Customer Reviews

The Complete Motown Singles: Vol. 6

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I ordered this Motown Singles collection on blind faith, having heard that it was as good as music box sets can get, and I was not let down at all. First and foremost, as someone who loves music, the songs are all brilliant. Everyone knows the Motown sound, and this is the best way to experience it in all its glory. The songs are all crisp and clear, with everything sounding like it was recorded yesterday (that is, of course, minus the sterility that can come with having been recorded yesterday).
The added bonus, and the real attraction for buying these sets, is all the information inside. Every song, paired up with its b-side(s), has a write up, describing the history of the song's writing, recording, and chart success. These include interviews with the people that were there, and they're all incredibly entertaining. I've been going through, one CD at a time, and reading about each song as I listen to it. It's great fun, especially if you have a real interest in the music industry.
The last thing that has to be said is the packaging is flawless. I've never bought a product that was more perfect in its visual presentation. The book binding (Which is a brilliant move, as I will more than likely be buying the rest of the series so I can fill up my bookshelf) is attractive, as well as incredibly sturdy. I don't worry about it being damaged while I'm reading. The CDs all come in page-sized paper-board inserts in the back, which are also binded. It's really just gorgeous; a brilliant product design all around.
The vinyl copy of "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" is just an incredible bonus.

1966 was a glorious year for Motown music it was their 5th year of placing successful singles on the Pop Charts, and they had indeed crossed over in their big happy beat sound that simply made you feel good. When I saw the track listing for this collection I knew I had to have it. When I tried to buy it I found it was out of stock, so I turned to a friend and he gave me (the collection of a dear friend who passed away) that was just sitting on his shelf. This is my favoirte of all the sets. It has the actual 45 (as all the sets do) of the 45 "Reach Out I'll Be there" brand spanking new. As others have stated these collections are flawless, with 94 pages of stories and photos of the artists and stories of every single that was recorded in 1966. My favorites many of which I no longer have, I bought most of my singles in that year: For starters songs like The Vandellas "He doesn't Love Her anymore" the flip side of "Ready for Love" "go Ahead and laugh" one of Martha Reeves best vocals inserted on one of their 66 singles, Chris Clark's "Put Yourself in My Place" a jazzier version than the Supremes' version, which I think is better and more soulful than the Sup's version, and speaking of the Supremes they have two version of a fan favorite "Mother You Smother You" a version from the HDH album and another version with Christine Schumacher which I have yet to hear, I am playing these songs in order, and a song I have lusted for for years Shorty Long's "Function at the Juction" forget the fact that it did not do well on the pop charts who cares, it is just a fascinating record and its one of the best dance records Motown ever put out. long lost b sides from the Marvelettes that never made a studio LP "Paper Boy" & "Anything you wanna do" Marvin Gayes's "one More Heartache" and "Take This Heart of Mine" The Temptations gem that I finally have in my collection the underated "Beauty's ONly Skin Deep" the 4x4 double time base beated "Love Is Like an Itching in my heart" backed by the equally illustrious "He's all I got" equally stepping up it's attack Stevie "Nothing Too's good for my Baby" Junior Walker's funky I'm a Road Runner" and notice how both You can't Hurry Love and I'm ready for Love both have the same intro bbb bbbb.

If you are doing a progression on how Motown progressed its music 1966 is one of those years where the progression took notice. The back beat on those songs were something to behold. If the music was sweet and candy coated in 1965, the progression was stepped up with it's double time base beat, and I am absolutely floored to have my favorite year of Motown music in my collection a year in which the genuine sound of the artists were still a part of the artistry, much credit is praised to the Andantes for sweetening lots of the music of the artists here. This sets is worth its weigh in gold and then some. My favorite picture of the Supremes can be found on page 3 that of the Supremes at the piano with the HDH team. Both teams along with The Four Tops madee 1966 one of the contending years in the Motown Story. Most of all you'll love reading about the stories of every song and flip side released that year and seeing the beautiful photos herein.

This entire series is amazing. I believe it will be completed at the publication of the 12th volume, and each volume has 5 or 6 discs. I am up to Volume 9, and I can't really say there has yet been a single weak song. And I have now discovered so many awesome Motown songs I had never even heard before! This truly is a treasure trove. Yes, some songs are better than others, but all the music from this amazing dozen-year Motown era is great. The British Invasion may have brought over the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and many others, but our American Motown is of equal or better historic significance. This music is just so consistently CLASSY it defies words. Elegance just pours out from each disc here, it is unprecedented and will never be equaled in the future.

I've been surprised to learn that there are styles of music other than soul on the Motown label. There is some very good country music as well. These discs also have a smattering of interviews and some other holiday-type nonsense which are very fun to hear and which puts the entire era in context.

