Given the speed and frequency with which the Motown label made recordings during its heyday, the company's vaults are known to be vast.  Large amounts of unreleased material have been added to compilations and reissues over the years, while still other collections have been solely devoted to never-before-heard tracks from the label's superstars.  Due to European copyright laws that allow unused recordings to enter the public domain, Motown has been releasing digital-only copyright-extension compilations for the past several years beginning with multiple Motown Unreleased 1962: Guys, Girls, Jazz, and Gospel volumes. 

Last year's Motown Unreleased: 1966 was the largest single package yet, featuring 80 tracks and nearly four hours of music.  Inevitably with each annual release comes the question: "When will these be available on CD?"  UMC, a Universal catalogue arm, is coming to the rescue.  On December 15, UMC will issue Motown Unreleased: 1966 as a 4-CD box set limited to 1,000 units.

The artists found on this compilation are a veritable who's-who of Motown, including The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Martha & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes and The Supremes.  It also features some of Motown's lesser-known acts like The Underdogs, Debbie Dean and Little Lisa.  In addition, Motown Unreleased: 1966 has some major artists who were on Motown but found greater success elsewhere like jazz crooner Billy Eckstine, The Isley Brothers and The Spinners.  One short-lived band whose members would go on to have great fame were The Mynah Birds, whose line-up in 1966 included Rick James, Bruce Palmer and Neil Young.  Due to various complications, the group only recorded a handful of songs for the label which remained unreleased for years.  A couple of have seen the light of day in previous years, and now two more are being unveiled officially: "I've Got You (In My Soul)" and "I'll Wait Forever."

The range of material covered on this set is wide, from (of course) Motown hits, standards, Broadway, rock and gospel.  There are several alternate and early versions of familiar songs such as The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" and several takes of The Four Tops' cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Wives and Lovers," each with a different lead vocalist.  Other cover versions of non-Motown pop and rock songs include The Supremes covering The Beatles' "Michelle."  There are new duets to discover as well such as between Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, and Gladys Knight and The Spinners.  The set had enough material from Brenda Holloway to form a complete unreleased album; Cherry Red's SoulMusic imprint collected her sides from this set as part of Holloway anthology Spellbound: Rare and Unreleased Motown Gems.  The set is ordered chronologically by recording and/or completion date with all of the gospel songs grouped at the end.

Motown Unreleased: 1966 is strictly limited to 1,000 units and includes a new booklet with annotation.  Should this sell out, perhaps UMC will dig back in the vaults to bring past - and future - volumes of this indispensable rarities series to CD.  The 4-CD box is currently available for order through Universal's own webstore, UDiscoverMusic.com, with a release date of December 15.  The track listing and pre-order links can be found below!

Various Artists, Motown Unreleased: 1966 (Motown Records/UMe, 2017)

Disc 1

1. The Soulful Shack (Alternate Version) - The Miracles
2. Ain't Too Proud To Beg (Alternate Version) - The Temptations
3. Suddenly I Was Alone - Marvin Gaye
4. The Shadow Of Your Smile - Billy Eckstine
5. I Got You (In My Soul) - The Mynah Birds
6. I'll Wait Forever - The Mynah Birds
7. Road Burner (Son Of Road Runner) - Junior Walker & The All-Stars
8. For Once In My Life - Billy Eckstine
9. That'll Be The Day - Marvin Gaye , Kim Weston
10. Don't Mess With Bill  - Earl Van Dyke
11. Flower Girl (Alternate Version) - The Miracles
12. Can't You Hear Me Knocking  - Brenda Holloway
13. Whenever You Need Me  - Brenda Holloway
14. Just Too Much To Hope For  - Marvin Gaye , Kim Weston
15. Stand By Me (Live At The 20 Grand, Detroit/1966)  - Earl Van Dyke
16. A Taste Of Honey  - The Four Tops
17. Wives And Lovers (Lead Vocal By Obie Benson / Take 1) - The Four Tops
18. Wives And Lovers (Lead Vocal By Levi Stubbs / Take 3) - The Four Tops
19. Wives And Lovers (Lead Vocal By Lawrence Payton / Take 4) - The Four Tops

Disc 2

1. The Lonely Heart And Lonely Eyes Of Lonely Me - Brenda Holloway
2. Give A Little Love - Marvin Gaye , Kim Weston
3. What Good Am I Without You - Brenda Holloway
4. Pucker Up Buttercup (Alternate Version) - Junior Walker & The All-Stars
5. Monkey Talk - Earl Van Dyke
6. A World Without You - Barbara McNair
7. I Still Get Butterflies - Brenda Holloway
8. In My Heart I Know It's Right - Gladys Knight & The Pips
9. I'm Losing You - Gladys Knight & The Pips
10. All These Things - Gladys Knight, The Spinners
11. Hello, Young Lovers - The Four Tops
12. I Wish You Love - The Four Tops
13. Put On A Happy Face - Barbara McNair
14. The Second Time Around - Barbara McNair
15. Smile - Barbara McNair
16. Day In - Day Out - Barbara McNair
17. Nothing But A Fool - Gladys Knight and The Pips
18. You're Gone (But Always In My Heart) - Gladys Knight & The Pips
19. Never Stop Loving Me - Chris Clark
20. Don't Compare Me With Her - Gladys Knight & The Pips
21. You've Got Possibilities - Barbara McNair
22. Never Trust A Man - Chris Clark

Disc 3

1. Sweet Talkin' Guy - The Marvelettes
2. I Feel Your Love Growin' On Me - Brenda Holloway
3. Without Love You Lose A Good Feelin' - Brenda Holloway
4. You Got A Little Of Everything - Brenda Holloway
5. Baby I've Got It - Brenda Holloway
6. Keep Me - Brenda Holloway
7. I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself (Alternate Version) - The Miracles
8. I Can't Let You Go - The Spinners
9. Keep Away - Little Lisa
10. Tea House In China Town (Alternate Version) - The Spinners
11. I Found Something (Alternate Version) - Marvin Gaye
12. Save Me From This Misery (Alternate Version) - The Isley Brothers
13. I Still Love You - Chris Clark
14. Got To Have You Back (Alternate Version)  - The Isley Brothers
15. I Can't Take You Back - Gladys Knight & The Pips
16. Then - The Temptations
17. I'm Giving Up - Brenda Holloway
18. Spellbound - Brenda Holloway
19. For All We Know (Alternate Version) - The Spinners

Disc 4

1. Can't Hold The Feeling Back - Brenda Holloway
2. The Impossible Dream - Billy Eckstine
3. Dear Miss Lonely Hearts - Marvin Gaye
4. Need Your Lovin' (Want You Back) - The Underdogs
5. One Of These Days - The Underdogs
6. On A Clear Day (You Can See Forever) - The Four Tops
7. More (Theme From "Mondo Cane") - The Supreme
8. Somewhere - The Supremes
9. Michelle - The Supremes
10. I'm So Helpless (When I'm With You) - Debbie Dean
11. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - Marvin Gaye
12. Just A Closer Walk With Thee - Kim Weston
13. Never Grow Old - Kim Weston
14. How Great Thou Art - Kim Weston
15. Just A Closer Walk With Thee - Gladys Knight & The Pips
16. Where You There - The Supremes
17. What Do You Choose - The Supremes
18. Steal Away - Marvin Gaye
19. Near The Cross - The Miracles
20. Just A Closer Walk With Thee - Martha & The Vandellas