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  1. #1
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    Marvin Gaye What’s Going On - 50th Anniversary 2LP Edition best ever mastering?

    This premium vinyl release features direct-to-analog mastering from the original primary album tape reels by acclaimed engineer Kevin Gray, one of the first times this has been done since 1971, offering an undeniably authentic listening experience.

    From what I read people are saying that this version is the best sounding version ever.
    It will be released in Europe april 29,2022.
    Anybody in the USA bought this version already and what are your impressions?

    Last edited by jack020; 04-11-2022 at 11:43 AM.

  2. #2
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    Most rock historians agree that this lp is the best to ever come out of Motown and I will forever stand by that. I never get tired of listening to it.

    I do however get tired of buying it. Five or six times over the years? Hard pass on this one.

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    I'm also going to pass. I've bought this album in almost every configuration over the decades: CD, vinyl LP, SACD, cassette, 24-bit/192kHz hi-rez downloads, and it's like diminishing returns. I really love the original [Detroit Mix] album, which I love probably more than the officially released version.

    I love Kevin Gray's work. I like the depth he added to the Stevie Wonder reissues on Audio Fidelity, but I gotta say that the hi-rez downloads win it for me.

    I have tons of vinyl, and quite an expensive turntable/cart, but I am a digital guy now.

  4. #4
    I've been reading good things about the sound and mastering on this release, but have also been reading mixed reviews on what seems to be inferior quality control of the actual vinyl pressing. Many are stating on Amazon and Discogs that they received faulty discs. This sadly seems to be par for the course these days, with new vinyl releases. It's a toss up if you'll get a flawless disc or a defective one. This is what is holding me back from buying this release, but I may take a chance...

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    I noticed its recently up on Spotify but for me that is not the way to hear a difference in mastering.
    I will order this anyway as a die hard Marvin fan

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    I've been reading good things about the sound and mastering on this release, but have also been reading mixed reviews on what seems to be inferior quality control of the actual vinyl pressing. Many are stating on Amazon and Discogs that they received faulty discs. This sadly seems to be par for the course these days, with new vinyl releases. It's a toss up if you'll get a flawless disc or a defective one. This is what is holding me back from buying this release, but I may take a chance...
    Well, I believe there is only one pressing plant left for the whole world right now in Japan because the last one here in the L.A. burned down two years ago. Obviously, they are overwhelmed.

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    Qobuz only has it in CD resolution.

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    How many times has this album been reissued from Universal over the past several years? It’s excessive and totally unnecessary. Fans have been demanding for more reissues from the Motown catalog and yet Universal keeps pushing this. Enough is enough.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post
    How many times has this album been reissued from Universal over the past several years? It’s excessive and totally unnecessary. Fans have been demanding for more reissues from the Motown catalog and yet Universal keeps pushing this. Enough is enough.
    OMG, YESSSSSS! That was exactly what I was thinking, too. It has gotten to the point where the album has been repackaged in so many ways to the point where it feels like, "why did I buy the last release if I 'should' be buying this release?" There are so many other artists and albums from the Motown catalog that deserve releases and [just as] heavy promotion [and no--I'm not *just* referring to their finally getting around to finishing The Supremes expanded editions!] and yet, hey... here's another release of this great album [by an admittedly amazing artist] that--sorry, not sorry--no one asked for and getting heavy promotion from Universal. What's next--the 51st anniversary mega-special remix version? *sigh*

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    Let's see...if we go back 20 years, this is how many times this album has been reissued in physical form:

    https://www.allmusic.com/album/whats...51085/releases

    Excessive? Absolutely.

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    The only "problem" with your arguments is that Universal wouldn't continue to reissue this time after time after time unless people were still buying the shit out of it. In order for Universal to stop issuing WGO, the public will have to stop purchasing it, and thus far that doesn't seem to be likely. As annoyed as we often are with it, the company is in the business of making money, and dare I say, often go for the easy money. WGO is easy money. It's a hugely popular album [[although as a huge Marvin fan, I'm probably in the minority in that it's not particularly a favorite of mine, despite it being an obvious fantastic piece of work), and I suspect it often outsells a number of reissued classic Motown albums put together.

