"Greetings! We're The Monitors" The Album That Hipped Me to The Motown Engineers

[WaitingWatchingLookingForAChance]

My CD of "Greetings! We're The Monitors" has been on heavy rotation for a few days. I remember the day I got this album in the mail, 1983. I was in 11th grade. I had won the album in a mail-in auction [[well before the internet). When I got home from school, there was this big package on my bed and I excitedly tore that thing to shreds trying to see my prize. Wow, the vivid colors [[purple, yellow a great color photo of The Monitors) told me that this was going to be a really good album. I had no idea.

This was one of the albums that I played from front to back and never found a dull spot in 12 tracks. The music was just so good and it was primo Motown, that mid 60's sound I loved so much. I kept thinking why I had never heard these songs before and why the group wasn't more well-known. I just sat transfixed, staring at the cover and reading and re-reading the liner notes. I thought that they looked like a fun group of people and Sandra Fagin was one of THE most beautiful women I had ever seen.

The one song, though, that I kept coming back to was "Time Is Passin' By." I thought this song was THE MOTOWN song! This was pure, 100% The Motown Sound, everything I liked about Motown. One thing though that I noticed was how pristine the sound was, how perfectly balanced everything was. I had never given thought to it before, but this song, this album was the first time I considered that may have been more to the sound Motown got than the producers. I think I had the impression that producers also did the mixing and whatever else to get the sounds onto tape. But then listening to "Time Is Passin' By", the sound was just way too good.

There was a technical perfection that I realized could not have come from anyone except someone who was knowledgeable about sound levels, EQs and whatever other terms I'd never understand. I kept thinking there must be another step or person involved in the recording process that I hadn't thought about. I was young and learning, but I do remember this was when I had the thought of some kind of engineer.

Through the years I learned that of course there were sound engineers! This site was a big part of the education in that. So as I've been listening to the "Greetings!" album, I keep thinking about that day of discovery and I still marvel at how amazing that entire album sounds. Whoever mixed and engineered that LP, my everlasting appreciation goes out because that is one the best albums I've ever listened to.

[Roger Polhill]

It`s one of my favourites too WWLFAC and I`m a big fan of all their unreleased songs. I really like their version of "Winchester Cathedral" ,the original I have always hated. I think that we have had all that there is but I hope that I`m wrong.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I remember getting The Monitor's "Greetings! We're The Monitors" LP for Christmas 1968 upon its release. I, too, was excited by The Motown Sound contained within. And was equally surprised that The Monitors didn't get any airplay. Our local AM radio station played a LOT of Motown throughout the '60s -- including Brenda Holloway and Kim Weston -- but The Monitors were an exception.

[soulster]

Well, sometimes the producers do record and mix. In any case, they work with the engineer[[s). And, of course, it doesn't end after the recording is mixed. It has to be mastered, which originally meant simply getting the levels in order for the master tape to be duplicated for the various formats like vinyl and tape.

Today, it's a different ball game, where mastering engineers are asked to practically remix things using stems. The worst they are asked to do is use compression/limiting to make everything louder, which destroys the delicate mixes that were submitted. And, worse, these days the compression and limiting is often baked into the multitracks. I just received a multitrack to mix, and the ones with the symphonic strings were clipped!

[mysterysinger]

I'm very partial to certain tracks of their - ones that featured on the UK 16 Big Hits series and also Motown Memories. These are "Since I Lost You Girl", "Say You" and "Greetings". For me, their album is worth having for these three tracks at least.

CD wise there was first The Monitors and The Elgins split CD release on Marginal bootleg. There's also the Japanese CD of the album and the Kent CD - CDTOP355 Say You - The Motown Anthology by The Monitors which has a total of 26 tracks including the album. Of the unreleased material I really liked "It Only Happens When Love Is Gone". Plus there are other tracks dotted around Motown Unreleased etc. On the other hand I think I hate "Cry".

