Three years had passed since the last “Motown Girls” project was released.
The collection opens with ‘In My Heart I Know It’s Right’ by Gladys Knight & the Pips and closes with ‘So Long’ by the great Kim Weston in torch singer mode (a series tradition). ‘In My Heart I Know It’s Right’ was the first track Gladys and her guys recorded for Motown. The group had been introduced to the company by Larry Maxwell, who’d folded his Maxx label where they had enjoyed modest chart success in 1965 to join Motown. Gladys was opposed to the move, fearing they would just end up on the company’s assembly line, but she was out voted by the Pips: “We decided we didn’t have that much to lose”, William Guest(a pip) recalled. How right he was. ‘So Long’ was the closing theme of 1940s radio favourites the Russ Morgan Orchestra. Kim’s version was cut at a session that included ‘It’s Too Soon To Know’, which premiered on the “Finders Keepers Motown Girls” collection.
In between you’ll find some of the company’s biggest stars – the Marvelettes, Brenda Holloway, Mary Wells, Martha & the Vandellas – alongside lesser-known collector’s favourites such as Liz Lands, the Lewis Sisters and LaBrenda Ben. Liz Lands recorded over 100 songs for Motown between June 1963 and January 1964, only a few of which have been released. Nearly all were standards or spirituals, a notable exception being ‘It’s Crazy Baby’. During 1964 Berry Gordy opened a new West Coast office, helmed by songwriter/producers Hal Davis and Marc Gordon, and Liz was sent out there for her final Motown assignment. House writer Frank Wilson came up with this modern sounding song.
Of the 24 tracks here on “Baby I’ve Got It! More Motown Girls”, 16 are previously unissued and the rest were first made available as “Motown Unreleased” downloads between 2014 and 2017. The selections were recorded between 1961 and 1969, and while predominantly uptempo, which should gladden most fans represent several variations of the Motown sound.
AMM
The collection opens with ‘In My Heart I Know It’s Right’ by Gladys Knight & the Pips and closes with ‘So Long’ by the great Kim Weston in torch singer mode (a series tradition). ‘In My Heart I Know It’s Right’ was the first track Gladys and her guys recorded for Motown. The group had been introduced to the company by Larry Maxwell, who’d folded his Maxx label where they had enjoyed modest chart success in 1965 to join Motown. Gladys was opposed to the move, fearing they would just end up on the company’s assembly line, but she was out voted by the Pips: “We decided we didn’t have that much to lose”, William Guest(a pip) recalled. How right he was. ‘So Long’ was the closing theme of 1940s radio favourites the Russ Morgan Orchestra. Kim’s version was cut at a session that included ‘It’s Too Soon To Know’, which premiered on the “Finders Keepers Motown Girls” collection.
In between you’ll find some of the company’s biggest stars – the Marvelettes, Brenda Holloway, Mary Wells, Martha & the Vandellas – alongside lesser-known collector’s favourites such as Liz Lands, the Lewis Sisters and LaBrenda Ben. Liz Lands recorded over 100 songs for Motown between June 1963 and January 1964, only a few of which have been released. Nearly all were standards or spirituals, a notable exception being ‘It’s Crazy Baby’. During 1964 Berry Gordy opened a new West Coast office, helmed by songwriter/producers Hal Davis and Marc Gordon, and Liz was sent out there for her final Motown assignment. House writer Frank Wilson came up with this modern sounding song.
Of the 24 tracks here on “Baby I’ve Got It! More Motown Girls”, 16 are previously unissued and the rest were first made available as “Motown Unreleased” downloads between 2014 and 2017. The selections were recorded between 1961 and 1969, and while predominantly uptempo, which should gladden most fans represent several variations of the Motown sound.
AMM
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20 comments:
Great review of an outstanding album and series
Douchebag Gordy didn't deserve to have all this talent recording for him. Thanks, AMM!
Many thanks AMM :)
Not seen this before MM, thanks for the review.
cheers,ELtel
Thanks AMM - amazing how much Ace dug up for us to hear.
Nice review for a nice collection. Please, a personal review will be welcome. Thanks !
Many thanks for the review AMM, much appreciated.
BigD
thank you AMM, I really appreciate your hard work and the good music you provide.
Thank You AMM For These Ace Rare Soul Compilations
thanks more AMM! my favorite is not "So Long" but "So Long Baby" by the marvelettes!
These reviews are great gracias for sharing
Thanks for a great review AMM
Great compilation AMM many thanks Reb
Thanks All Music Man for bringing us this top release and thanks for the review
Cheers Pedro
This also is very interesting.
Thank u for the review my Friend AMM
And even more - it gets better every time. Thanks for review, P.
Keep up the great work my friend.
Have a soulful evening.
Like to read the review, thanks for publishing it.
Nice one. Thanks for the review.
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