"The Complete Motown Singles Volume 10: 1970" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (June 2008 US Hip-O-Select 6CD Book Set 146-Track Compilation - Book Set With Front-Cover Attached 45 Single – A Non-Numbered Limited Edition of 8000 Copies – CD Volumes Nos. 50 to 55 in the Series - Ellen Fitton Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

HIGHER GROUND 
70ts Soul, RnB and Funk
Exception CD Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £6.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"…Good God Y'All!"

This extraordinary Hip-O Select series began in the States in January 2005 with Volume 1 covering 1959-1961 and ended a total of 14 book sets later in December 2013 with Volume 12B covering the second half of 1972. For Motown fans - it's been an exhilarating if not costly ride - a whopping 75 numbered-volumes on CD, 14 specially pressed 7" singles attached to the front and a staggering 1847 songs. Each 'Book Set' gives you the USA 7" single mixes in true MONO from the original Motown Master Tapes – promo STEREO versions where applicable and even Rare and Alternate Takes. Each volume is a sumptuous wow (see full list below). I own them all except Volumes 1 and the ever-elusive Volume 6 (now extortionately expensive).

"1970" (like much of 1969) saw Motown on the cusp of change (and badly needed it was too). Norman Whitfield and others saw Motown tentatively move away from the naïve but lucrative 'love on a Saturday night' song-writing machine that dominated Tamla’s Sixties output - to individual Artists and Producers expressing themselves and the real social change sweeping across America and the world ("Ball Of Confusion" by The Temptations and Edwin Starr's explosive "War"). Not that they didn't have their eye on the commercial – you get all the big hits of the year as well. So like 1969’s Volume 9 – Volume 10 is a strange hybrid of the right-on versus the happy-wappy. Here are the Tears Of A Clown…

Released June 2008 in the USA on Hip-O Select's B0011056-02 (Barcode 602517659209) – "The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 10: 1970" by VARIOUS ARTISTS has 6CDs housed in a hardback book set with a 148-page oversized book inside and a 7” single on the front – "The Tears Of A Clown" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (a repro of Tamla T 54199). It’s a non-numbered Limited Edition of 8000 and plays out as follows (basic breakdown)…

Disc 1 (Volume 50), 25 songs, 77:30 minutes:

Disc 2 (Volume 51), 23 songs, 70:13 minutes:

Disc 3 (Volume 52), 25 songs, 75:54 minutes:

Disc 4 (Volume 53), 24 songs, 78:22 minutes:

Disc 5 (Volume 54), 23 songs, 74:50 minutes:

Disc 6 (Volume 55), 24 songs, 76:02 minutes:

The first thing that hammers you (as with all of these releases) is the glory of the packaging – surely a standard by which all others are to be judged. The 7" single lodged in the front lip is not surprisingly "The Tears Of A Clown" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – an exact repro of the October 1970 USA R&B No. 1 single on Tamla T 54199. But inside is the real deal – 147-pages of stunning liner notes and full-colour artist plates – some of which will literally stop you in your tracks they're so beautifully rendered. Stevie Wonder is on Page 24, The Supremes (Trio) on Page 31, Marvin Gaye on Page 62, Rare Earth on Page 77, Martha Reeves And The Vandellas on Page 102, Edwin Starr on Page 113 and so on. The in-depth BILL DAHL liner notes are fabulous giving you a full history of each song and if the B-side is on a previous volume – he tells you which one. Each entry has catalogue numbers, master details, playing credits, Pop and R 'n' B chart positions and so on. There are even three Indexes at the rear – by Artist, Title and Catalogue Number so you find anything easily. And while the packaging is gorgeous – the Audio Remastering is just as thrilling…

Digitally remastered from original Motown Master Tapes by ELLEN FITTON – she’s handled the entire series – and stunning is the only word for it. Most of these single mixes are in MONO – so the punch is pretty lethal when it comes out of your speakers. The effect is to feel like you’re hearing these things anew.

Disc 1 opens with a beauty – "The Bells" and "I'll Wait For You" by The Originals – with both sides co-written by and produced by Marvin Gaye. Edwin Starr gets his production day too with the kicking "Time" while dancing enthusiasts will dig the obscure "Expressin' My Love" by Stu Gardner. Highlights on Disc 2 include the gritty Soul Rock of The Rustix with "Come On People", the lovely ballad "On The Brighter Side Of A Blue World" by The Fantastic Four, while Motown's in-house guitarist Arthur Adams sees his ultra-rare Chisa single "My Baby's Love" b/w "Loving You" get a CD outing for the first time since its 1970 release. And Chuck Jackson's double-ender "Two Feet From Happiness" b/w "Let Somebody Love Me" is one of those singles that should have done better.

Disc 3 and 4 sees the emergence of Soul Artists getting real with what was going on all around them in American politics both National and International - "Ball Of Confusion" by The Temptations and Edwin Starr's extraordinary "War" (apparently done in one take – Good God Y'all!). The commercial side is "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross & The Supremes, "I'll Be There" by The Jackson 5 and the underrated "Still Water (Love)" by The Four Tops. Obscure - but none the less winning are Kiki Dee, Bob & Marcia, Blinky, Danny Hernandez and Yvonne Fair. I also love The Jazz Crusaders, Jr. Walker and Rare Earth on Discs 5 and 6. In truth – like all of these compilations – there is a lot of filler – and it's easy to see why so many of these songs and acts fell by the wayside – but overall the listen is voyage of joy and discovery. Any compilation with the fabulous "Hum Along And Dance" by The Temptations gets my vote.

What I would give to see someone tackle ATLANTIC or STAX or CHESS SINGLES in this manner – but that’s another strengthened shelf sometime in the future. Genius and then some…

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

(14 Releases as of September 2020)

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

PS: Volume 10 (like so many of the others) is Deleted in September 2020 with used copies trading for as much as £250. But Amazon offer the whole set as an MP3 download for £59.99. Use link provided above for details...