Same album - different title or cover

[lockhartgary]

Hi all,
As many of us know, there were Motown albums released under one title and then the title was changed and the album was re-released not very long after the first release. Or the album design was changed and the album re-released not very long after the first release. The ones I know are:

Marvin Gaye - In the Groove changed to I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Smokey & Miracles - Make it Happen changed to Tears of a Clown
Jimmy Ruffin - 2 different covers for Sings Top10

I know the first 2 albums listed above were renamed to capitalize on singles that became huge hits after the albums were first released.

Were there any others?? I am not referring to reissues.

[reese]

The Originals album BABY I'M FOR REAL was originally titled GREEN GROW THE LILACS.

Ditto for Junior Walker's WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WIN YOUR LOVE which was originally GOTTA HOLD ON TO THIS FEELING.

The Marvelettes' SMASH HITS OF '62 was reissued as THE MARVELETTES SING.

MEET THE SUPREMES was issued with two different covers.

[phil]

.

The Marvelettes' SMASH HITS OF '62 was reissued as THE MARVELETTES SING.

And they mispelled the group's name !

[jbpintus]

A few random thoughts...

THE MIRACLES : Fabulous Miracles / You've Really Got a Hold On Me

THE MARVELETTES Greatest Hits had two different covers.

THE SUPREMES Sinh HDH was released as Sing Motown in Europe.

STEVIE WONDER Someday At Christmas had a new artwork from 1978 on

A COLLECTION OF 16 BIG HITS has two cover arts

FOUR TOPS Now! was re-released as Mac Arthur Park

STEVIE WONDER My Cherie Amour used a different artwork in Europe

DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES Farewell became Captured live on Stage!

DIANA ROSS eponymous album was retitled Ain't No Mountain High Enough

THE TEMPTATIONS 10th Anniversary / Anthology

STEVIE WONDER : Anthology / Looking Back

... not counting the Natural Ressources new arts for 'old' albums.

JB

[jbpintus]

TAMLA SPECIAL retitled TAMLA MOTOWN SPECIAL

IN LOVING MEMORY has slight variants with two cover arts

STEVIE WONDER I Was Made To Love Her : different placement of title

SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES Special Occasion : size of photo

DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES WITH THE TEMPTATIONS Together [[with and without cut out)

RARE EARTH label first releases [[with and without cut out)

1971 Sterling Ball Benefit : 2 artwirks

MICHAEL JACKSON Ben [[with and without rats)

SMOKEY ROBINSON Quiet Storm : released with an alternate cover on 2000s vinyle editions

CHARLENE

ALBERT FINNEY's Album

JB

[sup_fan]

A Bit Of Liverpool - With Love [[from us to you)

[sup_fan]

Four Tops Now and MacArthur Park

[longtimefan]

I always thought that changing Diana Ross and the Supremes album title from FAREWELL to CAPTURED LIVE ON STAGE was particularly odd. I would think that the title FAREWELL would be more likely to grab a consumer's eye.

In general, however, I wonder if changing titles and formats of so many different Motown albums was done to have customers purchase a second copy of an album not realizing that it was the same album that they already had? Is that too much of a "conspiracy" theory? :-)

[sansradio]

Diana Ross' Surrender was released as I'm Still Waiting in the UK with the same artwork plus "ISW".

[mysterysinger]

In the CD age there are numerous examples of releases having different covers with the same track list and catalogue number.

[Sotosound]

The Isley Brothers "Soul On The Rocks" was re-issued in the UK with two additional tracks and different running order as "Behind A Painted Smile" following their 1968 smash of the same name.

And despite the relative lateness of release, the mono LP contained all mono mixes apart from "All Because I Love You", which was a fold-down.

[daviddh]

supremes sing hdh in usa and .....in uk sing Motown

[Motown Eddie]

More examples-
Smokey Robinson's A Quiet Storm [[original 1975 cover)

And 2009 vinyl reissue cover from Europe-


Also Eddie Kendrick's People...Hold On [[America/England)-

[Motown Eddie]

Here's another Motown album cover that got changed
A Package of '16' Big Hits-

[Motown Eddie]

Here's another Motown classic album that had different covers, Martha & the Vandellas' Dance Party.
US cover

UK cover-

[phil]

Another one "Take Two"

US cover :



UK cover :

[luke]

I never knew Diana's initial album retitled Aint no mt.... just in UK ?

