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View Full Version : Anymore unreleased Velvelettes recordings still in the vaults?


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bradsupremes
07-15-2011, 11:14 PM
I've pulled out the Velvelettes Motown Anthology collection recently and listening to the collection all over again and I cannot get over how much potential their songs had to be hits if promoted. After listening to the collection, I began to wonder if there is anymore unreleased recordings still in the vaults. I know they recorded several versions of "Save Me [[My Ship Of Love Is Sinking)" and "[[We've Got) Honey Love," but is there more?

robb_k
07-15-2011, 11:42 PM
3337
The released a Zillion of them. How could there be any more??? I can't think of any I've seen or heard from The Vaults that haven't yet been released on CD.

However, I can still think of some cuts that haven't - a whole slew of great Gospel by The Pronouns and The Sons of Zion, and several by Edward Earling [[mid tempos from 1961-1962)-probably won't be much demand for those. I wish theyed have put one each out On "Motown Lost and Found" collections, or on Cellarful of Motown collections. I can think of a couple of Five Quails' cuts, but, maybe all the Harvey/Tri-Phi/HPC/Messenger catalogue [[except "That's What Girls Are Made For") don't belong to Motown? I don't understand why they wouldn't. I'm sure the folding in of Gwen's and Harvey's companies must have given them some stock in Motown Record Corp., they must have received the stock for giving the contracts of their artists and their recordings catalog to Motown.

theboyfromxtown
07-16-2011, 04:25 AM
Yes. There are a zillion mixes of some of their songs which seems to indicate that someone was very interested in putting out the best that they could on the group.

144man
07-16-2011, 08:18 AM
As they recorded so many Whitfield-Holland songs, it's strange they never cut a version of "Too Many Fish In the Sea".

Motown4Ever518
07-16-2011, 09:09 AM
Let Love Live is hands down one of the great unreleased Motown finds of the past 10 years, Somethings Happenning by Smokey, is well Smokey, it goes to show you that "There Ain't No Place Like Motown", which should have been released as well. A great group, and from reading the bios, great ladies as well.

robb_k
07-16-2011, 02:43 PM
3340

Let Love Live is hands down one of the great unreleased Motown finds of the past 10 years, Somethings Happenning by Smokey, is well Smokey, it goes to show you that "There Ain't No Place Like Motown", which should have been released as well. A great group, and from reading the bios, great ladies as well.

"Let Love Live" was booted in 1980 and was a big Northern Soul hit there. The acetate had been stolen out of The Motown Vaults, and a copy taken to England.At Motown, we considered that song for a "From The Vaults"-type release as early as 1976. That was 35 years ago!!! So, I wouldn't say that it was "discovered as recently as 10 years ago".

lakedistrictlad1
07-18-2011, 06:17 AM
Listening over the anthology cd's, I think the Velvelettes discography reflects the VERY BEST of what classic Motown was all about. 'Let love live', 'Save me..', He's the one' etc....all absolute gems. What I find incredible is why so many of these superb songs weren't recycled on other more successful acts. They just seemed to get lost in the avalanche of great music. Lost until recently that is...
As a fan, it is great to hear anything 'new' from the vaults, but for me, the Velvelettes vault material is just as great, and as important to Motown's musical heritage as any of the big hits from Motown at the time. Politics just dictated that we weren't allowed to appreciate it at the time.