I made an interesting find yesterday, a copy of Martha Reeves & the Vandellas "Ridin' High" in Mono. Like the Marvelettes' "Sophisticated Soul" which was just released by Hip-O on the great box set, these LPs were only issued in Mono to radio stations. I always loved "Ridin' High," and considered it a great album. I believe also that it was the last Vandellas LP to chart, though I'm not positive about that.

Like the Marvelettes' "Soul" LP, which I also have, the sound is so crisp and clean, and the arrangements of these great songs sound even better in Mono. The guitar on "I Promise to Wait My Love," for example, is quite prominent, and I'm not sure I ever even noticed it before on the commercially released version.

The most noticeable difference I hear on these LPs is that the bass and beat is very much up front in the mix. Likely, this was the sound Gordy always strived for when he would play new test pressings of singles through small speakers made to simulate an AM radio. On my favorite track from this LP, "Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone," the drums are totally dead on through the whole mix.

I imagine these were only released for about a year or so, 1968 or thereabouts, since Stereo very soon took over all the air waves, AM as well as FM. I think these LPs are a real find, and I'd love to know who else has some titles. They are easily identified because over where the cover imprint would normally show "Stereo" is a sticker which states "Monaural Record - DJ Copy."