15
 
4.  Volume 4: 1964, February 2006, B-0005945-02 (Barcode 602517882443), 6CDs, Ltd Edition of 8000 (Non-Numbered), 163 Tracks, Volumes 16 to 21
 
5.  Volume 5: 1965, August 2006, B-0006775-02 (Barcode 602517789414), 6CDs, Ltd Edition of 8000 (Non-Numbered), 166 Tracks, Volumes 22 to 27
 
6.  Volume 6: 1966, November 2006, B-0007872-02 (Barcode 602517092761), 5CDs, Ltd Edition of 6000 (Non-Numbered), 125 Tracks, Volumes 28 to 32
 
7.  Volume 7: 1967, May 2007, B-0008993-02 (Barcode 602517341906), 5CDs, Ltd Edition of 6000 (Non-Numbered), 120 Tracks, Volumes 33 to 37
 
8.  Volume 8: 1968, October 2007, B-0009708-02 (Barcode 602517431775), 6CDs, Ltd Edition of 6000 (Non-Numbered), 144 Tracks, Volumes 38 to 43
 
9.  Volume 9: 1969, December 2007, B-0010270-02 (Barcode 602517507722), 6CDs, Ltd Edition of 6000 (Non-Numbered), 148 Tracks, Volumes 44 to 49
 
10. Volume 10: 1970, June 2008, B-0011056-02 (Barcode 602517659209), 6CDs, Ltd Edition of 8000 (Non-Numbered), 144 Tracks, Volumes 50 to 55
 
11. Volume 11A: 1971, February 2009, B-0011579-02 (Barcode 602517776555), 5CDs, Ltd Edition of 8000 (Non-Numbered), 119 Tracks, Volumes 56 to 60
 
12. Volume 11B: 1971, January 2010, B-0012227-02 (Barcode 602517876903), 5CDs, Ltd Edition of 8000 (Non Numbered), 120 Tracks, Volumes 61 to 65
 
13. Volume 12A: 1972, May 2013, B-0012935-02 (Barcode 602527044453)), 5CDs, Ltd Edition of 7500 (Non Numbered), 117 Tracks, Volumes 66 to 70
 
14. Volume 12B: 1972, December 2013, B-0019213-02 (Barcode 602537532193), 5CDs, Ltd Edition of 7500 (Non Numbered), 100 Tracks, Volumes 71 to 75