Big Break Records: Two Edwin Starr Motown Albums On The Way With Bonus Tracks!

[Lulu]

http://theseconddisc.com/2014/10/24/...oys-town-gang/

Ultimately, Edwin Starr [[1942-2003) will forever be best-known for his incendiary 1970 recording of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong’s “War,” a scorching protest song that tapped into the growing unrest of the American public in the Vietnam era. Starr’s intense, no-holds-barred delivery transformed a Temptations album track into one of the most indelible recordings of all time. “War” went all the way to the top of the pop chart in the U.S. and earned its vocalist a Grammy nomination, and spawned cover versions by everybody from Frankie Goes to Hollywood to Bruce Springsteen. Starr was a late comer to the Motown family, joining the label roster in 1968 when Berry Gordy purchased local rival Ric-Tic Records. Big Break has lavishly expanded his first album at Motown, Soul Master, along with the 1971 record featuring “War,” Involved.
Soul Master contained both tracks recycled from Ric-Tic and more recent songs cut at Motown. From the Ric-Tic catalogue, the album boasted the R&B hits “Agent Double-O Soul” and “Stop Her On Sight [[S.O.S.).” Unusually for Motown at the time, Soul Master also included numerous songs written or co-written by Starr, including “Oh How Happy,” first recorded by The Shades of Blue and later covered by The Jackson 5. Other recognizable Motown songwriters represented on Soul Master include Smokey Robinson, Henry Cosby, James Dean and William Weatherspoon, and Nick Ashford and Valarie Simpson. BBR has added a whopping 17 [[!) bonus tracks to the original 12-track album, primarily single releases.
1971’s Involved was Starr’s fifth album. By the time of its release, Motown – like the world – was a very different place. 1971 was the year of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, which was released just weeks before Involved. WhileInvolved lacks the personal vision of that classic, it also very much reflects its time and place with heightened social consciousness. “War” is joined on the LP by another Whitfield/Strong composition, “Stop the War Now,” and an epic revival of their psychedelic soul masterworks for The Temptations, “Ball of Confusion [[That’s What the World Is Today)” and “Cloud Nine.” Sly Stone’s equally fiery call to action “Stand!” was also sharply current, but Involved also found room for less urgent material like George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” and a classic Motown throwback with Smokey Robinson’s 1960 Miracles song “Way Over There.” One more Whitfield/Strong song on the album, “Funky Music [[Sho’ Nuff Turns Me On)” could have been Starr’s mantra. BBR’s reissue, remastered like Soul Master by Kevin Reeves, packs in 13 bonus tracks. Both titles have new liner notes from Justin Cober-Lake.

[Lulu]

Edwin Starr, Soul Master: Expanded Edition [[Gordy LP GS-931, 1968 – reissued Big Break CDBBRX0300, 2014) [[Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. Agent Double-O Soul
2. I Am the Man for You Baby
3. Stop Her On Sight [[S.O.S.)
4. Oh How Happy
5. Way Over There
6. My Weakness is You
7. Headline News
8. Soul Master
9. I Want My Baby Back
10. Love is My Destination
11. I Am Your Man
12. Time is Passin’ By
13. Agent Double-O Soul [[Alternative Mix) [[TBD)
14. Back Street [[Single Version) [[Ric-Tic RT-107, 1965)
15. Stop Her on Sight [[S.O.S.) [[Single Version) [[Ric-Tic RT-109, 1966)
16. I Have Faith in You [[Single Version) [[Ric-Tic RT-109, 1966)
17. Headline News [[Single Version) [[Ric-Tic RT-114, 1966)
18. Harlem [[Single Version) [[Ric-Tic RT-114. 1966)
19. It’s My Turn Now [[Ric-Tic RT-118, 1966)
20. Girls Are Getting Prettier [[Single Version) [[Ric-Tic RT-118, 1966)
21. You’re My Mellow [[Single Version) [[Ric-Tic RT-120, 1967)
22. My Kind of Woman [[Single Version) [[Ric-Tic RT-120, 1967)
23. I Want My Baby Back [[Single Version) [[Gordy G-7066, 1967)
24. Gonna Keep on Tryin ‘Til I Win Your Love [[Single Version) [[Gordy G-7066, 1967)
25. I Am the Man for You Baby [[Single Version) [[Gordy G-7071, 1968)
26. My Weakness is You [[Single Version) [[Gordy G-7071, 1968)
27. Way Over There [[Single Version) [[Gordy G-7078, 1968)
28. Back Street [[Instrumental) [[Ric-Tic RT-107, 1965)
29. Agent Double-O Soul [[Instrumental) [[Ric-Tic RT-103, 1965)

Edwin Starr, Involved: Expanded Edition [[Gordy LP G-956L, 1971 – reissued Big Break CDBBRX0305, 2014) [[Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

1. War
2. Ball of Confusion [[That’s What the World is Today)
3. Funky Music [[Sho’ Nuff Turn Me On)
4. Stop the War Now
5. Cloud Nine
6. Stand!
7. Way Over There
8. My Sweet Lord
9. Stop the War Now [[Single Version) [[Gordy G-7104, 1970)
10. Funky Music [[Sho’ Nuff Turn Me On) [[Single Version) [[Gordy G-7107, 1971)
11. Cloud Nine [[Single Version) [[Gordy G-7107, 1971)
12. Take Me Clear from Here [[Soul 35096, 1972)
13. Who is the Leader of the People [[Soul 35100, 1972)
14. Don’t Tell Me I’m Crazy [[Soul 35100, 1972)
15. There You Go [[Soul 35103, 1973)
16. You’ve Got My Soul on Fire [[Motown 1276, 1973)
17. Love [[The Lonely Lord’s Prayer) [[Motown 1276, 1973)
18. Ain’t It Hell Up in Harlem [[Motown 1284, 1973)
19. Big Papa [[Motown 1300, 1974)
20. Who’s Right or Wrong [[Motown 1326, 1974)
21. Lonely Rainy Days in San Diego [[Motown 1326, 1974)

[roger]

I already have the BBR "Soul Master" CD .. I'm tempted to get "Involved" as well for the bonus tracks ....

These CDs have already been discussed here on the forum [[although the thread title gave no indication of the fact it was these two CDs) ... here is the link for those who are interested ...

http://soulfuldetroit.com/showthread...ht=edwin+starr



Roger