An overlooked gem from Rick James' classic early run for Motown – a set that maybe didn't chart as big as some of his other records for the label, but which stands strongly today as a well-crafted batch of mellow funky soul! James has a bit less of the bass-heavy riffs here than you'd expect – and instead, the record has kind of a laidback, almost dreamy feel at times – still upbeat, but with the kind of relaxed, glowing vibe you'd be more likely to find from Teena Marie around this point – a really nice contrast with the more familiar hit sounds you'd know from Rick! We actually really like these mellower groovers – which are almost like some of Johnny Watson's Caribbean-tinged grooves – and the production augments the tunes with a bit of sound effects, which really furthers the paradise garden feel of the tunes. Titles include "Mary Go Round", "Summer Love", "Big Time", "Don't Give Up On Love", "Getting It On In The Sunshine", and "Island Lady". CD features a previously unreleased demo of "Gypsy Girl", and a previously unreleased extended version of "Big Time". CD

Titles include "Come & Get These Memories", "Love Is Like A Heat Wave", "Dancing In The Street", "Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things", "Nowhere To Run", and "A Love Like Yours" –24 tracks total. CD

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". CD

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". CD

The Temptations going in all directions – and all of them pretty darn groovy too! The set's still heavy on the solid, righteous sound of Norman Whitfield – who gives some of the best cuts that psychedelic soul imprint he really perfected with the group – a quality that has a lot more funk than other Motown acts were getting at the time – yet still lets the harmonies soar! A few other numbers showcase a more mature ballad style – different than the sweet soul of their roots, and definitely with an adult vibe we really love. Titles include heavy funk on "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On", and their great cover of Isaac Hayes "Do Your Thing" – some mellow mature covers like "Love Woke Me Up This Morning" and "First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" – plus the long version of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", and the tracks "Mother Nature" and "Run Charlie Run". CD

The Temptations are hardly just "getting ready" here – as the group's at the height of their early powers – really finding their own groove, and standing out even more than some of their Motown contemporaries! Smokey Robinson's still at the overall helm on production, but Norman Whitfield contributes some key early work here – shaping The Temps' sound with that rougher, more bottom-heavy groove that would explode in full righteous energy a few years later. Whitfield produced the groovers "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", plus "Lonely Lonely Man Am I" – and other tracks include "You're Not An Ordinary Girl", "Not Now, I'll Tell You Later", "Say You", "Who You Gonna Run To", "Get Ready", and "Fading Away". CD

A late 60s Motown classic – with a deep heavy soul sound that mixed psychedelic elements into a rolling righteous groove – with a style that was perfect for the political tenor of the times! The formula worked extremely well for The Temps, and shifted them from being just a regular Motown vocal group into a super soul power that shaped soul music heavily in the next few years. Of course, a good deal of the credit goes to producer Norman Whitfield – who's really in his element on the set, and gives the group a sublime blend of heavy bass, fuzzy guitar, and tripped-out production on the vocals. Includes the classic "Psychedelic Shack", plus "Friendship Train", "Take A Stroll Thru Your Mind", "Hum Along And Dance", and "It's Summer". CD

An all-star effort from The Temptations – and a well-titled set that has the group brimming over with classic vocal talent! The group's expanded to a seven-piece outfit for the album – with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin back in the fold, singing alongside Dennis Edwards, Otis Williams, Melvin Franklin, and the rest of the group! Motown also culled together some top-shelf production talent for the set too – including Berry Gordy, Rick James, Barrett Strong, and Smokey Robinson – all of whom produce numbers for the record. Some of the tracks are in an 80s groove modes, and others are mellower ballads that offer plenty of space for vocal interplay – and titles include "I've Never Been To Me", "Backstage", "More On The Inside", "Standing On The Top", "Lock It In The Pocket", and "You Better Beware". CD

A great 80s set from The Temptations – one of the few Motown acts who managed to deliver great work again and again over the years! The production has some 80s traces that are slightly dated, but the vocals are still top-shelf all the way – strongly moved much more into a mellow and modern mode than the group's righteous 70s years, but still plenty darn soulful for our ears – and proof that no matter what the lineup, or the setting, The Temptations could always come out with some top-shelf work! The record's got a nicely balanced feel that most younger groups of the time would have done well to consider – and titles include "Running", "Treat Her Like A Lady", "My Love Is True", "Set Your Love Right", "I'll Keep My Light In The Window", and "Memories". CD