The packaging for the entire series is the best I've ever seen. It is a little hard to hold the book open so you can pull out or put in the discs, but this is a minor struggle and it is well worth it. The discs are held tightly in place and are well protected, and the historical information about any particular song is readily accessible. The 45 disc which slots into the front cover is really an innovative and clever flourish, and it gives the volume's book a really nice upgrade.

Okay, here is the bummer, and it is a major one. If you are like me, you are going to want the entire series if you buy even a single volume. You will buy the first volume and you will immediately realize that it is a worthwhile investment to obtain the entire series. And who really wants to own only part of a series of anything? The cost of even one volume here is enough that you'll probably want the entire collection. Well, as I write this, in January of 2009, volume 6 is no longer available. Gone. Completely gone, except for some guy trying to sell copies for $2000 as an Amazon-affiliated seller. As good as this music is, I'm not going to spend $2000 on a single volume. Yes, I've searched eBay relentlessly for months, with no luck at all. Yes, I've searched the virtual catacombs of international online sellers, with no luck at all.

So, I'm already over a thousand bucks into this series and yet my collection is missing one of the best volumes (it covers 1966 when a lot of the talent was at their crescendos). I've twice emailed Hip-O Select Records, the publisher, and not heard a word back. I've called their customer service, and they were clueless and indifferent. The girl who answered the phone for them did not know a thing about the series. Basically what has happened, by proclaiming this as a "Limited Edition," is that they have created an inducement for opportunistic sellers to hoard the best volumes and then to gouge Motown fans later when the inventory held by legitimate sellers is gone. They then jack the price up into the stratosphere.

So, one can only hope that Hip-O Select does another run of these amazing Motown volumes. If you are a Motown fan, you will be astonished when you hear all the incredible treasures which this series contains.

******UPDATE (MARCH 6, 2009)*******: Many thanks to all the kind people who gave me leads on where I could possibly locate Vol 6 of this series. Indeed, I did score one off of Amazon's Canadian store (amazon.ca). Amazon is such a classy and ethical business that not only did they not gouge me on the price, but they discounted it just like they do all their stuff. Perhaps President Obama should consider Jeff Bezos for head of the Treasury Dept. or the SEC??? I'm completely serious!! We need someone who knows how to do things and knows how to do them effectively and ethically.

I also received an email from "CD Universe" advising that they now have volume 6 in stock and for about the same price as Amazon.ca was asking. So, the private sellers who are asking for a thousand dollars--or more-- for this set here on Amazon, and the other ebay sellers who are asking for even more,are now fully delusional. Or, perhaps not, since I actually was watching a Vol. 6 on ebay that sold for $1500!!! That's $1400 more than necessary now that the set is again available from mainstream retailers.

By the way: Vol. 6 is awesome, as are all the other sets through 11B (the second half of 1971). I highly recommend acquisition of the entire series if you like Motown. I am curious, though, if the series will continue into the so-called Motown L.A. years. I'm hoping it will not, because the Motown sound totally changed during that transition and was no longer at all appealling. I have the "Hitsville USA" 2nd boxset (a best-of compilation) which covers the L.A. years and I regret to report it is dreadful. The Motown magic was clearly left behind in Detroit. As such, I think I'll end my buying of these sets at the end of the Detroit era.

As the rest of the series, this is a very nicely presented CD box set of motown singles. This is the 6th box and theyhave been presented according to the years of the labels lifetime. Each box comes complete with a vinyl 45 in its cover which is a very nice touch. Ths set has gotten rave reviews and I must say it is really splendid. Of course it is very long but all the great hits are here. The problem is that the whole series will be of course very expensive. Volume 7 has just been released.

Five stars for the music, packaging and such. Bravo for Hip O Select. The problem is the person who is selling this recently out of print, $120 cd collection for $2000. This kind of greed is what is wrong with America today. This seller has one used box and another new, un opened box, each selling for two grand. People like this don't even enjoy music, they are only interested in making more money. Shame on you.

Even though it is a little on the expensive side you get a lot of value for the money.
I am pretty familiar with the Motown big hits but since the sets include all the singles, A and B sides, I found the off-beat slices more interesting.

