Search - Various :: Motown Chartbusters, Vol. 1

Volume 1 of 12 looks at 1966 and 1967

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 09/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This series of Motown recordings is in approximate chronological order but only begins in 1966. This means that some notable early UK hits are missing from the series including hits by the Supremes (Where did our love go, Stop in the name of love, You can't hurry love) and the Four tops (It's the same old song, Loving you is sweeter than ever, Reach out I'll be there) as well as tracks by the Temptations, Stevie Wonder and others - and that's not counting all the great Motown songs from the early sixties that were big hits in America but didn't chart in Britain. Some early classics such as Baby love, Dancing in the street and My guy, all of which first made the UK charts in 1964, re-entered the UK charts later and are included in the volumes covering their time of re-entry. A few other big hits are also missing, notably a couple of other Four Tops tracks that made the UK top ten (Bernadette, Walk away Renee). So you cannot build a definitive collection of Motown's UK hits by collecting this series, but it is still a fine series (especially at the price) and the omitted tracks are easy to find elsewhere.



On this volume, you get plenty of famous songs including three Supremes tracks (You keep me hanging on, The happening, Love is here and now you're gone) and other classics by the Four Tops (Standing in the shadows of love, Seven room of gloom), Stevie Wonder (Blowing in the wind, I was made to love her), Martha Reeves and the Vandellas (I'm ready for love, Jimmy Mack), Jimmy Ruffin (What becomes of the broken hearted, Gonna give her all the love I've got), the Temptations (I know I'm losing you), the Marvelettes (When you're young and in love) and others. A look at the charts shows that many of these classics weren't such big hits in the UK charts as you might expect, but Brits were slow to appreciate Motown.



This is a great compilation of some of Motown's classic songs from 1966 and 1967."