A great 80s set from The Temptations – one of the few Motown acts who managed to deliver great work again and again over the years! The production has some 80s traces that are slightly dated, but the vocals are still top-shelf all the way – strongly moved much more into a mellow and modern mode than the group's righteous 70s years, but still plenty darn soulful for our ears – and proof that no matter what the lineup, or the setting, The Temptations could always come out with some top-shelf work! The record's got a nicely balanced feel that most younger groups of the time would have done well to consider – and titles include "Running", "Treat Her Like A Lady", "My Love Is True", "Set Your Love Right", "I'll Keep My Light In The Window", and "Memories". CD

A pivotal moment for The Temptations – a set that has the group hitting even more of a deep soul sound than before – at a level that really sets them apart from some of the other groups on Motown at the time! There's a richer, fuller sound going on here – as the group work with producer Norman Whitfield in a style that's not entirely psychedelic soul, but instead places a strong focus on the emotional power of their harmonies! Tracks are shorter than some of the funky Temps jams, but they pack a hell of a lot in a very small space – as the lyrics bristle with open, honest emotion throughout. Titles include the perennial classic "I Wish It Would Rain" – a song that opens up a whole new level of emotional depth – plus "I Truly Truly Believe", "Why Did You Leave Me Darling", "No Man Can Love Her Like I Do", "Fan The Flame", and "I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)". CD

A pair of late Motown albums from Undisputed Truth – both issued here back to back, as they originally appeared for the label! First up is Cosmic Truth – a fantastic 70s album from Undisputed Truth – and the first to fully feature the new version of the lineup, after the Magictones had been recruited to form the second version of the group! The sound here is even funkier and more guitar-based than before – a fully-realized take on the Norman Whitfield modes that had been brewing up since his late 60s work with The Temptations – almost as tripped-out at times as early 70s Funkadelic – as if Undisputed Truth were being put forth as a Detroit challenge to the George Clinton universe! Production and arrangements are great – very far-reaching at times, with some bigger ideas in the mix – although all the tight funky soul elements that always made these guys so great. Titles include "1990", "Squeeze Me Tease Me", "Earthquake Snake", "Spaced Out", "Lil Red Ridin Hood", "Got To Get Me Some Lovin", and the great cut "UFO's". Higher Than High is a great later Motown effort from the Undisputed Truth – working in a groove that's a bit tighter and more upbeat than before, but still plenty darn great! Norman Whitfield is still very firmly in charge of the group's sound on the record – arranging, producing, and writing most of the cuts on the album – and he's doing a great job of keeping his sound fresh here – not just sticking in the bass-heavy styles of previous years, and instead moving into some fresher territory that has the group continuing to grow nicely. In a way, the whole thing's almost a precursor for the grooves to come on Norman's own Whitfield label – a great batch of well-crafted titles that include "Overload", "Higher Than High", "Poontang", "I Saw YOu When You Met Her", "Help Yourself (second version)", "I'm In The Red Zone", "Boogie Bump Boogie", and "Ma". CD

A totally wonderful album from one of the hippest groups on Motown at the start of the 70s – the mighty Undisputed Truth, a group who really took up the psychedelic soul style of The Temptations, and gave it a real run for its money! The record was produced by Temptations maestro Norman Whitfield – and is a perfect example of the rumbling funky soul sound that he was developing at the time – a mixture of heavy bass, rumbling percussion, fuzzy guitars, and a stone righteous sound that pushed soul music firmly into the 70s! The songs are mostly all originals written by him and Barrett Strong – and the band is filled with great players like Dennis Coffey, Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, and the great Melvin "Wah Wah" Ragin. Titles include "Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) Friendship Train", "What It Is?", "Don't Let Him Take Your Love From Me", "What's Going On", and "You Make Your Own Heaven & Hell Right Here On Earth". CD

Amazing stuff! Arguably Leon Ware's greatest record – and one of the greatest Motown records of the 70's! The record is a beautiful set of interwoven mellow soul tracks, recorded right on the heels of Marvin Gaye's I Want You album, which was written and conceived by Ware, then taken at the last minute by Marvin! For this set, Ware creates a very similar sound – mixing together smooth keyboards with subtle bits of funk and electronics, all wrapped up in his own sweet warm vocals, which sound better here than on any other album. The whole thing's filled with loads of beautiful tracks, including "French Waltz", "Journey Into You", "Phantom Lover", and the great "Turn Out the Light", written with Minnie Riperton. Plus, this reissue features 5 previously unissued bonus tracks – Leon's original versions of "Comfort (aka Come Live With Me Angel)", recorded with Minnie Riperton, and "I Wanna Be Where You Are", both done by Marvin Gaye on I Want You, plus the tracks "Don't You Wanna Come", "Long Time No See", and "You Are The Way You Are". CD