    It would be nice [[though unlikely) if we had some insider information regarding how Universal approaches the Motown catalog. We get some insight from the vault gang regarding the creative process, but even they seem to be in the dark regarding much of the business side of things.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by soulster View Post
    Well, I believe there is only one pressing plant left for the whole world right now in Japan because the last one here in the L.A. burned down two years ago. Obviously, they are overwhelmed.
    It is true that the pressing plants are overwhelmed, however a small number of them still exist, outside of Japan. Apollo was the one that burned down, as it used to manufacture the master discs. Rainbo was another big one in the US that also closed in recent years. Some of the main ones that are used by the bigger labels are GZ in Czech Republic, Optimal and Pallas in Germany, Precision in Canada, RTI in the US and MPO in France. One of the biggest vinyl pressings last year was Adele's 30 album and I seem to recall it was pressed at GZ, Pallas, RTI and MPO. This particular What's Going On anniversary release was pressed at GZ [[some are saying Precision...it's not entirely clear). Some plants are now known to have a higher rate of defective output than others. Based on my experience, MPO and GZ are usually not good...Pallas, Precision and [[sometimes) Optimal do a fine job...RTI is hit and miss.
    Last edited by carlo; 04-12-2022 at 12:50 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    It's a hugely popular album [[although as a huge Marvin fan, I'm probably in the minority in that it's not particularly a favorite of mine, despite it being an obvious fantastic piece of work)
    I'm entirely with you there and I'm likely in the minority as well. I've probably played my copy in it's entirety twice in the last 10 years, although I do like the title track and hear to it more often as it appears on many of the compilations I regularly listen to. I'd much rather listen to his earlier work.....

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    Quote Originally Posted by DWSheffer View Post
    I'm entirely with you there and I'm likely in the minority as well. I've probably played my copy in it's entirety twice in the last 10 years, although I do like the title track and hear to it more often as it appears on many of the compilations I regularly listen to. I'd much rather listen to his earlier work.....
    Oh I've played my copies of WGO at least once every two or three years. I do frequently add and replace a couple of the tracks in my frequent rotation playlist on my Ipod from the album. It's just the album as a whole is a bit too depressing for me, especially acknowledging that a lot of the hope that one might have found at the time in the possibilities for the future have gone unrealized even all these years later. The title track and "God Is Love" [[both the lp and 45 versions) are frequent players for me.

    I love both the 60s and 70s Marvin equally. It's the 80s when things start to fall apart, IMO.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    The only "problem" with your arguments is that Universal wouldn't continue to reissue this time after time after time unless people were still buying the shit out of it. In order for Universal to stop issuing WGO, the public will have to stop purchasing it, and thus far that doesn't seem to be likely. As annoyed as we often are with it, the company is in the business of making money, and dare I say, often go for the easy money. WGO is easy money. It's a hugely popular album [[although as a huge Marvin fan, I'm probably in the minority in that it's not particularly a favorite of mine, despite it being an obvious fantastic piece of work), and I suspect it often outsells a number of reissued classic Motown albums put together.
    Agreed. With the vinyl resurgence of recent years, vinyl pressings of this album are very much sought after. The original pressings of What's Going On from the 70's now sell for well over $100 or more, depending on the condition. I think if there was consistent demand in the market for other Motown artists and their albums, we'd be seeing more frequent reissues of their musical output as well. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case, otherwise the Motown 50 and Motown 60 anniversaries would have yielded much more product than they did.
    Last edited by carlo; 04-12-2022 at 01:32 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    The only "problem" with your arguments is that Universal wouldn't continue to reissue this time after time after time unless people were still buying the shit out of it. In order for Universal to stop issuing WGO, the public will have to stop purchasing it, and thus far that doesn't seem to be likely. As annoyed as we often are with it, the company is in the business of making money, and dare I say, often go for the easy money. WGO is easy money. It's a hugely popular album [[although as a huge Marvin fan, I'm probably in the minority in that it's not particularly a favorite of mine, despite it being an obvious fantastic piece of work), and I suspect it often outsells a number of reissued classic Motown albums put together.

    It would be nice [[though unlikely) if we had some insider information regarding how Universal approaches the Motown catalog. We get some insight from the vault gang regarding the creative process, but even they seem to be in the dark regarding much of the business side of things.
    I agree that it is easy money for them because it is one of the greatest albums of all-time, but I don't know how many other ways they can reissue it before they've done all they can with just doing straight reissues with no promotion.