CDTOP355
Say You
The Motown Anthology
The Monitors
Kent / Motown CD

Tracklist
1 Bring Back The Love
2 Share A Little Love With Me [[Somebody)
3 Step By Step [[Hand In Hand)
4 The Further You Look, The Less You See
5 Since I Lost You Girl
6 Baby Make Your Own Sweet Music
7 Greetings [[This Is Uncle Sam)
8 Time Is Passin' By
9 Say You
10 Number One In Your Heart
11 Serve Yourself A Cup Of Happiness
12 You Share The Blame
13 Too Busy Thinking About My Baby
14 The Letter
15 Poor Side Of Town
16 Crying In The Night
17 My Love Grows Stronger
18 It Only Happens When Love Is Gone
19 Show Me You Can Dance
20 You're So Fine & Sweet
21 I'm In Love With You Baby
22 Anything
23 Guilty
24 Cry
25 All For Someone
26 Don't Put Off 'Til Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

[Roger Polhill]

Other tracks previously unreleased are:
Words.
I Can`t Get Along Without You.
Just Too Much To Hope For.
Just To keep You Satisfied.
Doctor Of Love.
Hello Love.
Stepping Closer To Your Heart.
It`s Got To Be love.
Wish I Didn`t Love You So.
Winchester Cathedral.

[nsoule]

The album mix of "Time Is Passin' By" is way better than the 45 version too, imo. I've always loved that album and everything The Monitors have done. I bought my copy of the "Greetings..." album, which was a huge want of mine at the time, at the Record Graveyard in Hamtramck on my first record buying trips from Chicago before I actually moved to Detroit - that was a really fun time.

[SatansBlues]

Richard Street was an underrated singer. My favorite song off their Anthology that always catches my ear is Show Me You Can Dance. The Miracles and the Hit Pack versions were released and I seem to recall that Martha & The Vandellas has a unreleased version still in the vaults.

https://youtu.be/GZVejy0c0qM

[robb_k]

It`s one of my favourites too WWLFAC and I`m a big fan of all their unreleased songs. I really like their version of "Winchester Cathedral" ,the original I have always hated. I think that we have had all that there is but I hope that I`m wrong.
19153
The Funk Brothers' powerful instrumental is great. But the singing is terrible. Not because The Monitors botched it. They sang it as written, better than the original, but terrible, never-the-less, because it is way too "corny", and silly-sounding. I've never been into novelty songs for comedy only. I'll take "Crying In The Night", "Cry", "Since I Lost You Girl", or "Say You" to that any time, thank you!

[robb_k]

Richard Street was an underrated singer. My favorite song off their Anthology that always catches my ear is Show Me You Can Dance. The Miracles and the Hit Pack versions were released and I seem to recall that Martha & The Vandellas has a unreleased version still in the vaults.

https://youtu.be/GZVejy0c0qM
I discovered The Miracles' version in The Vaults, and we slated it for "From The Vaults", so it hadn't been released by 1979, and our later LPs were cancelled. So, I don't think it was released until one of the middle-period of the Motown previously unreleased CD collection series like "Cellarful of Motown", unless it was on the 1981 or 1982 Vaults LPs, or on a Miracles' 25th Anniversary LP. But I was gone from Motown by then, so I don't remember exactly where its commercial debut happened.

[soulster]

Interesting. The thread starter wanted to talk about the engineers or engineering, and everybody just talks about the music.

[TomatoTom123]

Hey WaitingWatching!! When I first listened to "Bring Back The Love", "Time Is Passin’ By" and, my lesser known favourite, "Serve Yourself A Cup Of Happiness", I too was blown away!

I don’t know enough about the mixing or engineering of music, but these tracks sounded clear, fresh — they popped, to my ears. :D "Time Is Passin' By", for one, in glorious stereo, everything crystal clear, despite being over 50 years old. So, I assume this has at least something to do with engineers, and I thank them for it!!! :p

[SatansBlues]

I discovered The Miracles' version in The Vaults, and we slated it for "From The Vaults", so it hadn't been released by 1979, and our later LPs were cancelled. So, I don't think it was released until one of the middle-period of the Motown previously unreleased CD collection series like "Cellarful of Motown", unless it was on the 1981 or 1982 Vaults LPs, or on a Miracles' 25th Anniversary LP. But I was gone from Motown by then, so I don't remember exactly where its commercial debut happened.
The Miracles version appeared on their 35th Anniversary Box set collection.