With Tim Hagens, Scott Kinsey, MB Gordy, Jaliba Kuyateh, Gary Novak, Lenny Castro, Steve Tavaglione, Mike Miller & Rick Baptist. CD

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". CD

A beautiful collection of all the great and rare material Eddie Holland cut as solo singer in the late 50s and early 60s – including the incredible early Motown material, plus tracks he cut for Mercury, Kudo, Tamla and United Artists! Of course Eddie Holland is best remembered for uber-legendary work as producer, composer and arranger with the Holland-Dozier-Holland super soul unit – for damn good reason, but it's his early work as singer is way too strong to be considered a mere footnote to his greater legacy. Many of the cuts were written and produced by Berry Gordy, along with numbers written and produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, some recorded more famously by later acts, so what you truly have here is the foundation for great things to come – it's beautiful stuff that shines brightly in its own light. Eddie's a solid singer and the songs are terrific, formative stuff that's a pivotal bridge from earlier R&B to massive soul. 56 tracks on 2CDs: "Little Miss Ruby", "Will You Love Me", "Just A Few More Days", "It's Not Too Late", "Just Ain't Enough Love", "Brenda", "Baby Shake", "Magic Mirror", "If Cleopatra Took A Chance", "Action Speaks Louder than Words", "Bashful Kind", "Too Late To Cry", "Happy Go Lucky", "Pretty Little Angel Face", "Day Dreamer", "Rain And Thunder", "I Like Everything About You", "Happy Days" and many more. This set goes deeper than any compilation we've seen of Eddie's recordings, too, with a number of previously unissued Mercury recordings. CD

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! CD also features the bonus tracks "Give It To Me Baby (12" mix)" and "Super Freak (12" mix)". CD

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! CD also features the bonus tracks "Give It To Me Baby (12" mix)" and "Super Freak (12" mix)". CD

A wonderful batch of rare Motown material from Detroit singer Marv Johnson – a vocalist who started out working for Berry Gordy in the late 50s, recording the some of the first material to be released on the Tamla Motown label, and recorded all of the terrific material on this set for Motown from the mid 60s to the start of the 70s! Johnson didn't find his way into the historical canon the way many of the great solo singers and groups he helped pave the way for, but he's no less worthy! This set from Kent UK includes all the tracks from the I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose LP plus previously unreleased numbers numbers and rare mono single mixes – really beautiful stuff and a vital rediscovery of Marv's overlooked work at Motown! Titles include "I'll Pick A Rose For My Rose", "I'm Not A Plaything", "Why Do You Want To Let Me Go", "Bad Girl", "I Miss You Baby (How I Miss You)", the previously unreleased gems "There Goes A Lonely Man", "Understanding", "Farewell Is A Lonely Sound" and more, plus mono versions of several album tracks. 26 tracks in all! CD

My Whole World Ended is a great start as a solo act for the legendary David Ruffin – stepping out here from The Temptations with a wonderfully heartbreaking style! The title of the record really sums up the feel of the set – a sense of desperation that really comes through in Ruffin's raspy vocals – with an edge that was already great in his previous group, but which really soars here amidst a range of Motown settings from Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Briston, Ivy Jo Hunter, and George Gordy. Some of the previous Temps baroque-soul elements create a complexity in the orchestrations – which David cuts through in this personal, powerful way – on titles that include "My Whole World Ended", "Pieces Of A Man", "Everlasting Love", "My Love Is Growing Stronger", "We'll Have A Good Thing Going On", and "World Of Darkness". CD

The complete Tamla and Motown singles of The Satintones – the soul, R&B & popular music juggernaut's first male vocal group – and a treasure trove of rare post doo wop from the end of the 50s/beginning of the 60s! It's fascinating for the history herein – the group is hugely under-anthologized in a world of myriad Motown compilations – which is a real shame, as you'll hear in this sweet set – with numbers that rely on the doo wop influences as well as tunes more devoted to lead vocals – with a slew of early Berry Gordy productions and compositions. The set includes the then legally challenged Shirelles knockoff/answer song "Tomorrow and Always" plus "Motor City", "Going To The Hop", "Sugar Daddy", "A Love That Can Never Be", "Foot Stomping Time", My Kind Of Love", "Boogie Woogie Heart", "Because I Love You", "You Can't Beat My Lovin" and many more. 26 tracks in all. CD

