A nice bit of funky blues, and a very strange record to appear on Motown! The production style and presentation are very rootsy – right down to the photo of Luther on the front cover, who's smoking a cigarette, but trying to pretend it's a joint! The style is electric blues of the Chicago school, but given a bit more of a country funk kind of sound. Titles include "Bad News Is Coming", "Dust My Broom", "Evil Is Going On", "Rock Me Baby", and "Raggedy & Dirty", which actually has some very nice drums! (Blues, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

Dennis Edwards made some great music with The Temptations – but a record like this is key proof that he was maybe even stronger as a solo act on his own! There's a mature 80s vibe to the whole record – one that comes from the commandingly strong, soulful style that Edwards perfected with his previous group – a depth that never gets lost in the 80s production, weather quiet storm mellow or upbeat and catchy – really well formed all the way through, thanks to work from producer Dennis Lambert. Siedah Garrett duets with Edwards on the mellow groover "Don't Look Any Further" – and other tracks include "(You're My) Aphrodisiac", "Another Place In Time", "I Thought I Could Handle It", and "Just Like You". LP, Vinyl record album

Almost a Motown attempt to go head to head with the Force MDs – but also a record with a few touches of Minneapolis funk in the mix as well! General Kane's got a pretty hair-heavy posse on the cover of this one – very much in the styles of the time, as are the beats and keyboards here – but there's also a tight confidence that makes the best tunes here come off well – clearly strongly inspired by The Time, and with bits of hip hop on some of the lyrics. Mitch "General Kane" McDowell wrote and produced the album – and titles include the hit "Crack Killed Applejack", plus "Buffaloes", "Can't Let Go", "Wrassle", "Hairdooz", "All The Way Up", "The Ticket", and "Cuttin It Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A really nice little record from High Inergy – one that sounds a lot better than we remember from some of the girls' other sets! There's almost a bit of a softening going on here – less "inergy" in the grooves, and more of a warm approach to soul that still works in the Philly-inspired girl group 70s style, but kicks things back a bit more – making a shift from Three Degrees into The Jones Girls, if that makes any sense. Titles include "Everytime I See You I Go Wild", "Didn't Wanna Tell You", "Lovin Fever", "Hi", "Fly Little Blackbird", "Beware", "We Are The Future", and "Peaceland". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the best album ever from this late 70s Motown group – a set that's got the girls really stepping out with a nice degree of power – in a groove that's different than the usual female disco mode of the time! The record's got a much more fully-formed sort of feel – not just a female chorus with grooves, but a real soul group who really know how to put things together – especially given the album's really nice balance between groovers, midtempo moments, and ballads – all of which give the whole thing a very well-rounded feel. Arrangements are by Greg Poree, Sylvester Rivers, Greg Washburn, and Jimmy Holiday – and titles include "You Can't Turn Me Off", "Searchin", "Ain't No Love Left", "Let Me Get Close To You", "Love Is All You Need", and "Save It For A Rainy Day". LP, Vinyl record album

Rick James' first LP for Motown subsidiary Gordy, that was to provide the blueprint for his later success. James' trademark pop bass funk style is fully formed on this one already, and though we may once have thought little of the slick production and style, looking back this stuff has a good bit more substance than some of the other commercial R & B of the day. "Mary Jane" & "You & I" were the 2 big hits of this album, which also includes "Be My Lady", "Hollywood" & "Sexy Lady". LP, Vinyl record album

Rick James fires it up at the end of the 70s – stepping out at full star power that has him rivaling the strength of Bootsy Collins at Warner, and paving the way for the rise of Prince in the early 80s! As with Prince, James' version of funk here is a bit offbeat – lots of riffing guitars in the mix, and a bad-strutting groove that's still conventional mainstream funk of the time, yet with some edgier elements that led Rick to label his music as "punk funk" (or was it "funk punk"?) Given the end-of-70s spirit, you might also say that some of the cuts were aimed at the dancefloor – although James was never really one to storm the discos as much as others. Titles include "Love Gun", "Fire It Up", "Come Into My Life", "Lovin You Is A Pleasure", and "Stormy Love". LP, Vinyl record album

The title track to Rick's Glow album – and a snapping 80s groover that has a surprisingly catchy hook! The sound isn't really classic Rick James funk, but it's a nice mainstream soul number! 12-inch, Vinyl record

One of the all-time great Rick James albums – a return to funkier sounds for Rick that worked both artistically and commercially – and actually got over far better than his more blatant attempts at crossover material on other records! The mix here is perfect – a true summation of all that made Motown great at the time, and the special sort of energy that made Rick one of the freshest mainstream talents at the end of the 70s! The record put a lot of money in Barry Gordy's pockets, and for good reason too – given that the set includes the classic hit "Super Freak" – plus "Give It To Me Baby", "Ghetto Life", "Make Love To Me", "Below The Funk (Pass The J)", and "Fire & Desire" – all done in that compressed pop-funky style that James kind of took from Bootsy Collins and manage to successfully soup up for the masses! LP, Vinyl record album

