Elemental Music’s The Motown Collection is a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Detroit-bred soul music giant Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection continues with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Elemental will release a total of 22 titles through the end of 2024, including music by such storied Motown stars as Smokey Robinson (and the Miracles), The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye (both solo and with duet partner Mary Wells), The Jackson 5, Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and The Undisputed Truth.

“As a rule of thumb, we always try to reissue the music that we love. That’s our priority. With the Motown Series, we wanted to take a deep dive into the label’s history and to reissue some more obscure titles,” describes Elemental Music Founder and producer of the Motown Sound Collection Jordi Soley.

“For many of the albums we’ll be putting out throughout 2024 and into 2025, it will be their first reissue since their original release. It’s our way of showing some love to Motown’s legacy.”

The collection continues now with three more classics in the form of The Jackson 5’s The Third Album (Red vinyl), The Temptation’s Sky’s the Limit and The Supremes’ A Bit of Liverpool (Mono) on October 18th, 2024.

To be released on special red vinyl, The Third Album captures The Jackson Five at the pinnacle of their supersonic rise to stardom. Initially released in September 1970, it was the Jackson brothers’ third studio effort in less than a year.

The album delivered the group’s fourth straight number #1 single with “I’ll Be There” while the record’s other single, “Mama’s Pearl” also cracked Billboard’s Top 5. The Third Album reached #4 on Billboard’s LP chart while topping the R&B Album Chart on Billboard and Cashbox.

Among its 11 tracks are Smokey Robinson’s “The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage,” a cover of the Delfonics’ hit “Ready Or Not, Here I Come,” a rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and the semi-autobiographical “Goin’ Back To Indiana,” which was later the title of the Jackson 5’s 1971 ABC TV special.

Leah Greenblatt gave the Third Album an A in Entertainment Weekly, while All Music Guide praised the album for reflecting “the unmistakable Motown sound.”

The Jackson 5 - I’ll Be There (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. I’ll Be There
2. Ready or Not (Here I Come)
3. Oh How Happy
4. Bridge over Troubled Water
5. Can I See You in the Morning

SIDE TWO:
6. Goin’ Back to Indiana
7. How Funky Is Your Chicken
8. Mama’s Pearl
9. Reach In
10. The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage

On the not-so-creatively titled third album, The Jackson 5 embraced more of the pop-soul sound that was on their debut album. Now, I personally wasn’t a fan of their earlier sound, more enjoying their funk-leaning tracks, but this album does feel like an improvement on that very same pop-soul formula, maybe down to some rather memorable instrumentals.

The big hit single was, of course, their delightful ballad I’ll Be There, which became their 4th consecutive #1. There are obvious highs and lows on this album, but there are definitely way more highs, such as the classic Mama’s Pearl and the brilliantly fun How Funky Is Your Chicken, but my goodness, their version of Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water is a song that could have / should have been left off! (but, then again, they have included a brilliant version of Smokey Robinson’s The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage.

This 1971 release marks a high point for the Hall of Fame group and a significant turning point. The album features one of their signature songs, “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” the Temptations’ third number-one hit.

It also represents the final album featuring founding members Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams. While Kendricks handled lead vocals on most of the songs, the other Temptations (Dennis Edwards, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams, and Paul Williams) all have their time to shine.

Sky’s The Limit, the band’s 14th studio effort, also showcases the marvelous talents of producer/songwriter Norman Whitfield, who expertly crafted a sound that incorporated psychedelic soul and sweet R&B balladry.

Notable tracks include the ambitious anthem “Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)” and the mind-blowing, 12+ minute production of “Smiling Face Sometimes,” which the Undisputed Truth subsequently had a hit within a more condensed version.

The Temptations - Gonna Keep On Tryin’ Till I Win Your Love (Extended Version) (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. Gonna Keep on Tryin’ Till I Win Your Love
2. Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)
3. I’m the Exception to the Rule
4. Smiling Faces Sometimes

SIDE TWO:
5. Man
6. Throw a Farewell Kiss
7. Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite the World)
8. Love Can Be Anything (Can’t Nothing Be Love but Love)

Anyone who knows, knows that The Temptations finally arrived in the new decade with Sky’s the Limit. It’s also producer Norman Whitfield’s stroke of pure, unadulterated genius to add a twelve and a half minute long symphonic piece, Smiling Faces Sometimes; which though more of a ballad than a dance track would herald the Disco era.