A perfect example is Kim Weston's "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)". As good as anything else Motown ever put out, it also can be found in a differnt versions on the B side of Martha and the Vandellas "HeatWave". It is unbelievable that this was a B side, a knock-out home run if I ever heard one and worth the price of the set by itself. This is the kind of discovery that makes me glad I don't turn on the radio much (Houston radio really sucks)and instead do my own exploring. This song has not been off my CD player for days.
"Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart" by The Supremes, may be the best Motown single ever put out. It is also include here. There are some good runners up, I have always loved "Nowhere to Run", but Itching has one of the best in an extremely clever, tasteful, and a musically interesting arrangment. Even after all these years I cannot put it on without it bringing a smile to my face. God bless the soul that sat down and took the time to work out that arrangement. It comes across as much simpler than it actually is, there is alot going on in all the various parts. You could count that as a good day's work, go home and get a good nights sleep and then dream about tomorrow.
This is everything that "Dreamgirls" was not, merely a clever imitation, but not EVEN in the same league. This is the real thing.

It is true -- I just ordered it. Shipping is around $8 though, but still the best price around. It says it is a limited edition, and was OOP, but I guess they must have done another run rather than lose sales to others.

Yep, somehow the "Sold Out" status at Hip-O has changed, and they have these available again. I ordered & received one, so I can say for sure that it's legit.

Get it while you can.

Check out amazon.de (amazon deutchlands site), this item can be ordered from them. It is currently available. I've ordered it myself. Can it be that the limited edition condition has been altered?

1966 may have been Motown's greatest year: 75% of its singles charted, with 22 in the Top Ten and three Number Ones. The familiar roster of the Temptations, Four Tops, Martha Reeves and Vandellas, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Smokey Robinson are all here, along with gems by the Spinners, Contours, Monitors, and Elgins. There's an appearance by the short-lived Mynah Birds, featuring then-unknowns Neil Young and Rick James. Their single, It's My Time and Go On And Cry, catalog number V.I.P. 25033, was withdrawn shortly prior to its release due to to the fact that their manager took their advance, and when the band complained, he turned in Rick James for being AWOL from the Navy. This is the first time that these rare singles have seen the light of day, and it's a sure bet that Neil Young fans will want to add this to their collection.

The sixth volume in Hip-O-Select's massive 12-box set of complete Motown singles, the 125 tracks are arranged in chronological order by A-side and B-side. Like the other Complete Motown Singles, the box features an actual reproduction 45 RPM single of that year's smash single, the Four Tops' Reach Out I'll Be There b/w Until You Love Someone. The Holy Trinity of Holland-Dozier-Holland (Heaven Must Have Sent You: The Holland/Dozier/Holland Story), house band the Funk Brothers(Standing In The Shadows of Motown, Standing in the Shadows of Motown: Deluxe Edition), and the woefully-underappreciated backup singers the Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps) add the signature Motown sound to every track.

1966 saw Jr. Walker, who burst onto the scene with Shotgun in 1965, trying to reprise his success with Roadrunner and Shoot Your Shot (he also covers Barrett Strong's first smash hit Money (That's What I Want). The Supremes struck gold with You Keep Me Hanging On and You Can't Hurry Love. Martha and the Vandellas hit back with the captivating I'm Ready for Love, and the Elgins served up the beautiful doo-wop-infused ballad Heaven Must Have Sent You (no relation to Heaven Must Have Sent You From Above). Marvin Gaye rocks the soulful It Takes Two with Kim Weston and Little Darlin', skillfully aided by the aforementioned Andantes. The Monitors turned out an amazing cover of the Valadiers' 1961 Greetings (This is Uncle Sam), a song which took on profound new poignancy in 1966 as thousands of young men would soon enter boot camp in preparation for Vietnam. The Isley Brothers, long relegated to cover tunes and what they accused were "leftovers" by Smokey Robinson and Holland-Dozier-Holland, had the chance to shine with This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You), a smash hit they later reprised with Rod Stewart in 1989 (The Definitive Rod Stewart (2 CD)). The Four Tops mesmerize on Reach Out (I'll Be There) and Standing in the Shadows of Love, while the Temptations steal the show with Get Ready, Ain't Too Proud To Beg (backed by the incredible B-side You'll Lose a Precious Love). Kim Weston turns out a powerhouse performance on Helpless, with possibly the greatest Holland-Dozier-Holland line ever: "my heart feels much abusion" (yes, it's actually a word, but they seriously lucked out in finding a rhyme for "confusion" and "solution").

The book contains 112 pages of track-by-track liner notes by Stu Hackel, Bill Dahl, Keith Hughes, and Harry Weinger. There are also rare photos sure to please the most rabid of Motown fans. Like the other Hip-O-Select Complete Motown Singles box sets, this is a limited edition limited to 6,000 copies, and is sold out at many retailers; you can find a copy, it's a surefire investment. This truly may be the greatest year in the label's history; after 1966, Holland-Dozier-Holland and several artists such as the Isley Brothers and Kim Weston departed the Motown label (and Martha and the Vandellas never scored a Top Ten single after 1967). This is Motown in its prime, and a worthy tribute to the talent and promise that Detroit held forty years ago.