Rare early material from one of the hippest singers on 70s Motown – the heavenly Syreeta, best known for her seminal work with Stevie Wonder – heard here in the years before, on a rare single and a huge amount of never-issued tracks! Syreeta first worked for Motown under the name of Rita Wright – but apart from a 1967 single on Gordy, and a handful of compilation tracks in recent years, almost all her work for the label at the time appears here for the first time ever – a massive 18 of the collection's total 24 tracks – offering up a huge look at the early days of this wonderful talent! Even at the start, Syreeta's got a style that's hipper than most – righteous currents that point the way towards the 70s, and set her apart from some of the other female singers on the label – with a vibe that's completely sublime. We're really not sure why these cuts have been hidden for so long – because on any other label, they'd be hit material – especially given that production his handled by giants like Hal Davis, Stevie Wonder, Ashford & Simpson, and the Holland-Dozier-Holland team. One of the coolest sets of female soul you'll buy in a long, long time – with titles that include "Bad Boy", "Ain't I Gonna Win Your Love", "Beware Of A Stranger", "Love Child", "Since You Came Back", "Mind Body & Soul", "May His Love Shine Forever", "Something On My Mind", "That's What He Told Me", "It Don't Mean Nothin To Me", "Give Back The Good Things", "Can You Feel It Babe", "Save The Country", "Hurtin Me", "Love My Lovin Man", and "Where There's A Will There's A Way". CD

A pair of incredible early Motown albums from Mary Wells – one of the label's first truly great singers – in a great single set from Kent UK! Mary Wells never sounded better than in her Motown years – and 1962's The One Who Really Loves You is key proof of her talents, as it's overflowing with laidback and mellow soul tunes – done in Mary's great blend of bluesy and classy styles! Titles include classics like "Drifting Love", "Strange Love", "The Day Will Come", "I've Got A Notion", "The One Who Really Loves You", "You Beat Me To The Punch", "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right", "I'll Still Be Around" and more. The follow-up Two Lovers features the subtitle And Other Greatest Hits, but it's actually a great batch of songs that were most newly-recorded by Mary at the time – and not at all a simple round-up of singles! The approach here has just a little more rawness than some of the girl groups Berry Gordy was scoring hits with at the time, but also a sense of urban classiness. As is their wonderful way, Kent goes above and beyond here – with a great booklet of notes and photos – which shines a light on the making of these great records. Wonderful stuff! Titles include "Two Lovers", "Guess Who", "My 2 Arms - You = Tears", "Goody, Goody", "Stop Right Here", "Laughing Boy", "Looking Back", "(I Guess There's) No Love", "Was It Worth It" and "Operator". CD

The first ever compilation of the best music made for MoWest – the eclectic, but still soulful cuts made when Berry Gordy Jr. relocated from Motown to the west coast in the early 70s – releasing cool and sometimes strange music with a soul background, yet toasted by LA sunshine! The MoWest subsidiary lasted just a few years, and gets overlooked in the canonization of Motown at it's most classic and revolutionary – but the legacy is pretty incredible. Funk, sunshine rock and soul fused adventurously by a stunningly diverse roster – late period Frankie Vallie & The Four Seasons (who's comp-opening track is a slept on sunshine pop-soul classic), breezy-jazzy-soul from Odyssey, the sister funk of Sisters Love, a stunning solo left turn from Spinners singer GC Cameron and more great stuff from Syreeta, The Commodores, Suzee Ikeda, Thelma Houston and others. We've been dying for a well selected MoWest comp like this for years, and Light In The Attic stepped to the plate and knock it right out of the park. The songs choices are great, the notes are great. . .everything about it is a win. Essential! Includes "You're A Song (That I Can't Sing)" and "The Night" by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, "Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love" and "Broken Road" by Odyssey, "Don't You Be Worried" by The Commodores, "A Heart Is A House" Nu Page, "I Ain't Going Nowhere" by Thelma Houston, "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" by Suzee Ikeda, "You've Got To Make The Choice" and "Give Me Your Love" by The Sisters Love and more. CD