Rick James is massively throwing down on this classic set – tight, right, and on the money all the way through – in that trademark groove that so many others would try to cop, but never get this right! The album bristles with energy right from the start – lots of bass at the bottom of the grooves, riffing guitar in the middle, and those badass vocals of James' that mange to sound nasty even when they're sweet! But if you know Rick, you know that sweetness isn't the aim here – and the album drips with party sex all the way through – over funk classics that include "Standing On The Top", "Teardrops", "Money Talks", "Throwdown", "Hard To Get", "69 Times" and "Dance Wit Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the greatest album that Teena Marie ever cut – and that's saying a lot, given the strength of the lady's work for Motown! The set's got this bright, positive bounce that grabs you right from the start – but also moves into a depth that's way different than other funk albums of the time – a way with a ballad and a thoughtful track that almost makes Marie the 80s heir to the Minnie Riperton legacy, especially given the strength of her voice on the set – and the fact that Teena wrote and produced the whole album herself! At a time when so many other female soul singers were at the mercy of other folks' talents and ideas, Lady T steps forth boldly with this classic set – brimming over with greatness on cuts that include the stellar "Portuguese Love", plus "Yes Indeed", "Where's California", "Opus III", "Square Biz", "365", "Revolution", and "Ballad Of Cradle Rob & Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Martha and the girls open up nicely in the live setting on this one – moving past the stock Motown modes of their famous singles, and coming across as a gutsier soul act than we might have expected! The set was recorded live at the 20 Grand club in Detroit, before a very lively crowd – and tunes include "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone", "Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things", "Do Right Woman/Respect", "Jimmy Mack", and "Love Is Like A Heat Wave". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Motown's best girl groups, caught here on a classic batch of album tracks with a great mix of material. Includes their classic reading of "Jimmy Mack", plus "I'll Follow You", "Let This Day Be", "I'm Ready For Love", "He Doesn't Love Her Anymore", and "What Am I Going To Do Without Your Love". LP, Vinyl record album

More bass-heavy funk from Rick James' Stone City Band – working here on an album that was produced, arranged, and written by Rick – who also plays a lot of percussion on the set too! Titles include "In N Out", "Little Runaway", "Party Girls", "Strut Your Stuff", and "FIMA". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal bit of seventies soul from Switch, and a record that really helped set the tone for countless others to come in the 80s – no surprise, given that the group's got members from both the DeBarge and Ingram families! There's a warmth here that few others can match – an earnest, honest quality that never gets lost, even amidst the well-crafted instrumentation and tight production of the record – almost an updated legacy of the early 70s east coast scene, but never polished up too much at all! There's some wonderful harmonies that work perfectly on both the upbeat and mellower numbers – warming things up beautifully on titles that include "It's So Real", "I Wanna Be With You", "I Wanna Be Closer", "You Pulled A Switch", and "There'll Never Be". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last records Switch recorded before Philip Ingram went solo, and the rest of the guys broke off into DeBarge – and an album with some surprisingly sweet soul moments! The funky side of Switch is still stringly in place, but this record has some great little ballads ballads too – with the band singing in a solid harmony style that's right upfront in the mix, unencumbered by the harder instrumentation of the funkier numbers, showcasing a soulful side that almost reminds us of the mid 70s east coast indie scene! Titles include "Love Over & Over Again", "All I Need Is You", "You & I", "Without You In My Life", and "Just Imagine". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest Motown albums of all time – a fantastic debut from the young Bobby Taylor – working here with his ultra-hip Vancouvers group! The set is a landmark bit of righteous 60s soul, with strong echoes of the southern soul scene of the time, but a unique feel all its own – not the polished sound of Detroit Motown, but also not the too-familiar southern styles of the time either – instead this unique hybrid that really works wonderfully with Taylor's raspy lead vocals. The whole thing drips with soul and emotion – and the whole thing is tremendous – and includes the classics "Does Your Mama Know About Me", "I Am Your Man", and "Malinda". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last totally righteous albums by the Temptations – recorded at the end of their progressive run at Motown, and done with some really hard-hitting tunes and production from Norman Whitfield! Tracks step off with that beautiful mix of badass soul, heavy production, and soaring harmonies that always made the group so great during this period – and the tracks are some wonderful numbers that get way way past the hit-bound material of other albums. Paul Riser handled arrangements for the set, bringing in a few sweet touches that are very much appreciated on the mellower numbers – and titles include the extended mellow funky number "Zoom" – plus "1990", "I Need You", "You've Got My Soul On Fire", "Heavenly", and "Ain't No Justice". LP, Vinyl record album

A masterpiece in psychedelic soul from The Temptations – perhaps the most perfectly realized album from their years working with Norman Whitfield! The set's awash in that bottom-heavy, rumbling funk mode that Whitfield brought to the group at the end of the 60s – served up in bold tracks that push the group's vocals to a whole new level, and which bring in a more righteous sound than anyone might have expected previously from Motown! The centerpiece here is the amazing "Runaway Child" – a really extended number that has all the political soul of a Curtis Mayfield tune – and other titles include "Cloud Nine", "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", "Love Is A Hurtin Thing", "I Gotta Find A Way", "I Need Your Lovin", and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". LP, Vinyl record album

