Help with Detroit Rare Tracks Vol. 5.

[Roger Polhill]

Two tracks from this have me puzzled.They are both wrongly credited to Martha & the Vandellas.Track 3. Hello Stranger and Track 15. Spellbound.Are they by the Vells led by
Gloria Williamson, Carolyn Crawford or Patrice Holloway as I read somewhere she had recorded Spellbound but it`s not on the Kent cd, or somebody else.If this has been sorted out previously please forgive me as I`m new. Regards Roger Polhill.

[honest man]

Hello Roger welcome, they are both MARTHA AND VANDELLAS Songs Hello Stranger was from HEATWAVE album .

Spellbound was an unissued track which was officially released as title track on hipo select MARTHA AND VANDLLAS LOST AND FOUND CD, Years after the Detroit rare series, hope this is useful to you. cheers.

[vcq]

Wow...I didn't know that Martha and the Vandellas [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMebsgGLFKc) ever recorded "Hello Stranger." I also found the Supremes / Four Tops [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N2JFUdgVNQ) version on YouTube. Will have to check these out...I've always loved this song!

[kenneth]

Wow...I didn't know that Martha and the Vandellas [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMebsgGLFKc) ever recorded "Hello Stranger." I also found the Supremes / Four Tops [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N2JFUdgVNQ) version on YouTube. Will have to check these out...I've always loved this song!

I think the Supremes-Four Tops version is really good. The song really suits Jean's and Levi's voices.

The Vandellas version is nice, but Martha said in her book she had a cold when she recorded that album [[I think all in one day) and some of the vocals on it, it is very apparent that is the case. "Hello Stranger" is one of the better tracks though, in my opinion, along with "If I Had a Hammer," a nice folk tune which suits Martha's style.

[Roger Polhill]

Many thanks Honest Man,vcq and Kenneth.I have the tracks you have mentioned.These are not the same.It is not Martha singing on both of these in fact it is a much younger sounding voice.

[vcq]

Roger,

I know the "Spellbound" track is from Spellbound Lost And Found [[http://www.hip-oselect.com/scr.public.product.asp?product_id=4f3e2040-9111-ee7c-61bc-8558c2479cb0). Thanks to your original post, I also tracked down a copy of Martha's "Hello Stranger" on this CD [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motown-Collection-Martha-Reeves-Vandellas/dp/B000007UEE/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1320615531&sr=8-8).

I don't own the CD you mentioned, so without hearing the track, it's difficult to say.
There are close to 400 versions of Hello Stranger. [[allmusic.com/search/track/Hello+Stranger/order:default-asc)

[Roger Polhill]

vcq, I can assure that although listed as the Vandellas on this cd it is not the same track as on lost and found.Martha recorded at least two tracks that were originally recorded by the Vells which of course she was a member but the leads were done by Gloria Williamson, they are There He Is [[At My Door) and Just One Look.Do get a copy of this disc,I know it is unofficial but it is interesting and available online.They could be by Carolyn Crawford but I have never ever seen them mentioned.

[honest man]

Hello Roger i have the cds up to vol 20 i think, anyway i can't remember anything different, i tell you what i will dig out tomorrow. im off to bed now i am very interested, cheers

[psychedelic jacques]

I have the Detroit Rare tracks with the wonderful 'Spellbound' on - I think it's just that the Marginal cd was a bootleg which had managed to get hold of a poor-ish quality tape version of 'Spellbound' - the track and vocals are quite sped-up on it, which I only discovered when I got the Lost & Found set and 'Spellbound' received its first "official" release. I was quite surprised by how much slower it was on the genuine version.

[woodward]

I have the Detroit Rare Tracks Vol. 5 and I noticed that Hello Stranger is listed on the back of the CD as "Martha and the Vandelas." How much credibility can one put in their accuracy WHEN THEY CAN'T EVEN SPELL VANDELLAS correctly???????? Think about it.

[ajk93]

Buying one of those "Rare Tracks" CD's was probably the worst investment in my life. I spent $45 basically just
for the Supremes "L'Amore Verra". Of course within a year, the Motown Around The World Collection came out, and
now it's on The 50th Anniversary Singles, and it seems like every new Supremes release includes that one.

The quality is so shoddy. I'm surprised the CD even plays.

Anyway, my copy includes "Camel Walk" and once again Vandellas is spelled as "Vandelas".

[Roger Polhill]

Many thanks P.Jacques you have answered my question.I have just burnt the tracks side by side and played them repeatedly and they are just speeded up versions.Damn I had hoped that they were new tracks by some little known artist.I have the whole set myself and went back through them to see if there were any more simularities and found none.This is where I went wrong.I`ve just purchased vinyl of Full Bloom and Return of with the intention of transferring to cd.Cost me more than the new cd!Thank you all for your contributions. Roger. Matter closed.

[kenneth]

Buying one of those "Rare Tracks" CD's was probably the worst investment in my life. I spent $45 basically just
for the Supremes "L'Amore Verra". Of course within a year, the Motown Around The World Collection came out, and
now it's on The 50th Anniversary Singles, and it seems like every new Supremes release includes that one.

The quality is so shoddy. I'm surprised the CD even plays.

Anyway, my copy includes "Camel Walk" and once again Vandellas is spelled as "Vandelas".

But when they came out they were the only game in town and I was glad to hear a lot of those tracks for the first time. I knew I could never afford the rare 45s, so some of these were really great to hear even in the shoddy [[I agree with you) transfers.

[huntergettingcaptured]

But when they came out they were the only game in town and I was glad to hear a lot of those tracks for the first time. I knew I could never afford the rare 45s, so some of these were really great to hear even in the shoddy [[I agree with you) transfers.


So true. I bought so many of those Marginal cds- I figured they were going to be fair to poor; in fact, some of the album releases were actually pretty good. Still, like you said, these were the only way to go at the time if you wanted rare tracks. They served a purpose and I appreciated that.