Various Artists - Cellar Full of Motown 2 (43 tracks) +Album Reviews

Another Collection of Rare Gems From Motown UK

James E. Bagley | Sanatoga, PA USA | 08/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This second volume of rare gems is just as good as the first two-disc set that came out in 2002. Nearly all were previously unreleased on cd (I have the Marvelettes' "Boy From Crosstown" on two other imports so I am not sure why it is included here). What I particularly love about these sets is that they continue to round up quality material by second tier (but first rate) artists from the `60s like Carolyn "My Smile Is Just A Frown Turned Upside Down" Crawford, Kim Weston, Blinky, the Monitors, the Elgins, and my favorite Brenda Holloway. Volume One had way more Brenda recordings, but with the release of her two-disc Anthology earlier in the year which included several previously unreleased tracks, it must be getting harder to dig up quality Holloway rarities. Plus, the focus of this set seems to be on highlighting a greater number of artists, as no one was given more than two tracks.

Following is the track lineup with performers

Side 1:

Earl Van Dyke - All Day, All Night

Eddie Holland - Take Me In Your Arms

Gladys Knight & the Pips - Everyday I'll Love You More Than Yesterday

JJ Barnes - Everytime I See You, I Go Wild

The Elgins - My Two Arms - You = Tears

Carolyn Crawford - Keep Stepping (Never Look Back)

Dalton Boys - Take My Hand

Marvelettes - Boys From Crosstown

The Monitors - I Can't Get Along Without You

Stevie Wonder - I Gave Up Quality For Quantity

Martha & the Vandellas - Start With Joy In The Morning

The Spinners - What Am I Gonna Do Without You

Kim Weston - After The Rain

Marv Johnson - Let's Talk It Over

Little Lisa - Choo Choo Train

Tommy Good - I've Gotta Get Away

The Vows - Show Girl

Creations - In The Dark

Hattie Littles - Love Trouble Heartache & Misery

The Temptations - Positively Absolutely Right

Shorty Long - A Woman Just Won't Do Right

Side 2:

Diana Ross & the Supremes - Honey Bee (Out On The Floor mix)

JJ Barnes - Everybody Needs Somebody

The Miracles - Hoping the Pause Is Helping The Cause

Debbie Dean - Baby Baby I'm In Love Again

The Isley Brothers - I Can't Go On Sharing Your Love

The Lewis Sisters - Breakaway

Four Tops - It's A Lonely World Without Your Love

Connie Haines - Midnight Johnny

The Contours - Take Him Back If It Makes You Happy

Chris Clark - Sweet Loving

Terry Johnson - My Spring Time

Martha & the Vandellas - Lone Lonely Town

The Originals - Nothing In This World Like My Baby

The Monitors - Words

The Supremes - You've Got To Pay The Price

Syreeta - Where Is The Love

Blinky - Rescue Me

Patrice Holloway - Those DJ Shows

Tammi Terrell - My Heart

Marvelettes - I Hope You Have Better Luck Than I Did

Brenda Holloway - Crying Time

"

Another great collection of unreleased Motown gems.

rollo | usa | 12/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cellarful of Motown vol.1 and now this Vol.2 contain many stellar performances that were panned by Motown for various reasons thus never released. Cellarful Vol.2 is a European pressing only which may be hard to find in American record shops. Some of this stuff is corny while other stuff is noteworthy. The remastering is 24 bit and there are many selections that are stereo. Some people only like HIT records which renders this collection useless to them. Those folks who like strange Motown tunes and performances will be mostly pleased with the contents of Cellarful of Motown, both volumes."

Must be a big cellar

Laurence Upton | Wilts, UK | 03/31/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When A Cellarful Of Motown appeared in 2002 the general consensus was that it was astonishing that so many tracks of such amazing quality could have remained languishing unheard in an archive, lost and undocumented for so many years. Even the compilers registered their surprise and doubted there would be enough fresh discoveries to warrant a sequel of previously unreleased material.

Motown was on a phenomenal roll throughout the sixties, with the Hitsville studio in Detroit augmented by a second studio in the Davison area, and further recording and talent spotting operations setting up in New York, Chicago and especially in Los Angeles, where the company eventually relocated. Hitsville seemed to operate around the clock, like a factory, with songs being tried out with various groups and singers in a highly competitive and creative ferment, and an extremely discard rate.

A few tracks into Volume 2, three years later, having heard new classic cuts by Earl Van Dyke, Eddie Holland and Gladys Knight, any fears that quality control may have been lowered to fill another double-CD collection were blown away. How could any of these have been deemed unworthy of release at the time?

Sometimes a recording remained in the can because the song was released by another artist (often using the same backing track), but often both song and recording were consigned to oblivion.

Here, for example is The Boy From Crosstown in its original 1965 version by the Marvelettes, featuring Gladys Horton. A re-recording appeared the following year on an obscure compilation called Year By Year, and the song turned up on Gladys Knight and the Pips' 1968 album Feelin' Bluesy, but was never the single it deserved to be despite two other attempts featuring the Velvelettes, also unreleased at the time. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' Hoping The Pause Is Helping The Cause could only have improved the Special Occasion album had it been included, and there are six other masterful Smokey songs, five of which have not been heard before, one co-written with his wife Claudette, her only known Jobete composer credit.

Chris Clark recently benefitted from a 2CD Anthology with a whole second disc of previously unheard recordings, yet another choice gem not included there, Sweet Lovin', surfaces on this collection. The same could be said of After The Rain by Kim Weston, and the closer Crying Time by Brenda Holloway.

