Detroit's renowned Motown label (along with subsidiaries Gordy, Soul, VIP, MoJazz, etc) has always been the premiere soul music organization, both in terms of pure musical achievement and cultural impact. But the various keepers of the Motown catalog over the years have not always done it justice. Since the original "16 Big Hits" series, the company has focused over the years on repolishing and revising its biggest songs (usually favoring the stereo LP mixes, despite the fact that the mono single mixes were more representative), the catalogs of its half-dozen or so mega-stars, or haphazard collections of generally disappointing unreleased tracks—all at the expense of its less-successful but still worthy releases (not to mention a truly accurate version of its history).
Memphis' Stax label (Satellite, Volt, Enterprise, etc.) by comparison, actually languished in semi-obscurity for several years following its ignominious mid-70s decline, with Atlantic—which owns the catalog up to 1968—seemingly satisfied to reissue the hits under its own banner for a time, and Fantasy (which bought the '70s material) only giving it haphazard attention. The Stax studio itself was treated even more disrespectfully—a story which takes too much time to tell in this space.
But in 1991, warmer hearts prevailed, and Atlantic (inspired by Euro labels like Ace and Bear Family, no doubt) issued the groundbreaking Complete Stax/Volt Singles 59-68, a nine-disc behemoth with liner notes by Rob Bowman, a Canadian scholar who has made it (seemingly) his life's work to bring the label proper respect. In 1993 and '94, with a rare instance of near-cooperation, Fantasy brought out Volume 2 and Volume 3 (produced by Bowman, with Bill Belmont), which are not quite complete: they omit, for example, the rock-related releases on the Ardent label (home of legendary Big Star) which Stax distributed in the '70s, and other ephemera. Nevertheless they are exhaustive tributes to an organization that seemed almost incapable of putting out a bad record (regardless of chart success). Since then, Stax has enjoyed an ever-increasing level of respect, admiration, and acclaim, all justly deserved.
Owing to who knows how many factors, from corporate politics to the daunting nature of the task, it's taken Motown quite some time to pick up the gauntlet. But beginning in 2005, under the direction of Universal A&R VP Harry Weinger (the same man who properly resurrected the James Brown catalog), a limited-edition series—available online only, through hip-o-select.com—finally brings together each and every Motown single in chronological order. The critical years 1965 (vol. 5) and 1966 (vol 6) are the most recent releases; Vol. 1 covers the building years '59-61, and each set is typically 6 CDs strong (1962 only needed 4).
Been waiting for years to hear those Popcorn & the Mohawks singles? What about the legendary Andre Williams' Motown release? The single for which the Temptations temporarily became "The Pirates?" Alternate mixes of The Vandellas' "Quicksand," Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips," the Supremes' "Stop! In The Name Of Love," and the Four Tops' "It's The Same Old Song?" How about all those Velvelettes, Shorty Long and Eddie Holland discs? Even the very rare releases by Motown's "secret weapon" backing singers The Andantes and obscure Canadians the Mynah Birds (featuring Rick James and Neil Young!) are here, along with dozens more songs (and unjustly obscured artists) which never even made it on to LP, not to mention cassette, 8-Track or CD before. Whoever The Hit Pack were, their "Never Say No To Your Baby" is now on this writer's heavy rotation... though, needless to say, there are some clunkers here, too.
To be sure, the Stax volumes, though we've had them to digest a while longer, are also filled with previously-obscure gems, like the Triumphs' "Burnt Biscuits," Eddie Kirk's "The Hawg," Ruby Johnson's "I'll Run Your Hurt Away," Jeanne & the Darlings' "How Can You Mistreat The One You Love," the Soul Children's "Tighten Up My Thang," Jean Knight's "Do Me," Inez Foxx's "Circuit's Overloaded and Sir Mack Rice's "Dark Skin Woman" ... just to name a few. Producers and Djs have yet to sample-out all the grooves and breakbeats contained on the volumes' 28 discs.
The Motown sets are also vital for documenting runs like that of February 5 to March 18 '65, when the releases in order were: "Nowhere To Run" (Martha & the Vandellas), "Stop! In The Name Of Love (The Supremes), "When I'm Gone" (Brenda Holloway), "I'll Be Doggone" (Marvin Gaye), "Ooh Baby Baby" (The Miracles), and "It's Growing" (The Temptations). Wow.
Just for comparison, Stax had its runs too, like April 13 to May 30, '67, with, in order,"Tramp" (Otis & Carla), "Soul Finger" (Bar-Kays), "Shake" (Otis Redding), "Born Under A Bad Sign" (Albert King), and "Soothe Me" (Sam & Dave).
As for the packaging, all efforts are worthy. Stax's original boxes feature LP-sized heavy gloss stock booklets sporting copious liner notes, cross-referenced track info and fantastically big rare photos. But Motown's sets are also impressive. Each is packaged as a classic-style 45 binder, with a real reproduced 45 inserted in the cover (featuring vintage sleeve art of the time), pages of lesser-seen photos and nearly excessive notes on every release, including first-hand memories by the artists and Motown staffers involved whenever possible. Vol. 5's book is 147 pages long!
In recent years, WMG has reissued Stax "volume 1" in a smaller format, which, while more "user-friendly," also misses the impact of the full-size book. Still, it's a relative bargain, sporting 244 tracks for its 99 dollar list price, while the Motown sets are just a bit more dear, ranging from 80 to 120 dollars each, depending on the number of releases per set. But any collector can tell you that collecting the originals (with considerable effort) would cost ten times as much, at least. Stax 2 and 3 are still available in their original full-size glory, each a reasonable $125 on average. An extra dividend for the thrifty is that all of the Motown tracks are available as separate iTunes downloads, for those who only want the odd rarity.
The remaining years in Motown's history are intended to be released in similar fashion periodically until 2009, the label's 50th anniversary. Stax's own 50th anniversary is being celebrated this year (2007) with a series of releases and events that are also set to impress.
 | ||
STAX | MOTOWN | |
Songwriting | 9 | 8.5 |
Overall Shelf Life | 9 | 10 |
Packaging | 8.5 | 9.5 |
Extras | 9 | 10 |
Documentation | 9.5 | 10 |
Photos | 10 | 9 |
Mastering | 9 | 10 |
Reason to Exist? | 10 | 10 |
Reissue Rumble is designed to be objective. The preceding opinions are those of an independent freelance writer given no incentive or instruction to favor Rhino releases.
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