Motown Classic Hits CDs

[mysterysinger]

The Motown Classic Hits series of CDs ran to 5 volumes I believe - each having 12 tracks digitally mastered from mono analog sources.

The track sequences follow exactly the 16 Big Hits series with obviously carry over between CDs such that, for example, Motown Classic Hits Volume 1 and the first four tracks on Volume 2 are from A Package of 16 Big Hits [[Volume 1 of that series)..

As there are 5 x 12 = 60 tracks, 16 Big Hits 1 to 3 are fully represented in mono, plus 12 of the 16 tracks from Volume 4. Disappointing that we didn't get all of Volume 4 of course but would have been nice to have even more volumes too. One wonders why stop mid album/series but that's nothing new for Motown such that 16 Big Hits Volume 11 never appeared on CD at all.

Anyhow the Motown Classic Hits CDs were attractively packaged and I think theyre good. What did others make of them?

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[TomBairdFan]

I'm not a fan of mono recordings [[We've all got two ears so....), but I agree that the five Polygram era Motown Classic Hits CDs sound really good and are definitely worth collecting. They look good, too! I'm slightly amazed [[but not complaining!) that they were issued in the first place, as their appeal must have been quite limited. Still, they are very expertly mastered and sound very clear and fresh, unlike so many mono recordings which often just sound flat. Anyone who sees these available on the interweb should snap them up if the price is right. Once I finish typing this, I'm going to pop some of them into my CD player for a listening treat.

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[booty]

Volume 1 appears to have been released to test the Market as its catalogue number of 530-403-2 was the last number of a block of 19 numbers allocated to US releases, although not all of them were used. 530-404-2 was allocated to Brazil for a vinyl/CD/Cassette issue of "Diana Ross - The Megastar". Volume 2 of Classic Hits appeared in the next block of numbers allocated to US, on 530 419-2 with volumes 3, 4 & 5 using 530 420-2 - 530 422-2. Were further titles scheduled? Numbers 530 423 - 530 427 were never used. Were these to be further volumes?

[mysterysinger]

Yes I like this series - thanks for the input TomBairdFan and Booty.

That Diana Ross Megastar CD doesn't come up for sale too often. There's also a Temptations CD in the 530 series that seems to be rare - "The Original Mini-Series Soundtrack".

The information regarding the number allocations in the 530 series is interesting. There are a number of interesting CDs in the Polygram releases but quite a few gaps too. Is there a list anywhere of the full releases or allocations as outlined above?