glencro
07-04-2011, 08:57 AM
Teena Marie signed to Motown in 1976 when she was just 20 years old, but didn't record her first album, co-produced by Rick James, until 1979. What fans had heard, but never confirmed, is that Teena recorded several tracks at Motown from April 1976-May 1977, nearly two years before James "discovered" her. Those rare and precious early recordings, approved for release by Teena, have been collected in this 2-CD set, First Class Love: Rare Tee.
First Class Love includes every one of those earliest recordings, produced by fellow Motown artist Ronnie McNeir, staff producer Winston Monseque, and the established hit makers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise. Among these amazing performances is an early version of "First Class Love," which was later released on Irons In The Fire; the funky, autobiographical "White Soul"; covers of the Miracles' "More Love" and Martha & the Vandellas' "My Baby Loves Me"; and the doo-wop throwback "Hey Boy." All of those aforementioned tracks are previously unreleased; the soulful Kerner & Wise productions "Co-Pilot To Pilot," "Why Can't I Get Next To You" and "Don't Turn Your Back On Me" were previously issued on various compilations. Also included are four overdubbed mixes from 1983 created for a proposed fifth Teena album.
Disc 2 features eight performances that are perhaps more extraordinary: Teena Marie with just an acoustic guitar, recording song demos for Motown founder Berry Gordy. Astonishing in their purity and maturity, these "unplugged" performances -among them the original demos for "First Class Love," "Don't Turn Your Back On Me" and "God Has Created" [[later re-recorded as a duet with Smokey Robinson for her 2006 album Sapphire) are exclusive to the 2-CD Edition.
First Class Love: Rare Tee includes a beautiful booklet with previously unpublished photographs and detailed track information, as well as liner notes with commentary from Teena's producers, as well as her closest friends, Mickey Boyce and Jill Jones.
[[A digital-only version of this collection was issued earlier in 2011 with 12 songs from Disc 1; for this limited edition physical 2-CD edition, however, six of the12 were given new mixes.)
First Class Love includes every one of those earliest recordings, produced by fellow Motown artist Ronnie McNeir, staff producer Winston Monseque, and the established hit makers Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise. Among these amazing performances is an early version of "First Class Love," which was later released on Irons In The Fire; the funky, autobiographical "White Soul"; covers of the Miracles' "More Love" and Martha & the Vandellas' "My Baby Loves Me"; and the doo-wop throwback "Hey Boy." All of those aforementioned tracks are previously unreleased; the soulful Kerner & Wise productions "Co-Pilot To Pilot," "Why Can't I Get Next To You" and "Don't Turn Your Back On Me" were previously issued on various compilations. Also included are four overdubbed mixes from 1983 created for a proposed fifth Teena album.
Disc 2 features eight performances that are perhaps more extraordinary: Teena Marie with just an acoustic guitar, recording song demos for Motown founder Berry Gordy. Astonishing in their purity and maturity, these "unplugged" performances -among them the original demos for "First Class Love," "Don't Turn Your Back On Me" and "God Has Created" [[later re-recorded as a duet with Smokey Robinson for her 2006 album Sapphire) are exclusive to the 2-CD Edition.
First Class Love: Rare Tee includes a beautiful booklet with previously unpublished photographs and detailed track information, as well as liner notes with commentary from Teena's producers, as well as her closest friends, Mickey Boyce and Jill Jones.
[[A digital-only version of this collection was issued earlier in 2011 with 12 songs from Disc 1; for this limited edition physical 2-CD edition, however, six of the12 were given new mixes.)