Motown Around the World: The Classic Singles [Limited Edition]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 20, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition
• Label: Hip-O Select
• ASIN: B003647BTK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,186 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Supremes - Moonlight And Kisses

2. The Supremes - Baby, Baby, Wo Ist Unsere Liebe [Where Did Our Love Go]

3. The Supremes - Thank You Darling

4. The Supremes - Jonny Und Joe [Come See About Me]

5. The Tempations - Mein Girl [My Girl]

6. The Temptations - Blue Bird

7. Marvin Gaye - Wie Schön Das Ist [How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)]

8. Marvin Gaye - Sympatica

9. The Velvelettes - Puisque Je Sais Qu'il Est À Moi [As Long As I Know He's Mine]

10. The Velvelettes - Tu Perds Le Plus Merveilleux Garcon Du Monde [You Lost The Sweetest Boy]

11. The Velvelettes - Le Hoky Poky [(Monkey) Hoky Poky]

12. The Velvelettes - Je Veux Crier [My Foolish Heart (Keeps Hanging On To A Memory)]

13. Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - Yo Necesito De Tu Amor [I'm Ready For Love]

14. Martha Reeves & the Vandellas - Jimmy Mack

15. Stevie Wonder - Mi Ayer Tu Ayer El Ayer [Yester Me, Yester You, Yesterday]

16. Stevie Wonder - Mi Querido Amor [My Cherie Amour]

17. Stevie Wonder - Un Lugar En El Sol [A Place In The Sun]

18. Stevie Wonder - Por Primera Vez [For Once In My Life]

19. Bonus Track: 1. Jermaine Jackson - Seamos Serios [Let's Get Serious]

20. Bonus Track: 2. Smokey Robinson - Aqui Con Tigo [Being With You]

Editorial Reviews

Motown Records made international inroads in the mid-1960s, with hits in the United Kingdom and a fan base spreading across Europe. The company wanted to do more, and the vision was this: By the end of the decade Motown superstars, from Stevie Wonder to the Temptations, the Supremes to the Four Tops, Edwin Starr to Martha & the Vandellas, would record and release Italian, German and Spanish language versions of several of their classic hits, as well as five new songs created especially for the local market. Those singles - and a promotion-only album of the Italian recordings - became instant collector's items.

Now, for the first time, all of Motown's classic-era foreign language singles are collected on Motown Around The World: The Classic Singles, a 38-track, 2-CD set from Hip-oSelect.com -including four French recordings by the Velvelettes, discovered in the vault for their 2004 U.K. Anthology. As another bonus, Motown Around The World includes two Spanish cuts from the late `70s-early `80s: Spanish versions of "Being With You" by Smokey Robinson and "Let Get Serious" by Jermaine Jackson, the latter in a super-rare long version.

It's refreshing - and an exceptional treat - to hear the hits "My Girl," "You Can't Hurry Love," "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted," "For Once In My Life," "I Can't Help Myself" and so many more sung by their originators in Italian, or German, or Spanish. (Stevie Wonder has 11 songs in Italian and Spanish by himself.) All of the artists, in a setting much like a special Artist Development class, learned the lyrics phonetically from special instructors flown in from their respective countries. Hip-oSelect.com's Motown Around The World: The Classic Singles finally restores to print this great and hardly-heard moment in Motown history.

(While this collection borrows its title from a short-lived single CD compilation of selected Motown foreign language tracks, that late 1980s release did not include the original single versions of the songs; this 2-CD edition features the original single mixes for all but a small handful of the German tracks.)

Motown Around The World: The Classic Singles is presented in an attractive package with a 24-page booklet designed to look like an international passport. Inside are rare photos of Motown stars in settings around the world, reproductions of the original single sleeves, a 9.5" x 14" sticker sheet, detailed annotations and an essay by Dr. Andrew Flory. As the Supremes sing in the opening cut: "L'Amore Verrà."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars L'Amore Verra: Motown Around The World !, April 29, 2010

By 

R. Mark Desjardins (Vancouver, B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Motown Around the World: The Classic Singles (Audio CD)

During its heyday, Berry Gordy's Tamla Motown stable of recording artists owned the North American AM airwaves and when the British Invasion was underway he hit upon the brilliant, if not original idea of invading Europe with international language interpretations of the Sound of Young America.

Originally released in 1990 as a single compact disc, Motown Around The World: The Classic Singles now re-released as a limited two disc set on Hip-0 Select, and what an aural and visual treat it is indeed. When opened, this digitpak package reveals two photographs of opened suitcases, filled with vintage period clothing such as the male and female group members may have worn on stage. The liner notes are encased in a booklet designed like a passport filled with rare photographs of the original 45 rpm picture cover sleees for the European releases, complete with session notes and an informative essay. And to further add to the excellent packaging, there is a set of travel decals from around the world to stick on to your suitcase.

Of course it's what's in the grooves that counts and this set doesn't disappoint. The Supremes, Four Tops, Temptations, Marvin Gaye The Velvelettes, Martha & The Vandellas, Jermaine Jackson and Smokey Robinson are all represented here. However, it's Stevie Wonder and Edwin Starr who to the ears of this reviewer, come off the best here.

It is somewhat bizarre to listen to Diana Ross et al warble their way phonetically in German and Italian to their biggest early hits and they were probably glad to get the sessions over with, but the fact remains that while these reworkings may not have vaulted all the way up the charts across Europe like they did on the other side of the pond, they are fun to listen to. Who knew that the backing "ooooooooooohs" by Mary and Flo could sound as sexy and soulful in German and Italian as they did in English!

As Andrew Flory points out in his booklet notes, the majority of these recordings were translated classics, but a few songs such as Moonlight and Kisses, Thank You Darling, Blue Bird and Sympatica were entirely new compositions by European songwriters. Some of the Motown re-recordings, even departed from the original, adding new instruments or were remixed in the process. As well, many of the lyrics come across as unintentionally comic in translation.

That Berry Gordy was a musical genius was never in doubt, and this soul curiosity is ample proof of the foresight he had in his vision that the Sound of Young America could indeed be a calling out around the world for dancing in the street. Big fun, and sure to place a wide grin on your face. A solid five stars!