Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Return To West Grand Boulevard: ‘Motown: The Complete No. 1s’ Box Gets Expanded Reissue

April 19, 2019 by The Second Disc | 9 Comments

For its 60th anniversary year, Universal Music Enterprises has begun reminding fans that “Motown Did It First“; now, the label that launched The Sound Of Young America is revisiting a box set that was released in celebration of its 50th anniversary a decade ago. Motown: The Complete No. 1s is being reissued and expanded on June 28. Motown: The Complete No. 1s featured more than 200 international chart-toppers, plus a handful of bonus masters that went to No. 1 through cover versions or samples. And the packaging was a delight: the discs…

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News

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Box Sets, CD

Genres:

Country, Disco/Dance, Everything Else, Funk, Holiday, Pop, R&B/Soul

What’s Going On: “Motown 25” Comes To DVD In New Box Set, Highlights DVDs

August 20, 2014 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

On the evening of March 25, 1983, the Pasadena Civic Auditorium was alive with the sound of music – the Sound of Young America, to be more specific. Motown Records was celebrating its 25th anniversary, and producer Suzanne de Passe wasn’t pulling any stops. “Once in a lifetime” was as overused in 1983 as it is today, but the galaxy of stars assembled by de Passe couldn’t be described any other way: Diana Ross and the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Lionel Richie and the Commodores, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Mary…

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News

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Box Sets, DVD

Genres:

R&B/Soul

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Linda Ronstadt, Lionel Richie, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, Smokey Robinson, The Four Tops, The Temptations

“Pin Ups” In Reverse: Ace Explores The Roots of Ziggy Stardust With “Bowie Heard Them Here First”

June 25, 2014 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

David Bowie did the unthinkable in this media-obsessed age when, on the date of his sixty-sixth birthday (January 8, 2013), he managed to catch the world off-guard to announce his first new album in a decade. Bowie and his cohorts had kept The Next Day a secret, proving that the iconoclastic artist could still do things his way. In six decades, from the 1960s through the present, David Bowie has kept his fans guessing what might come next. And while Bowie’s sound is one of the most distinctive in popular music, it…

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Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Paul Revere and The Raiders, Scott Walker, The Velvet Underground

Release Round-Up: Week of June 11

June 11, 2013 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Paul McCartney and Wings, Rockshow (Eagle Rock) Macca’s newly-restored live show may not be in the Wings Over America box, but that means you can buy it for that much less now. (DVD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.; BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) ZZ Top, The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990 (Warner Bros./Rhino) So not only are you getting all of ZZ Top’s London/Warner-era albums in one convenient box, but you’re getting a fair amount of them in their original mixes for the first time ever on CD. Win? Win. (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.) Various Artists, The…

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Blu-Ray, Box Sets, DVD

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Burt Bacharach, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Richard Pryor

Review: The Four Tops/Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, “50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection” – Part 2: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

May 24, 2013 by Joe Marchese | 5 Comments

martha and the vandellas singles collection

Were there a time capsule emblazoned with the word “MOTOWN,” meant to convey the sound and style of the once-and-always Sound of Young America to future generations, its central artifact just might be Gordy single G-7033, from 1964. Sure, The Supremes might have had more success, and The Temptations and The Four Tops might have had more endurance. But the ultimate Motor City anthem could very well be “Dancing in the Streets,” performed by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. And that’s just one of the 82 tracks present on 50th Anniversary: The…

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Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Four Tops

Review: The Four Tops/Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, “50th Anniversary: The Singles Collection” – Part 1: The Four Tops

May 24, 2013 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

Happy Friday! We’ve got a special double dose of Detroit for you today: reviews of two of Motown Select’s latest releases – singles box sets devoted to The Four Tops and Martha & The Vandellas, respectively. First, Mike can’t help himself when it comes to the Tops… Is it right to call one of Motown’s most beloved vocal groups – with over a dozen Top 20 hits and production credits from three of the greatest names not only on the Detroit label, but in all of pop-soul music – underrated? For reasons…

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Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Four Tops

Losers Weepers! Ace Unveils Rare and Unreleased Songs on “Finders Keepers: Motown Girls 1961-67”

May 6, 2013 by Joe Marchese | No Comments

Thanks to the dedication of labels like Ace Records, it would be impossible to “forget the Motor City.” Along with the U.S.’ flagship Hip-O/UMG Select imprint, Ace has led the charge in issuing vintage 1960s-era Motown material, much of it unreleased. The recent release of Finders Keepers: Motown Girls 1961-1967 compiles 24 tracks from girls both famous (The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Mary Wells) and all-too-unknown (LaBrenda Ben, Thelma Brown, Anita Knorl) for a potent overview of songs that slipped through the cracks at Hitsville, USA. Sweetening the pot is the…

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News

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R&B/Soul

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Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Mary Wells, Smokey Robinson, The Marvelettes, The Supremes

Release Round-Up: Week of April 2

April 2, 2013 by Mike Duquette | No Comments

The S.O.S. Band / Cherrelle / Alexander O’Neal, “Tabu Reborn” Vinyl Editions (Wave 1) (Tabu/Edsel) The start of a lengthy reissue campaign from Demon Music Group, these are 180-gram vinyl reissues of The S.O.S. Band’s III (1982), Cherrelle’s 1984 debut Fragile, and Alexander O’Neal’s self-titled debut from 1985. Expanded editions of these albums come out on CD next week, followed by a great many more waves of product throughout 2013 and into 2014! S.O.S. Band: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Cherrelle: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. Alexander O’Neal: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. The Four Tops / Martha Reeves…

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News, Release Round-Up

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Box Sets

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Mad Season, Margaret Whiting, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, Nancy Wilson, Rilo Kiley, Simple Minds, Stephanie Mills, The Four Tops, The Grateful Dead, The S.O.S. Band

Reach Out! Singles Sets for Four Tops, Martha & The Vandellas Due from Hip-O Select

March 15, 2013 by Mike Duquette | 2 Comments

We kick off the weekend with not one but two new Motown collections from Hip-O Select. This time, it’s a pair of singles collections from two cornerstones of the classic Motown sound – and one is packed with rarities. The boutique label (which, if its Twitter feed is any indication, is due for a rebranding of sorts) is releasing two Singles Collection multi-disc sets from The Four Tops and Martha & The Vandellas. The classic lineup of Levi Stubbs, Obie Benson, Duke Fakir and Lawrence Payton, combined with the immaculate writing and production of…

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News

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Box Sets

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Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, The Four Tops