A beautiful album from Shorty Long – issued shortly after his early death from drowning at the age of 29 – and an amazing document of the mighty soul powers he would have had in years to come! There's a depth here that Shorty never had before – a sense of power and righteousness that comes through not just in the vocals, but in the construction of the songs as well – very tight, with a musical vision that shows a sense of pride and power that was never present in Long's earlier singles. Paul Riser handled the arrangements, in a way that really illustrates that cresting Motown intensity at the start of the 70s – and titles include "Whiter Shade Of Pale", "Baby Come Home To Me", "When You Are Available", "The Deacon Work", "Give Me Some Air", "I Had A Dream", and "I Wish You Were Here". LP, Vinyl record album

Think you've heard everything on Motown? Think again – because this sweet little set is filled with unissued 60s recordings by some of the best male singers on the label! The collection is a soul fan's dream come true – as the music here represents some real lost corners of Motown, with sounds that span almost the full stretch of the 60s – and really show the label's greatness at work – because if most of these tracks were recorded by other labels, they would have been pushed as potential hits! There's great work from artists who were just starting out, surprising moments from big names at the time, and a few entries we wouldn't have guessed without looking at the notes – and titles include "Headin North" by Shorty Long, "Only On The Weekend" by The Headliners, "Satisfaction Is Guaranteed" by Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers, "Safety Zone" by Marv Johnson, "Hold On To Me" by The Spinners, "Show Me You Can Dance" by The Hit Pack, "Tell Me How To Forget A True Love" by Johnny Bristol, "Mojo Hannah (studio)" by Marvin Gaye, "I Wanted To Cry" by Bruce Channel, "I'm Gonna Make It To The Top" by Freddie Gorman, "This Ole Heart" by The Quails, "The Night We Called It A Day" by The Four Tops, and "Just Your Love" by Ivy Jo. CD

42 rare gems from the Motown vaults – an incredible treasure trove of unreleased material! The package follows beautifully on the heels of the first Cellarful Of Motown volume – but also manages to go even deeper, and get beyond the better-known "lost" Motown tracks, into a realm of soul music treasures that we never would have expected! The whole thing's great – overflowing with tunes so great, you'll find yourself scratching your head as to why Motown never issued these back in the 60s – and will turn towards the label with a whole new level of respect for all the greatness they still managed to record underneath their more familiar hits. The 2CD set also comes with a great booklet that offers track-by-track notes on the tunes – and a selection of cuts that includes "Take My Hand" by Dalton Boys, "Take Me In Your Arms" by Eddie Holland, "All Day All Night" by Earl Van Dyke, "A Woman Just Won't Do Right" by Shorty Long, "I've Gotta Get Away" by Tommy Good, "Show Girl" by The Vows, "I Can't Get Along Without You" by The Monitors, "I Hope You Have Better Luck Than I Did" by The Marvelettes, "My Heart" by Tammi Terrell, "Where Is the Love" by Rita Wright, "Those DJ Shows" by Patrice Holloway, "Rescue Me" by Blinky, "I Can't Go On Sharing Your Love" by The Isley Brothers, "Choo Choo Train" by Little Lisa, "In The Dark" by The Creations, "Love Trouble Heartache & Misery" by Hatti Littles, "Positively Absolutely Right" by The Temptations, and "Let's Talk It Over" by Marv Johnson. CD

A massive third helping of rare Motown soul – filled with just as many obscure moments and unreleased gems as the previous two volumes! Even if you're a Motown completist enough to buy those giant Complete Singles volumes, you'll still find plenty here to love – because this UK-only series really digs deep into the Motown vaults, and proves that there's a tremendous amount of great music that never saw the light of day back in the 60s! The overall style is strongly in the Northern Soul mode – no surprise, given the British origin of the set – but even with that tight focus, the range of music here is really wonderful, and includes a great amount of work by lesser stars in the Motown galaxy. All tracks are presented with full notes on the original recording date – and the 2CD package features a whopping 43 tracks that include "You're Walking Out With My Heart" by Brenda Holloway, "This Love Will Never Die" by The Miracles, "At The Go Go" by Stevie Wonder, "I'm In Love Again" by Shorty Long, "Easier Said Than Done" by Dennis Edwards, "Never Give You Up" by Blinky & Edwin Starr, "A Chance With You" by Marvin Gaye, "Watch Your Step" by Mike Varo, "Come Back My Love" by The Temptations, "Too Young Too Long" by Carolyn Crawford, "SOS Girl In Distress" by Marv Johnson, "Thief Of Love" by Oma Page, "Loving You" by Fantastic Four, "Just Too Much" by The Monitors, "Little Girls Grow Up" by The Marvelettes, "Don't Stop Loving Me" by Ivy Jo, "Soldier Of Love" by The Four Tops, "I'm Here Now That You Need Me" by JJ Barnes, "Beware Of A Stranger" by Rita Wright, "Cindy" by Bobby Taylor, and "Too Late I Learned" by The Spinners. CD

Tommy Tucker may be best-remembered for the title track of this classic album – a tune that was covered by countless other artists in the 60s – but he's a hell of a talent with a mighty great range, and a gritty, soulful sound that's perfect for early 60s Chess Records! The album's got modes that move between New Orleans soul, raw R&B, and some surprisingly great mellow moments that almost have Tucker coming across with a slight tinge of jazz in his voice – in the way that Johnny Watson could also dip into styles of that nature at the time. Together, the racks make for a real revelation – way more than you'd might expect if you were only thinking of Tucker as a one-hit wonder – and titles include "Just For A Day", "Trouble In Mind", "I Don't Want Cha", "I Warned You About Him", "Walkin' The Dog", "Hard Luck Blues", "Long Tall Shorty" and "Hi Heel Sneakers". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Sugar Pie DeSanto, the Contours, the Velvelettes, Fontella Bass & Bobby McClure, Jimmy Castor, Junior Walker, Shorty Long, Charlie Rich, Dean & Jean, James Brown, Laura Lee, and more. CD

A compilation of Motown tunes with a strong focus on the dancefloor – still mostly soul cuts, but also with a groove that's bound to move a few feet. There's a lot of older Motown numbers, and the feel of the set is hardly disco – as you'd guess by titles like "Function At The Junction" by Shorty Long, "ABC" by The Jackson 5, "It's A Shame" by The Spinners, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by The Temptations, "Dancing In The Street" by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, "Girl You Need A Change Of Mind" by Eddie Kendricks, and "Going To A Go Go" by The Miracles. LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, The Supremes, The Temptations, The Miracles, Blinky, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers, Four Tops, The Marvelettes, Shorty Long, and Isley Brothers. LP, Vinyl record album