    You don't need insider information to see how Universal approaches the Motown catalog. Just look at the severe lack of releases over the past several years. They discontinued the Motown Unreleased series. They may throw a bone here or there to places like Real Gone and Ace for a reissue, but it's very few and far between - maybe 1 or 2 a year. As far as I know, there's nothing on the horizon regarding future projects. We get told they are no longer issuing CDs and doing strictly digital for Motown, but I see in Universal emails and social media sites about these big huge box sets and LP releases on Frank Sinatra, The Who, Steve Miller Band, etc. they're doing. It's clear Motown is not a priority for them. I feel as if they want to keep the catalog and not share it with third party labels, but then they don't do anything with it themselves. How long did we have to wait for the Blinky Anthology? How long have we been waiting for Reflections expanded? I just don't understand what the holdup constantly is.

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    I think if there was consistent demand in the market for other Motown artists and their albums, we'd be seeing more frequent reissues of their musical output as well. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case, otherwise the Motown 50 and Motown 60 anniversaries would have yielded much more product than they did.
    I don't think the issue is the demand, but the failure to market and promote Motown product. This goes back at least 20 years. Because the catalog isn't a priority, it's not going to get the attention white rock bands and artists get. Look at what a wet fart Motown 50 was. It should have been a monumental celebration and it yield barely anything. No TV special, no documentary, the market wasn't flooded with reissues, no advertisement or marketing to build excitement to get the public aware. There are fans I meet to this day who had no clue about the reissues on Hip-O Select or even now and they miss out. Universal could have taken advantage of the debut of Motown The Musical to push product - they didn't. There's no push or mention on SiriusXM Soultown regarding releases or even coordinating interviews with people like Andy, George or Joe to talk about these new reissues. I understand the market is changing and the demographics are shrinking, but they doesn't mean give up. I think with Motown, Universal gave up.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post
    I agree that it is easy money for them because it is one of the greatest albums of all-time, but I don't know how many other ways they can reissue it before they've done all they can with just doing straight reissues with no promotion.
    Well, let's see...they could issue What's Going On: the EDM Mixes; What's Going On: Acapella Mixes; What's Going On: Marvin Gaye Meets KPop, where Kpop acts replace the backing vocals on the tracks with backing vocals. I mean you really have to think outside the box to make money in the reissue game Brad.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post

    You don't need insider information to see how Universal approaches the Motown catalog. Just look at the severe lack of releases over the past several years. They discontinued the Motown Unreleased series. They may throw a bone here or there to places like Real Gone and Ace for a reissue, but it's very few and far between - maybe 1 or 2 a year. As far as I know, there's nothing on the horizon regarding future projects. We get told they are no longer issuing CDs and doing strictly digital for Motown, but I see in Universal emails and social media sites about these big huge box sets and LP releases on Frank Sinatra, The Who, Steve Miller Band, etc. they're doing. It's clear Motown is not a priority for them. I feel as if they want to keep the catalog and not share it with third party labels, but then they don't do anything with it themselves. How long did we have to wait for the Blinky Anthology? How long have we been waiting for Reflections expanded? I just don't understand what the holdup constantly is.
    Well sure, we can see that Universal doesn't seem to make Motown much of a priority, but I was referring to the whys. What are the numbers like? Are Motown reissues, expandeds, anthologies, etc, really such poor sellers? There has to be a "why" Universal doesn't seem to care.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post
    I don't think the issue is the demand, but the failure to market and promote Motown product. This goes back at least 20 years. Because the catalog isn't a priority, it's not going to get the attention white rock bands and artists get. Look at what a wet fart Motown 50 was. It should have been a monumental celebration and it yield barely anything. No TV special, no documentary, the market wasn't flooded with reissues, no advertisement or marketing to build excitement to get the public aware. There are fans I meet to this day who had no clue about the reissues on Hip-O Select or even now and they miss out. Universal could have taken advantage of the debut of Motown The Musical to push product - they didn't. There's no push or mention on SiriusXM Soultown regarding releases or even coordinating interviews with people like Andy, George or Joe to talk about these new reissues. I understand the market is changing and the demographics are shrinking, but they doesn't mean give up. I think with Motown, Universal gave up.
    I can agree with much of this. Motown seems to be a still very popular entity. The fans are out there, both elder and younger, but it does seem like the big issue is visibility and promotion. Perhaps what we're witnessing is the best example of why Motown should have stayed in the hands of Gordy and Co. To Universal, maybe Motown is just a blip in a huge sea of their products. If Motown were still it's own thing it's interesting to ponder where the classic catalog would be today if it were allowed to be a "sole" focus.