There are new finds by artists legendary for not getting released as they deserved at the time - Carolyn Crawford, Patrice Holloway, Hattie Littles and Debbie Dean are just a few who appear once each here and just whet the appetite for more.

Some go beyond obscure - the Beatle-influenced Dalton Boys song is a B-side that was replaced by a different track at the last moment, and so was unreleased, but here is an alternative version to that. There are too many highlights to cite individually, but it was intriguing to hear a Monitors recording (Words) with a female lead, presumably Sandra Fagin. There are some towering vocals from Martha Reeves and the Vandellas from 1967 and 1969, and a fresh version by Blinky of Rescue Me produced by Raynard Miner, who co-wrote and produced the Fontella Bass smash original, in stereo, as are seven others including a great Marvelettes track that was almost the follow-up to The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game.

I now have every confidence that Volume 3 will contain further revelations."

GET BACK IN THAT CELLAR!

LEE T. | CANTON,MI | 09/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I LIKE THIS CD VERY MUCH. I'VE SEEN ANTHOLOGIES ON MANY OF THESE ARTISTS BUT WHAT ABOUT A CD WITH THE RECORDINGS OF CAROLYN CRAWFORD? SHE WAS AND STILL IS A MUCH BETTER SINGER THAN MANY OF THE FEMALE "STARS" AT MOTOWN AND SHE WAS JUST A TEENAGER WHEN SHE WAS WITH THE COMPANY. HER FIRST RELEASE WAS A SONG CALLED "FORGET ABOUT ME" AND IN THE OPINION OF SOME PEOPLE IT'S A MOTOWN CLASSIC. PEOPLE REALLY OUGHT TO HEAR SOME OF THE MUSIC SHE RECORDED AND IT'S ALL VERY GOOD BECAUSE MUCH OF IT WAS "PRODUCED BY SMOKEY". NEED I SAY MORE?"

Pull Some Treasures From The Cellar

Roberto F. Galbraith | Toronto, Canada | 06/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you are expecting hits on the same level as The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" stop reading right now, because IMHO, none of these songs are classics.

However, many are so great, you'll be playing them over and over and over again.

In listening to these songs, one can see the legendary Motown Quality control people all seated round the table considering which songs to make hits... or not. These tunes were mostly the "or nots" and listening to this album, one can mostly see why.

Some of these songs are strong songs sung by weak singers.

The Monitor's "Words" comes to mind. The writing in the song and the Motown band are great, but the vocals are a confusing, weak, jumble. A stronger group singing would have passed muster. It's no wonder The Monitors didn't last long with singing like this.

Some songs are cookie cutter Motown: You've heard the same guitar licks, drum beats, and the same lyrics in better Motown songs, and these don't distinguish themselves.

Diana Ross (It says "& The Supremes", but MISS Ross is singin' by herself on this one) struggles to keep up with "Honey Bee (Keep On Stinging Me)," and in too high of a key to boot. You've heard this type of song from her already.

And then, some are just plain stupid.

I cringe every time I hear The Temptations' screechy, cloying "Positively Absolutely Right" and dash to hit the skip button. Ditto for Patrice Holloway's "Those DJ Shows" since The Supremes version is out and out better.

But lest you think I hate everything on this album, there are songs on here that are so enchanting, so groovy, such splendour, that you're going to have these CDs in your player for weeks on end, constantly playing (though you'll dash to skip "Positively Absolutely Right" because it is THAT irritating!)

Songs that are living in my head include:

Tammi Terrell's "My Heart" which is superbly written, features Terrell's unique phrasing and dramatic distinctness of voice, and the unique sound of a mandolin.

The Marveletttes "I Hope You Had Better Luck Than I Did" which is funky and vaguely sarcastic at same time.

Martha & The Vandellas "Lone, Lonely Town" which charges out of the gate with Martha's vocals and the band going full power with a big band sound, as if this were the opening number of a Broadway show.

The Lewis Sisters' "Breakaway" which I disliked on first listen, but grew to love due to the opening hooks and the chorus of "Doo Doo D'DOO, Doo Doo D'DOOOOOO." This one probably didn't get released because you can barely make out the title in the song, they sing it so fast. And "The Singing Schoolteachers'" voices are so wispy you often can't make out what they're saying. But it is still a neat song.

Blinky's cover of the Fontella Bass classic "Rescue Me." What a wowwer! The opening verses with the deep bass and the voices grab you and keep you to about halfway through the song when it all loses steam.

The Contours "Take Him Back If It Makes You Happy" is my single most favourite song in the entire set. It is probably the one song that should have been released because it exemplifies the brilliance of Motown music. This song has groove, and makes you want to sing along and dance at the same time. This one will teach you why you don't clap along to songs and drive a car at the same time...

Be sure to listen to:

J.J Barnes "Every Time I See You, I Go Wild!";

Little Lisa's "Choo Choo Train" which is a sweet confection that sticks on you;

The eternally underrated Elgins "My Two Arms - You = Tears" is smart and features distinct vocals;

Hattie Littles bouncy, bluesy "Love Trouble Heartache & Misery" doesn't sound like a Motown song, but is good nonetheless;

Chris Clark's "Sweet Loving" which makes one wonder why so much of her stuff got shelved;

The Supremes (Post Diana Ross) "You've Got To Pay The Price"

bandmaster Earl Van Dyke's mostly instrumental rocker "All Day All Night."

The two disk set also comes with extensive liner notes explaining why some of the songs didn't get released, or interesting notes about some of the artists. If any of the album producers are out there... WE WANT MORE PICTURES!!! And how fast can you come up with Volume 3?"

Search - Various Artists :: Cellar Full of Motown 2

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