The Temptations doing The Temptations and doing it pretty darn well – further proof that the group just kept on going with greatness, even during the years of their lesser fame! The album's got a slight bit of mid 70s polish – a bit of a nod towards the dancefloor at times, but never in a throwaway disco sort of style – thanks to an approach that always keeps a focus on the harmonies of the group, which have a wonderfully mature feel – almost as if the group were throwing down the gauntlet to some of the group soul newcomers of the time. Arrangements are by Benjamin Wright and Michael Smith, and titles include "I'm On Fire", "Put Your Trust In Me Baby", "Why Can't You & Me Get Together", "Is There Anybody Else", "I'll Take You In", "Let Me Count The Ways", and "There Is No Stopping". LP, Vinyl record album

Aretha Franklin sings it loud and proud, in front of a classy crowd at the Olympia Theater in Paris – a move that would have made Berry Gordy proud, but which is carried off here in a classic Atlantic mode throughout! Given the tight studio handling of Aretha during these early Atlantic years, the live setting is a nice surprise – and shows that the Jerry Wexler touch could still hold strong, and present a concert version of Franklin's new groove that was every bit as great as the studio one. Aretha's vocals are right up front in the mix, and gets a bit of backing support from a trio that includes her sister Carolyn. Titles include "Baby, I Love You", "Soul Serenade", "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream", "Natural Woman", "Chain Of Fools", "Respect", and "Come Back Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderful stuff – and one of our favorite-ever Marvin Gaye albums! This is the legendary two-record set that Marvin wrote and recorded as an alimony payment to his ex-wife Anna Gordy (the story's pretty long, and we won't get into it here – suffice it to say that when stars get a divorce, watch out!) Although the album was thought of as a no-brainer quickie at the time – and predicted to fail so that Anna wouldn't get any cash from it – the record is an extremely well-crafted one, filled with extremely personal songs that also have a warm soulful finish, in the style of Marvin's work on the LP I Want You (which is kind of a nice bookend to this one – as it was an extended love poem to the young girlfriend that caused him to split up with Anna!) Hard and soulful, the record's a searing testimony to the relationship between Marvin and Anna, and a painful document of the troubles between them – set to some mellow grooves that are easily some of Marvin's greatest of the 70s! The set's filled with great "lost" Marvin Gay songs, too – like "Sparrow", "When Did You Stop Loving Me", "Anger", "You Can Leave, But It's Going To Cost You", and "Time to Get it Together". LP, Vinyl record album

Early work from this great pre-Motown Barry Gordy protege – a surprisingly nice album of spiritual songs! LP, Vinyl record album

Early Detroit soul – the second LP by the great Marv Johnson, one of the first talents to be supervised by a young Berry Gordy! In fact, it could be said that everything Berry put into his work with Marv led to the formation of Motown – as Marv's mixture of smooth vocals and swinging soul really prefaces a lot of the work to come out of the motor city during the 60s, no surprise, since he's got some of the Motown crew writing songs for him! Includes "Baby Baby", "River Of Tears", "This Heart Of Mine", "Ain't Gonna Be That Way", "I Love The Way You Love", "When You've Lost Your Love", "Easier Said (Than Done)", 'All The Love I've Got" and "Let Me Love You". LP, Vinyl record album

Although Malcolm X, John Kennedy, and other 60s heroes were always unfortunately being bootlegged, and served up in weak packages, Dr. King was fortunate enough to get representation from Motown, who did a great job putting together his albums of speeches with clarity and quality. This one from 1963 features moments from the March On Washington, with speeches by King, Whitney Young, and Roy Wilkins. Also features Liz Lands singing "We Shall Overcome". (Spoken Word, Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

It's always interesting to note the way that Berry Gordy tried to move Motown out of the ghetto of US soul indies, by attempting various moves to realign the music with other spheres bigger than the scope of Detroit soul. Sometimes these moves were clear "loss leaders" that wouldn't necessarily pay off as strongly as when Motown were acting in normal hit fashion, but which would have a larger effect in broadening the appeal of the groups. Such is an album like this, in which The Supremes strangely sing hits of the British Invasion – like "How Do You Do It", "You Can't Do That", "House Of The Rising Sun", and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" – nearly all of which are done in fairly rock-heavy versions that sound nothing like the group's bigger soul hits of the time. It's hard to imagine that such an album would appeal to either the group's regular fans or those who liked true British rock, but perhaps that's also why the record features a version of The Contours "Do You Love Me" and The Miracles' "You've Really Got A Hold Of Me" who are also listed in the notes as being part of the "male group" phenomenon that is really what the Brit invasion was about. LP, Vinyl record album

Classic early Temptations – a wonderful little record produced by Smokey Robinson with a sweet group finish! The harmonies are impeccable, and the sound is perfect Motown – tight and classy, but with enough rough edges to keep things soulful at the best parts – and there's a romping sort of groove to many tracks, almost making the album sort of a mini-Motown dance party of sorts! Titles include "Just Another Lonely Night", "The Girl's Alright With Me", "Don't Look Back", "Since I Lost My Baby", "Everybody Needs Love", "My Baby", "You've Got To Earn It", and "Born To Love You". LP, Vinyl record album