Whitfield would elaborate on that format on the coming four Temptations albums. He would also recycle Smiling Faces Sometimes for his (then) new plaything The Undisputed Truth, who earned a top ten hit with the song.

The long psychedelic song was a reaction to the new generation of Soul fans, a young urban black (but increasingly also white) middle class clientele who had money to spend and who preferred to buy LP’s to singles. Records would spin from beginning to end, often on automatic record changers. This also explains why releasing an album that consisted mainly of ballads was a risk worth taking.

As a whole though, Sky’s the Limit features a couple of other outstanding songs. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) became a #1 hit. Ungena Za Ulimwengu (Unite The World) is the most upbeat track on this set, the first and not very successful single release though, it has to be admitted.

The songs explicitly deviate lyric-wise from the love song and instead address a central social-political topic in the States, the equality of blacks and whites (still very much relevant today). Musically, the song is a modal groove with Blues overtones and lots of (then) modern electronic effects.

That can also be said of the final song, Love Can Be Anything (Can’t Nothing Be Love but Love), the second song which totally ignores the time format of single releases with its almost ten minutes run time, and instead focuses on the great musicians.

The final album released this month is Diana Ross & the Supremes’ Little Bit of Liverpool. Released 60 years in October 1964, A Bit Of Liverpool finds the Supremes celebrating the worldwide phenomena of Beatlemania with Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard impressively reinterpreting a handful of Lennon-McCartney originals: “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “You Can’t Do That,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” and “A World Without Love,” which was a hit for Peter & Gordon.

The 11-track record also features Merseybeat-related tunes like “Because,” “House of the Rising Sun,” and “Bits and Pieces”. The British Invasion bands were heavily influenced by American soul music so it’s fitting that this salute contains two tunes from the Motown world: the Berry Gordy Jr.-penned “Do You Love Me” (a hit for Brian Poole and the Tremeloes and the Dave Clark Five) and Smokey Robinson’s “You Really Got A Hold On Me” (covered on The Beatles’ Second Album).

A top 10 success on Billboard’s R&B Chart, A Bit of Liverpool, which is being reissued in its original mono mix, was the sublime vocal group’s third studio album – and second one in 1964!

The Supremes - You Can’t Do That (Music Video)

SIDE ONE:
1. How Do You Do It
2. World Without Love
3. House of the Rising Sun
4. A Hard Day’s Night
5. Because
6. You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me

SIDE TWO:
7. You Can’t Do That
8. Do You Love Me
9. Can’t Buy Me Love
10. I Want to Hold Your Hand
11. Bits and Pieces

Mr. Gordy’s instincts about the versatility and crossover appeal was pretty much confirmed when the single, Where Did Our Love Go was promoted at the three major radio formats simultaneously in July 1964 (an extremely rare occurrence before we became Civil Rights America.

The previous single, When the Lovelight Start Shining Through His Eyes impressively became a penultimate #2 R&B chart hit, but moreover the song also made the Hot 100 Top 25 (ultimately hitting #23). Of course, this paved the way for The Supremes to be viewed as a Pop/R&B group right there and then, and rightly so.

With their first #1 in pocket, the second soon to be, The Supremes became the American Ambassador’s to rival the Beatles’ British invasion crusade. Diana’s infectious enthusiasm disarmed the even the most stubborn of foreign listeners and the girls were quickly, and warmly embraced across Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Anglosphere territories.

Underscoring the fun and magic, internationally, the album was entitled, With Love, From The Supremes (which I personally adore), but releasing a direct music confrontation, it was retitled here as A Little Bit of Liverpool, which was, of course, The Supremes’ direct response to The Beatles taking on the Motown Sound on The Second Beatles Album.

Probably the most striking marketing move was the way the girls were styled in traditional British suits posing in front of the original EMI International offices (as per the image on the front cover). As for the music contained on the album, the girls do more than adequate versions of the various British invasion groups.

These unforgettable Hitsville titles are part of a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection will continue with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Forthcoming titles include the mono versions of Four Tops, Marvin Gaye’s When I’m Alone I Cry, and Eddie Kendricks’ People…Hold On on November 15. December 13’s offerings are Gladys Knight & the Pips’ Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the One to Say Goodbye), The Temptations’ Solid Rock, and the Undisputed Truth’s album.

Founded in 2012, Elemental Music specializes in releasing newly discovered and out-of-print recordings, primarily jazz, blues, and soul. These recordings are meticulously curated and reissued with love.

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