[marv2]

I never knew Diana's initial album retitled Aint no mt.... just in UK ?

I think you will find as illustrated here that most foreign releases of Motown albums had different cover art than the domestic releases. Most foreign issued singles came with picture sleeves for the singles, where as we only got the plain sleeves usually with pics of other Motown releases on them.

[luke]

Wondering about the title

[johnny_raven]

It was retitled when it was first released on CD in the early 90's.

[mysterysinger]

Yeah 3 albums titled Diana Ross is not great - they should rename them all.

USA CD back


EU CD front

[reese]

I thought it was strange that they retitled DIANA ROSS [[1970) when it was first released on cd [[as a 2fer with SURRENDER). Due to time restrictions, they dropped YOU'RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY and THESE THINGS WILL KEEP ME LOVING YOU, but said they could be found on the ALL THE GREAT LOVE SONGS cd.

I thought they might have done the retitling because it was missing two songs, but who knows? Even on those old Motown inner sleeves from the 70s, the title was shown as REACH OUT, not DIANA ROSS.

[Jaap]

Motown released Diana Ross's Touch Me In The Morning with a different cover in the US. I always thought it was only the 1977 rerelease [[in cooperation with Kory Records), but according to the Discogs website, Motown already released the alternative cover in 1973 [[which surprised me, as the cover photo seems to be from the Mahogany promotional material).

[luke]

I am SO confused !! Lol

[luke]

PS. I sure wish they'd give New Ways but Love Stays a new cover AND new title!!

[Motown Eddie]

PS. I sure wish they'd give New Ways but Love Stays a new cover AND new title!!

Agreed! In her book, Supreme Faith, Mary Wilson complained about both the cover and the title of the New Ways But Love Stays LP. Motown should've called it Stoned Love to capitalize on their then current Top Ten hit.

[lockhartgary]

Agreed! In her book, Supreme Faith, Mary Wilson complained about both the cover and the title of the New Ways But Love Stays LP. Motown should've called it Stoned Love to capitalize on their then current Top Ten hit.

Could it be that the STONED part of Stoned Love was the reason why the title of the LP was not Stoned Love?? But then again...Cloud Nine!

[luke]

I think that could have been a possibility but then again STONED Love went too ten with that title. Would have loved the back cover on the front!

[Luciano]

I remember being in NYC at Empire records looking for Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Nitty Gritty" album and was shock when I saw this alternate album cover for "Silk N Soul". I thought, right there, someone is getting gypped:

Soul/Motown Cover:


Reissue on Natural Resources:

[lockhartgary]

I remember being in NYC at Empire records looking for Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Nitty Gritty" album and was shock when I saw this alternate album cover for "Silk N Soul". I thought, right there, someone is getting gypped:

Soul/Motown Cover:


Reissue on Natural Resources:

Didn't the Natural Resources reissues have fewer tracks than the original issues?

[reese]

Didn't the Natural Resources reissues have fewer tracks than the original issues?

The Natural Resources reissues I bought [[WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO and SILK AND SOUL) have the same number of tracks as the original album. But all of them, as well as others like The Tempts' IN A MELLOW MOOD and THE SOULFUL MOODS OF MARVIN GAYE use that generic jukebox cover, albeit in different colors.

The Natural Resources reissues of the Supremes' MERRY CHRISTMAS and the Supremes/Tempts' TCB have different covers from the original, but not the jukebox.

[lockhartgary]

I thought it was strange that they retitled DIANA ROSS [[1970) when it was first released on cd [[as a 2fer with SURRENDER). Due to time restrictions, they dropped YOU'RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY and THESE THINGS WILL KEEP ME LOVING YOU, but said they could be found on the ALL THE GREAT LOVE SONGS cd.

I thought they might have done the retitling because it was missing two songs, but who knows? Even on those old Motown inner sleeves from the 70s, the title was shown as REACH OUT, not DIANA ROSS.

As much as I love the cd format, I absolutely hated some of the butcher jobs that were done due to time constraints. When I bought the Jackson 5 twofer Diana Ross Presents/ABC, I was horrified when I played "Nobody", only to find out that a complete verse was missing. And the Temps Cloud Nine/Puzzle People had the 45 edit of "Runway Child Running Wild".