  21. #21
    Interesting comments here. I think there are a lot of different variables at play, the biggest one being that the CD format has been generally declining for quite some time now. I believe there was a bit of an increase in international CD sales for the first time last year, thanks to Adele and ABBA. I would agree with you RanRan, that Motown is just a blip on Universal's radar. I don't think the sales numbers have been strong enough for many of the past reissues to make the execs turn their heads and want to make use of their advertising budget to market these reissues. I would agree that there are some fans who do not know about releases, such as the expanded editions, for example. I also know that there are other fans who know about them and are just not interested, because in their eyes, it doesn't give them anything 'new'. Further complicating matters is the shift onto music streaming. The fact is that the bulk of the hardcore fan base are baby boomers, many of whom are downsizing their music collections and divesting of physical possessions, at this stage in their lives. The average attention span of the general population is also far shorter [[think social media, consumption habits with streaming, etc). Only some can still be bothered to sit down and engage in the ritual of playing an album, and if they are, for a larger proportion, that's now being done via vinyl. We are talking about 50+ year old albums, some of which did not sell in the millions of copies to begin with. So that hipster who is curious about More Hits By The Supremes will likely grab a vinyl copy from the bargain bin at their record store for $5 or $10, versus shelling out for an expanded edition with alternate versions for $30. Even with the Mary Wilson Anthology that came out...I don't know if we could confidently say that most fans went out and made the purchase, as much as I wish that were the case. I see some asking about it and then changing their minds, or they defer to listening to the tracks on YouTube. I love the expanded editions, but even that seems to be a dying concept. The popular UK reissue label Cherry Red flat out told me that the money is no longer in releasing individual albums on CD, but rather multi-disc/multi-volume box sets [[ie. Box sets containing a complete era of albums). At this point, it's about giving the few who still buy physical media, more bang for their buck. With the advent of the internet and streaming, there's way too much musical competition [[anyone can now put out a song or album), stimulus, avenues for being entertained, options for accessing music, markets to buy media from, etc., to be able to come up with any cohesive marketing plan that is actually going to work.
    Last edited by carlo; 04-12-2022 at 04:55 PM.

  22. #22
    Shifting gears here a bit, it's amazing how timeless and relevant the songs on this album still are. That line in What's Going On..."Don't punish me with brutality", always gets me.

    I think Marvin would be surprised to see that this album still sells and makes the top album lists, all of these years later. It also makes me wonder what kinds of songs we would be hearing from him, if he were still with us and creating new music today. He really did understand and speak to the human condition, in a musical sense, more than most artists were capable of doing, in his time. Here we are...the listeners and the fans...50 years later, still looking for hope and for solutions. Marvin knew what he was singing about.
    Last edited by carlo; 04-12-2022 at 06:04 PM.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    Interesting comments here. I think there are a lot of different variables at play, the biggest one being that the CD format has been generally declining for quite some time now. I believe there was a bit of an increase in international CD sales for the first time last year, thanks to Adele and ABBA. I would agree with you RanRan, that Motown is just a blip on Universal's radar. I don't think the sales numbers have been strong enough for many of the past reissues to make the execs turn their heads and want to make use of their advertising budget to market these reissues. I would agree that there are some fans who do not know about releases, such as the expanded editions, for example. I also know that there are other fans who know about them and are just not interested, because in their eyes, it doesn't give them anything 'new'. Further complicating matters is the shift onto music streaming. The fact is that the bulk of the hardcore fan base are baby boomers, many of whom are downsizing their music collections and divesting of physical possessions, at this stage in their lives. The average attention span of the general population is also far shorter [[think social media, consumption habits with streaming, etc). Only some can still be bothered to sit down and engage in the ritual of playing an album, and if they are, for a larger proportion, that's now being done via vinyl. We are talking about 50+ year old albums, some of which did not sell in the millions of copies to begin with. So that hipster who is curious about More Hits By The Supremes will likely grab a vinyl copy from the bargain bin at their record store for $5 or $10, versus shelling out for an expanded edition with alternate versions for $30. Even with the Mary Wilson Anthology that came out...I don't know if we could confidently say that most fans went out and made the purchase, as much as I wish that were the case. I see some asking about it and then changing their minds, or they defer to listening to the tracks on YouTube. I love the expanded editions, but even that seems to be a dying concept. The popular UK reissue label Cherry Red flat out told me that the money is no longer in releasing individual albums on CD, but rather multi-disc/multi-volume box sets [[ie. Box sets containing a complete era of albums). At this point, it's about giving the few who still buy physical media, more bang for their buck. With the advent of the internet and streaming, there's way too much musical competition [[anyone can now put out a song or album), stimulus, avenues for being entertained, options for accessing music, markets to buy media from, etc., to be able to come up with any cohesive marketing plan that is actually going to work.
    All very interesting points Carlo. I just don't know what the solution is at this point. To Brad's point about third parties and Universal holding onto the catalog, this may be a crucial point. If another label is willing to release the material, why not? I get that the money would have to be split, but at present Universal isn't making a dime on music that's just sitting in the vault.

