MOTOWN UNRELEASED series?

[Fourtopsbiggestfan]

Why hasn't more CD releases of the UNRELEASED MOTOWN series been released yet?

[daviddesper]

Aren't we close to the point where there simply IS no more unreleased material? And even if there was, wouldn't it likely be inferior material if it had been passed over so many times?

[mysterysinger]

I took the question to mean why have there been no more physical CD releases of the Motown Unreleased sets that have so far been only available as downloads? Only 1966 at this stage but either 1967 will come at the end of this year or no more at all due to a lack of demand?

I don't see why there won't be more download sets for years after 1967 - and I'm assuming a 1968 set will be available before too long. However, I suspect that, as mentioned above, there will be a lot less to choose from and maybe more in terms of alternative versions rather than new finds.

Whilst there can't be much [[anything) left on Brenda Holloway now, in a couple of years we'll be into the realms of Mowest and I suspect there's some good vault mining to be had there [[not least Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons).

[Quinn]

The mixing of 1968 should start soon if the process hasn't started already. Only Keith can give the specifics and I'll leave that to him. In all honesty though, there may not be a physical release of "1967" or any of the others as "1966" was somewhat of a lucky happenstance. Demand had little to do with the commissioning of that project even though it sold well. As far as I'm concerned, this is the last great year for the Motown sound and the quality of the series may taper off after this [[if the series continues).

There's enough for another double disc set on Brenda Holloway and after that we can basically call it a day. Unless undocumented recordings turn up, we'll pretty much have her recorded output in totality. The emerging of unissued MoWest recordings would surprise me if someone wanted to get into that. Though some good stuff may be there[[ Jackson 5, Willie Hutch, Ronnie Mcneir) it may not be as much as Detroit. They may encounter some issues too because many L.A. reels are not labeled and the annotations and logs were discontinued by that time. There are still some good Hitsville tracks left and Ace/ Kent may release them. Just because songs don't make the "MU" tracklist doesn't mean their not good, it may mean they don't fit that project. Keith Hughes is doing all he can and listening extremely carefully to ensure that he has no regrets later on.

[mysterysinger]

That all sounds pretty positive and it's great to think there could be another set in the vaults on Brenda Holloway.

But that kinda adds to my confusion as to the purpose of Motown Unreleased as I thought they were designed as a mop up to stop unreleased recordings falling out of copyright.

Given that we've already had 1967 and that Brenda left Motown in that year it's puzzling to me if there is stuff that's been deliberately excluded because logically her time at Motown has already been covered. Still, I'm definitely not complaining lol. Her "Spellbound" 2 CD set was top-notch although many of the tracks were already issued as part of Motown Unreleased of course.

It's all in good hands with Keith & Co.

[snakepit]

Enough for a release on Ivy Hunter surely...his " In this bag" plus bonus in the same vein as The Contours set on Ace/Kent a few years back. Or The Recent Spinners ...

[lakedistrictlad1]

I would certainly purchase all the Unreleased series if they made it to physical. Though having heard the 1967 set, to be honest, it could have been 1 disc for me. There's a lot of dross on there.

[wichmanne]

The physical 1966 box is looking mighty lonely on the shelf. I agree with the original post - where's the rest?

For me, I would welcome physical boxes of all the [[digital) releases that have come out so far. Perhaps there are corrections/additions over-and-above the digital that are relevant here.

And then we need the following years as far as 72 to match the TCMS series.

[Quinn]

That all sounds pretty positive and it's great to think there could be another set in the vaults on Brenda Holloway.

But that kinda adds to my confusion as to the purpose of Motown Unreleased as I thought they were designed as a mop up to stop unreleased recordings falling out of copyright.

Given that we've already had 1967 and that Brenda left Motown in that year it's puzzling to me if there is stuff that's been deliberately excluded because logically her time at Motown has already been covered. Still, I'm definitely not complaining lol. Her "Spellbound" 2 CD set was top-notch although many of the tracks were already issued as part of Motown Unreleased of course.

It's all in good hands with Keith & Co.There is certainly enough tracks in the vault for another set,without a doubt. Most than likely David Nathan & the SoulMusic team are going to release them as the follow up to the successful "Spellbound". It's just that after that it may be few if any songs left.

The purpose of "MU" is just as you said to maintain the copyright on tunes Keith and Harry deems worthy. These are copyright collections and if Universal was left to their own devices nothing like this would be considered.

Brenda left Motown in 1968. She was in the studio with Smokey and during a break in the session she hailed a cab and flew back home. Afterward she wrote Berry Gordy a letter stating what she felt about her abandonment at the label and that she still loved him. It would be great to hear that incomplete Smokey production if it doesn't sound too bare.

It's a GREAT chance that Keith didn't add any Brenda to "1967" to leave the lane open for SoulMusic to use it. That's what they do as colleagues sometimes,I'll share something. While Harry Weinger was doing research for Hip o Select's reissue of David & Jimmy Ruffin's "I Am My Brothers Keeper" he came across an incomplete tune."In The Cool Of The Night" was earmarked for the said album,but Jimmy never got around to overdubbing his part. With Harry knowing that Paul Nixon was working on "Cellarful Of Motown 4" he gave the track to him to add to the package. You never know what they plan to do down the line. I went too long....

[Quinn]

Enough for a release on Ivy Hunter surely...his " In this bag" plus bonus in the same vein as The Contours set on Ace/Kent a few years back. Or The Recent Spinners ...I was excited about Ivy Jo's " In This Bag" back in 2009/10 when Reel Music was supposed to release it. When I discovered that the album consisted of mostly covers of the songs he'd written for others my enthusiasm dropped. The only savior for that in my eyes is a complete unleashing of everything he recorded, demo's and all. That might balance it out, but it's not what I expected it to be. The liner notes would be intriguing as well as he would discuss his fight with management[[Ralph Seltzer) among other things.

