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70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters
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"...Got To Be There..."
Issued in February 2009, Volume "11A" in this extraordinary Complete Singles Series featured January to June of 1971 for all of Motown’s US labels. So this "11B" Volume (released January 2010) covers the second half of that pivotal year, July to December 1971 (see Barcodes provided below to locate either volume).
So much to discuss and like its illustrious and beautifully presented predecessor, this is another must-own, must-have 'Got To Be There' package of Seventies Soul, Funk, R&B and Rock-Soul. To the details...
US released January 2010 - "The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 11B: 1971" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Hip-O Select/Motown B-0012227-02 (Barcode 602517876903) is a 5CD 120-Track Book Set covering July to December 1971. It comes with a Front-Cover Attached Vinyl 45 (a repro of the US single "Got To Be There" by Michael Jackson on Motown M 1191F 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 61 to 65) that plays out as follows:
CD1, Disc 61, 78:42 minutes (24 Tracks)
CD2, Disc 62, 73:16 minutes (24 Tracks)
CD3, Disc 63, 77:07 minutes (24 Tracks)
CD4, Disc 64, 76:51 minutes (24 Tracks)
CD5, Disc 65, 78:06 minutes (24 Tracks)
The thing about a set like this is how it allows you to go deeper - acts like Lodi, The Rustix, Popcorn Wylie, My Friends, G.C. Cameron, Sunday Funnies, Jack Hammer, Suzee Ikeda, Tom Clay, Tony & Carolyn (Rinaldi), Bobby Taylor, Virgil Henry, Dave Prince and the anonymous P.J. 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 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 Soul Vocalist names like Chuck Jackson, Thelma Houston and Valerie Simpson alongside the cabaret-strut of Bobby Darin – all aided by the huge hits from The Temptations, The Supremes and the emerging boy-wonder Michael Jackson (full colour plate on Page 122). There are an awful lot more Stereo Promo Versions too – one for almost all of the singles on CD65 for instance.
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 124 pages of text inside the hardback book are large – allowing full-page colour plates that are genuinely some of the most beautifully rendered photos of Soul Artists that I’ve ever seen (I have never ever thought Diana Ross sexy, but check out the luminous Afro-haircut colour photo of her on Page 66 – wow). There are lesser-seen picture sleeves for The Messengers, Jack Hammer and Sunday Funnies, trade adverts for Valerie Simpson and her "Exposed" debut album, another for The Temptations grinning at the supposedly high advance orders for their "Superstar... " 45 and a period/with-it photo of white-boy Folkie Dave Prince giving it some Gordon Lightfoot as he tells of Jesus Christ in his humble song offering "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" (doesn't he mean Berry Gordy).
The six 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 120 tracks by The Messengers, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, The Originals, David and Jimmy Ruffin, Stoney & Meatloaf, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Kendricks, The Rustix, Diana Ross, Valerie Simpson, Lodi, Four Tops, Popcorn Wylie, My Friends, Chuck Jackson, G.C. Cameron, Sunday Funnies, The Elgins, Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Jack Hammer, Michael Jackson, Suzee Ikeda, Tom Clay, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Temptations, Tony & Carolyn, Bobby Taylor, Thelma Houston, Rare Earth, Virgil Henry, The Undisputed Truth, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Bobby Darin, Dave Prince and P.J. - you can also feel the winds of change creeping in as soppy Saturday night girly themes get supplemented with the worries of the day. Picket signs and picket lines – I'm still a struggling man – everybody needing clarity and a safe home as the dark clouds get even darker both domestically and abroad. A fantastic snapshot of an amazing year...
£95 to over £120 for half a year is a lot I know (and some of it is rightfully forgotten), but 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 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
