Motor City: The Motown Vocal Group Sound (3-CD)

by Various Artists

Featuring early recordings for Berry Gordy's Tamla, Motown, Miracle, Gordy and Mel-O-Dy labels, plus others released on Anna, Tri-Phi and Harvey, all labels with Gordy associations, Motor City celebrates the beginning of a dynasty that would go on to generate more hits than any other independently owned record company in the world. In particular it explores the flourishing male vocal group sound that played such a significant role in the evolution of doo wop into soul. In the 1950's Detroit was a jazz city, a thriving metropolis, with plentiful work in the car plants, and a lively nightclub scene, but by the end of the decade the sound of the city was changing. The new vocal sounds of Doo Wop and R&B were taking over, and it only needed one thing to spark the explosion of sound that followed. Berry Gordy, partly by chance, when groups came to him, but mostly by inspiration and innovation, and by using the best people available for each role, built an empire that has lasted over fifty years, and is still regarded as some of the best music ever to have been recorded! Compiled by Laurence Cane-Honeysett and annotated by David Rimmer (of Soulful Kinda Music), the 89-track 3CD set Motor City: The Motown Vocal Group Sound features recordings by some of Motown's most famous early vocals groups, The Miracles, The Temptations, The Contours and The Spinners, as well as records cut with vocal group accompaniment by solo artists including Marv Johnson, Eddie Holland, Barrett Strong and David Ruffin. Perhaps of most interest to collectors will be the many sides by lesser-known acts such as The Voice Masters, Chico Leverett, The Satintones, The Cap-Tans, The Equadors, Singin Sammy Ward, The Valadiers, The Five Quails and The Charters. Motor City complements Fantastic Voyage's 'For This I Thank You: Motown R&B, Popcorn And Rock n Roll' (FVTD182), offering a substantial 75 tracks not featured on that earlier set.