[snakepit]

Indeed.
It appears Ivy was blackballed as he was fighting the Detroit corner ...and losing the battle as we saw later.

[mysterysinger]

I wouldn't mind an album of Ivy covers [[or were they demos?). Shame he had it tough - a very talented man.

[robb_k]

I wouldn't mind an album of Ivy covers [[or were they demos?). Shame he had it tough - a very talented man.14667
My guess is that they were mostly demos, for getting his songs to the right pushed artists.

[Fourtopsbiggestfan]

Demos or not, his recordings need immediate released. Yes was screwed enough back then by not having releases, he doesn't need that again.

[Fourtopsbiggestfan]

You can't just release one year on CD and nothing else. Then forget digital and focus on CD. Why do companies give us the run around. A taste if something then takes it away.

[lakedistrictlad1]

You can't just release one year on CD and nothing else. Then forget digital and focus on CD. Why do companies give us the run around. A taste if something then takes it away.

I'd love to know why the 66 set ended up physical, yet none of the others. How was that decision made? And by who?

[Quinn]

I'd love to know why the 66 set ended up physical, yet none of the others. How was that decision made? And by who?
I might as well answer this question for all inquiring minds. Keith can give hard specifics if he cares to.

The reality of this situation regarding the physical release of one copyright collection and the lack of others is quite simple. There was never[[from my understanding) a plan to manufacture these as tangibles to begin with. In 2012 when the first volumes were released to the public the intent was to keep worthy unreleased tracks from falling into the public domain[[you can research the fine details yourself). Many record companies jumped on this hold on to music that they considered the most valuable,it was up to them if they wanted to actually press it. There were limited runs of some of the collections they decided to press, but it wasn't a necessity[[like MU1966). As I stated in a previous post, left to their own devices the bean counters at UMe would probably never think of this.

We as Motown fans know that 1966 was a pivotal year for The Motown Sound from the quality of the songs to the chart success. Don't forget that this volume [[6)of The Complete Motown Singles was the Only One to sell out if my memory serves me correctly. My guess is that when this year presented itself in the MU series it sold considerably better than the others. It sold so great that Harry Weinger was given a request from somewhere in the corporation to make it a physical release. Two weeks before the unveiling of 1967[[ which I like considerably better) it was made available to purchase and sold out fairly quickly. With 1968 as Keith Hughes' primary focus currently, he's waiting to see.

We have the next three months for news on a CD release,it may happen or may not. This is not Harry's doing, but more the corporations decision. So if he gets a request to make them all available in the desired format we'll have them. If not,we have to be grateful for what we have unless someone else decides to press them. I hope this answers everyone's question[[s).

[mysterysinger]

And some tracks may still end up on other CDs as happened with some of the Brenda Holloway stuff.

[paul_nixon]

There is certainly enough tracks in the vault for another set,without a doubt. Most than likely David Nathan & the SoulMusic team are going to release them as the follow up to the successful "Spellbound". It's just that after that it may be few if any songs left.

The purpose of "MU" is just as you said to maintain the copyright on tunes Keith and Harry deems worthy. These are copyright collections and if Universal was left to their own devices nothing like this would be considered.

Brenda left Motown in 1968. She was in the studio with Smokey and during a break in the session she hailed a cab and flew back home. Afterward she wrote Berry Gordy a letter stating what she felt about her abandonment at the label and that she still loved him. It would be great to hear that incomplete Smokey production if it doesn't sound too bare.

It's a GREAT chance that Keith didn't add any Brenda to "1967" to leave the lane open for SoulMusic to use it. That's what they do as colleagues sometimes,I'll share something. While Harry Weinger was doing research for Hip o Select's reissue of David & Jimmy Ruffin's "I Am My Brothers Keeper" he came across an incomplete tune."In The Cool Of The Night" was earmarked for the said album,but Jimmy never got around to overdubbing his part. With Harry knowing that Paul Nixon was working on "Cellarful Of Motown 4" he gave the track to him to add to the package. You never know what they plan to do down the line. I went too long....

You seem to know a lot about the process Quinn even more than me and I was there I'd be interested to hear more...that certainly was not the case with Benda's compilation .

[mysterysinger]

Oh no does that dash my hopes on Brenda?

[Quinn]

You seem to know a lot about the process Quinn even more than me and I was there I'd be interested to hear more...that certainly was not the case with Benda's compilation ."Leading the field with no fewer than 13 new sides, is Brenda Holloway. Her output, and Motown's commitment to recording her, was phenomenal. The actual number of releases were not. Despite this series, and the recent release of rare Brenda tracks from the Motown vault on the SoulMusic.com label, THERE IS STILL ENOUGH UNISSUED MATERIAL BY BRENDA TO FILL ANOTHER DOUBLE SET. Here "I'm Giving Up" and "I Still Get Butterflies" outclasses anything that Motown chose to release on her in 1966."

Excerpt from the great Keith Hughes' Hidden Gold liner notes written for the physical release of Motown Unreleased 1966.

"Never Say Never. When It Comes To Motown You Never Know"
-The Great Paul Nixon

[simon.millar]

Given that year end is about 11 weeks away any news as what we can expected on Motown unreleased 1968?

And is 1967 gonna get a physical format release?

[Fourtopsbiggestfan]

Given that year end is about 11 weeks away any news as what we can expected on Motown unreleased 1968?

And is 1967 gonna get a physical format release?
Definitely wondering the same thing. I remember we got info for 1967 last year in October. Should be any day now I hope.