Motown compilations on vinyl?

I've recently been listening to some Motown mp3s i have and have been wanting to get some compilations on vinyl, but have no idea where to start. Most comps I have were cd release only. Wondering if yall could make some suggestions? I'm mainly interested in '50s and '60s era. Not a big fan of the '70s. Thanks

 

I have The Motown Story (First Decade) 5xLP. http://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Motown-Story/release/2161856

 

Oh, should've pointed out that there's commentary throughout by Berry and the artists themselves, telling the story of Motown (hence the album title lol), and the songs. It's interesting the first time but sort of kills repeated listens.

 

I'd like to nominate the UK album Motown Chartbusters Vol. 3. It was the first ever V/A compilation to reach the top of the UK albums sales chart in 1970 so there's plenty of copies around and the silver foil sleeve looks great, too.

 

Motown Chartbusters and 16 Big Hits are superb period compilation LP discs.

 

Doesn't the commentaries on that album talk over the music?

 

Yup. Those old Package/Collection of 16 Original Big Hits albums were littered with bad stereo mixes, fake stereo, and a bunch of alternate takes and edits that are nothing close to the "hit" 45rpm singles. Poor cutting and noisy RCA Custom pressings.

 

I have several volumes of the Motown Sound 16 Big Hits. Nice collections but not so great sound. Since I got Hitsville USA, I haven't listened to these.

 

There was another Motown box in the 70s, the 4-LP Greatest 64 Motown Original Hits. Originally available as a TV/mail-order offer; found one as a cheap sealed cutout a few years later. Great selection of tunes — loved having all those hits in one spot — and no voiceovers (yeesh).

 

That would be this one: http://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Greatest-64-Motown-Original-Hits/release/1423416

I bought this in either '75 or '76, but in a B&M.....either Sam The Record Man or Simpson's...I'm thinking more likely the latter.

 

I'd stick with British Motown compilations such as the Chartbusters series and also don't neglect the single artist compilations such as Four Tops Story, (UK) Diana Ross Greatest Hits 1 & 2 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Anthology and so on.

 

The problem with most Motown comps are a.) the '60s pressings are lousy (but at least they're available in mono); and b.) the '70s-'80s comps use the inferior stereo mixes (and are often lousy pressings). That's why so many of us have turned to collecting the original 45s and/or relying on the better mono CDs (ie: "Hitsville USA Singles 1959-1971" box).

I can recommend these UK compilation LPs, which were issued around 1979 or '80 and are 100% mono:



Side 1:
1 Marvin Gaye – Can I Get A Witness
2 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Heatwave
3 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying
4 Diana Ross & The Supremes – When The Lovelight Starts Shining Thru' His Eyes
5 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Quicksand
6 Marvelettes – As Long As I Know He's Mine
7 Marvin Gaye – You're A Wonderful One
8 Mary Wells – My Guy
9 Temptations – The Girl's Alright With Me
10 Stevie Wonder – Hey Harmonica Man

Side 2:
1 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas – Dancing In The Street
2 Marvelettes – You're My Remedy
3 Temptations – Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)
4 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – That's What Love Is Made Of
5 Marvin Gaye – How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
6 Velvelettes – Needle In A Haystack
7 Marvelettes – Too Many Fish In The Sea
8 Diana Ross & The Supremes – Come See About Me
9 Temptations – My Girl
10 Velvelettes – He Was Really Saying Somethin'



Fingertips (Part 2) - Stevie Wonder
Come And Get These Memories - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Mickey's Monkey - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
The Way You Do The Things You Do - Temptations
In My Lonely Room - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
I Like It Like That - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
Shotgun - Jr. Walker & The All Stars
Nowhere To Run - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
When I'm Gone - Brenda Holloway
I'll Be Doggone - Marvin Gaye
Back In My Arms Again - Diana Ross & The Supremes
I Can't Help Myself - Four Tops
Lonely Lonely Girl Am I - Velvelettes
I'll Always Love You - Detroit Spinners
First I Look At The Purse - Contours
Take Me In Your Arms - Kim Weston
Ain't That Peculiar - Marvin Gaye
Uptight - Stevie Wonder
Helpless - Kim Weston
Road Runner - Jr Walker & The All Stars

 

AP - good shout. I have those and they are great.

UK pressings should be much better when dealing with Motown comps.

There was a series that BMG did in the mid 80's - Motown Hits of Gold. Around 8 or 10 volumes, all in chronological (UK) chart order. I remember them sounding pretty good.

 

I have the UK 8 volume 150 Motown Hits of Gold set from 1985 which was mastered by Nick Webb at Abbey Road. I haven't played them in a while so I can't remember how they sound. The set came with a ninth LP called Motown Today & Forever which had these modern classics:

Glow - Rick James
In My House - Mary Jane Girls
Save The Night For Me - Maureen Steele
Break The Ice (Dance Mix) - Michael Lovesmith
Peeping Tom - Rockwell
Keep On Jammin' - Willie Hutch
Hotspot (Club Mix) - Dazz Band
Sexy Ways - Four Tops
Who's Holding Donna Now - DeBarge
Coolin' Out - Dennis Edwards

 

My Motown comp LP discs in mono are UK Tamla/Motown pressings made by EMI Hayes. Far superior mastering and pressing quality. RCA Custom did the Motown mastering in the USA, other plants pressed them of varying quality.

