Hitsville USA, Vol. 1: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971
Amazon.com
Motown did so many things well in the ’60s and early ’70s that this overview of the label’s smashes (and some lesser-known classics) practically demands four CDs. It gets them, too, filling them with single mixes of more than 100 tracks. That the running order begins with Barrett Strong’s statement of purpose “Money (That’s What I Want)” and ends with Marvin Gaye’s statement of concern “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)” says a lot about how far the company moved in its golden decade–but no more so than what the same two cuts’ differences in sound get across. The company was able to blend the smooth and the harsh in ways that few other pop entities have ever mastered, thereby getting over not only to the feet and the wallet, but to the heart. –Rickey Wright
Hitsville USA, Vol. 1: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971
Tagged with: 19591971 • collection • Hitsville • Motown • Singles • Vol.
Filed under: Book
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OK Folks, I grew up with all these tunes and thought I would love this collection but when I discovered some of the songs repeated on each of the 4 CD’s I immediately felt cheated. If they couldn’t fill 4 CD’s then why not just put out 3! Other than that the music brings back old memories so it isn’t a dead loss!
Rating: 3 / 5
HITSVILLE USA & MOTOWN WERE WELL KNOWN , BUT THEY WOULD NOT HAVE SUCCEEDED IF IT WAS NOT FOR THE “FUNK BROTHERS”, THAT OF: BIG PAPA “JACK ASHFORD”,JOE MESSINA ,PISTOL ALLEN ,JAMES JAMESON, JOE HUNTER, EARL VAN-DYKE, BENNY BENJAMIN,
URIEL JONES, BOB BABBITT, EDDIE BROWN, JOHNNY GRIFFITH,
AND ALL THE OTHER FUNK BROTHERS..ALL THESE MOTOWN TUNES COME FROM HEAVEN ABOVE & THE FUNK BROTHERS ARE THE “GODS” OF ALL MOTOWN SOUND TODAY..”BERRY GORDY” DID VERY WRONG KEEPING ALL OF THEM IN THE DARK , BUT IT’S ALWAYS THE LEGENDS WHO ARE ALWAYS NEVER RECOGNIZED, “AIN’T THAT RIGHT GORDY”.!.MICHAEL JACKSON or STEVIE WONDER or MARVIN GAYE AND EVEN THE SUPREMES-ARE A SMALL EXAMPLE OF WHO WOULD HAVE NEVER HAD #1 HITS IF IT WERE NOT FOR “THE FUNK BROTHERS”…JACK ASHFORD , THE KING OF THE VIBES AND THAT TAMBOURINE, “WHO EVER THOUGHT ONE COULD FALL IN LOVE WITH THE TAMBOURINE AS YOU, SIR”.!. URIEL JONES & PISTOL ALLEN , MY TWO INSPIRATIONS ALONG WITH JACK ASHFORD & BOB BABBITT(the godfather of bass guitar)…THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN IS A GREAT DOCUMENTARY AND YOU MUST LET THE PEOPLE KNOW MORE ABOUT THE FUNK BROTHERS WITH ANOTHER DOCUMENTARY AS THE FIRST ONE YOU PUT TOGETHER, “THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN “TOO” ………THE Q
Rating: 5 / 5
I wish there was a Motown box that omitted the Four Tops, Miracles, Temptations, and Marvin Gaye. Why? Well, because any Motown fan should have retrospectives devoted to all of the above (although I personally despise the Miracles, heretic that I am). Yet there are amazing tracks from lesser-known artists that remain unanthologized or unavailable. I guess that’s why they invented iTunes. But seriously, this music should be given to every child at birth.
Rating: 3 / 5
When this box set was originally released, it was something of a godsend. Each CD is packed with over 74 minutes of great Motown tracks, digitally remastered from the original master tapes used for the original mono single mixes (just as they came out of the radio back then). I don’t really need to tell you how great this music is; everyone who isn’t cut off from American music has enjoyed this stuff through some form of the media. What’s especially nice about this set is the number of minor, obscure hits presented, which is just as good as the classic material.
This is a great place to start a classic pop/rock collection, and I stress that this set is a great PRIMER. There are plenty of essential Motown classics that were left out due to space constraints, particularly hits by the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and the Supremes (“Where Did Our Love Go,” “Stop! In The Name Of Love,” and “Back In My Arms Again” are missing among many others). Luckily, these songs are widely available in various single CD, double CD, and box set anthologies, and any of these, depending on your tastes, will fill the gaps just fine.
At the time of its release, this box set sounded better than every previous Motown CD, but in recent years, Motown has reissued much of this material in anthologies that feature clearer sounding stereo mixes as well as slightly better sounding mono mixes. Audiophiles may prefer the definition and higher fidelity of the stereo mixes, but there’s something about the punchiness of these mixes that make them preferable to me, particularly on the percussion sound.
Rating: 5 / 5
Boy, what a disappointment!
Every single one of these 104 songs are presented in their original mono sound, just as they were all those years ago. However, nowhere on the package does it mention this important fact.
This would normally be a 5 STAR box, but because of the unadvertised mono sound, I give it only 3 stars!
A little dishonesty there, Motown.
Rating: 3 / 5