 

Are there any compilations which contain Who's Loving You by Jackson 5? Love this song and considered picking up the 7" single but my TT is one where you change speed by adjusting the belt so decided against it.

 

UK version of J5 Greatest Hits on Tamla Motown STML 11202
http://www.discogs.com/Jackson-5-Greatest-Hits/release/1570938

 

Imlive thise series.
The UK / EMI ones sound surprisingly good. I just picked up a few of them.
I have a set of all 11 on vinyl and reel to reel tape. They vinyls are mint stereo and a few mono - bought them sealed except a few I bought new when they came out.
5, 6 and 7 on the reel to reels were 7 1/2 ips. Manufactured by Ampex.
They were issued on CD and cassette by Universal in the early 90s / late 80's but they did not use all the stereo mixes so did not exactly match the stereo originals, they were mixed. And this varied widely from volume to volume. even the iTunes ones are wrong, I believe they have 1-5 available.
The actual stereo 16 big hits mixes surfaced later on Kim Weston, Marvelettes, Brenda Holloway 20th Century Masters Series and are scattered around on various other artist compilations, and in many cases are noted as such.

 

I have a different 5xlp Motown compilation from the early 80s.

http://www.discogs.com/Various-A-Motown-Anniversary-Collection/release/1872168

First off, I think the selection of songs is awesome; it's such a sweet summer day trip. Even the later era tracks don't ruin the flow.

Now, the sound...

It's a funny release. In short, it's inconsistent, sound quality wise.

The tracks range from "I never heard this track sound so crisp and clear before!" to "judging by the tape hiss, this is definitely a ways from the master tape". Only one that I can think of is mildly distorted. Also, Shotgun by Jr Walker suffers the most. It almost sounds like a bad cassette dub; Like deteriorated. "Eagle" probably just had to use whatever tapes Motown gave them.

That being said, I still think whoever mastered it did a pretty good job given the circumstances. Like I said, some of the tracks just sound fantastic to my ears and mid-fi system. Even the tracks that have noticeable tape hiss are still fairly pleasing to the ears.

I like it, and I'm glad to have such a clean copy. No inner groove distortion. No Barry Gordy narrating.

A flawed, beautiful collection IMO. After watching "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" the other day, this collection was the perfect treat for my jones. I'm currently giving it a repeat listen haha.

Hope this helps!

 

That's a great album. In 1969 it was iconic, and even rock fans needed to have a copy propped up in clear view. It was my first Motown compilation, bought for me at Christmas in 1969 along with "Four Tops Greatest Hits" - the UK 16-track version. And that's another goody. You even get the rare original stereo mix of "You Keep Running Away" on that LP.

Chartbusters 3 was re-issued in the 80s around the same time as it found its way onto CD, but the mastering (IMHO) was not quite as good as the original, and the sleeve was a disaster since it used grey ink instead of silver foil.

So... grab an original if you can. I have an original in mono - which is a fold-down - and the aforementioned re-issue. The original is on seriously heavy vinyl and, despite being a fold-down, sounds good.

Another compilation to consider is "The Golden Sound Of Motown" box set, which came out in the UK in 1980 on World Records. The mastering on this is very reminiscent of Chartbusters 3 - 5, i.e. very nice, and the vinyl is lovely and quiet.

Over the first 7 discs and across 112 tracks we get the best of Motown from 1963 until 1979, starting with "My Girl" by The Temptations and "My Guy" by Mary Wells, and finishing with "With You I'm Born Again" by Billy Preston and Syreeta. Disc 8 features tracks by then-contemporary artists, including Switch, Rick James, and Teena Marie. Because it's a UK compilation, however, there are tracks included that weren't hits in the USA, and tracks missing that were hits in the USA.

Funnily enough, there's a copy on ebay UK right now and it's priced at around £2.50 per disc. It's a lot of money but, then again, it's a lot of music.

Those two "20 Mod Classics" LPs also get my vote, by the way. These are in proper mono, i.e. as heard by everyone back in the 60s. Two great comps.

 

On vinyl, I thought I just had the rarely listened to "The Motown Story"; but it turns out I have two other compilations on vinyl I had forgotten about: "Twenty No. 1 Hits From Twenty Years At Motown" and "Motown Winners Circle - No.1 Hits" (which for some reason is on the Gordy label). Since I forgot I had these, needless to say I don't remember how they sound. But there is no time like the present so I will put these two on the turntable when I get a chance.

 

Motown Greatest Hits - Vinyl LP

What's this pressing like?