    If it weren't for the fact that there are so many more important causes to fight for, I would suggest we all get together and storm the Universal offices and get to the bottom of this in a January 6th sort of fashion.

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    Shifting gears here a bit, it's amazing how timeless and relevant the songs on this album still are. That line in What's Going On..."Don't punish me with brutality", always gets me.

    I think Marvin would be surprised to see that this album still sells and makes the top album lists, all of these years later. It also makes me wonder what kinds of songs we would be hearing from him, if he were still with us and creating new music today. He really did understand and speak to the human condition, in a musical sense, more than most artists were capable of doing, in his time. Here we are...the listeners and the fans...50 years later, still looking for hope and for solutions. Marvin knew what he was singing about.
    Yeah, that's what I meant about how the album is a bit depressing for me. It's still so damn relevant. But Marvin was very in tuned to the world around him. Stevie is the same way. It's always interesting to ponder what Marvin's catalog would've been like if he hadn't been so preoccupied with Jan [[although it did yield two excellent albums) and the drugs hadn't taken over his life. One of my favorite things about Stevie is that he never sacrificed the love song for the social song, and vice versa. He was always creating songs about the human condition, be it relationships or world problems. I wonder if Marvin might have been able to do that without the aforementioned issues in his life.

  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    All very interesting points Carlo. I just don't know what the solution is at this point. To Brad's point about third parties and Universal holding onto the catalog, this may be a crucial point. If another label is willing to release the material, why not? I get that the money would have to be split, but at present Universal isn't making a dime on music that's just sitting in the vault.
    I think Universal and the other big record companies view the situation exactly as that...why split the money via licensing, when they can let the music continue to sit in their vault, until a much more opportune/profitable time comes along to release the material directly themselves? The longer they sit on something, the more potential for it to be much more valuable in the marketplace, at a future time, when the interest in it has been renewed. One of the examples that comes to mind is when an artist releases their autobiography or a biopic on their life.

    From the fan standpoint, I'd love to have as much as we can get now, but it seems that the record companies view all of this very differently than we do. Part of the problem with huge bureaucratic conglomerates is that they tend to reach a place with their business, where they become incapable of doing anything 'outside of the box', strategy-wise. So here we are, just waiting for them to release something, whenever they feel like it...
    Last edited by carlo; 04-12-2022 at 08:57 PM.

  26. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Yeah, that's what I meant about how the album is a bit depressing for me. It's still so damn relevant. But Marvin was very in tuned to the world around him. Stevie is the same way. It's always interesting to ponder what Marvin's catalog would've been like if he hadn't been so preoccupied with Jan [[although it did yield two excellent albums) and the drugs hadn't taken over his life. One of my favorite things about Stevie is that he never sacrificed the love song for the social song, and vice versa. He was always creating songs about the human condition, be it relationships or world problems. I wonder if Marvin might have been able to do that without the aforementioned issues in his life.
    Totally agree. Interesting point you made about Stevie vs Marvin.
    Last edited by carlo; 04-12-2022 at 09:13 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post
    How many times has this album been reissued from Universal over the past several years? It’s excessive and totally unnecessary. Fans have been demanding for more reissues from the Motown catalog and yet Universal keeps pushing this. Enough is enough.
    They do it because these tired old retreads are surefire sellers. They're what the majority of the public knows. Low risk. And, the audiophiles will almost certainly buy them.

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    Way too many WGO releases; do they have nothing else that sells?

    Motown never sold like the Beatles and the Eagles and the white rock bands - annoying but true.

    But there is a market.

    Universal is the wrong vehicle to do the marketing- it seems to me you need a more economical way, smaller, cheaper, aimed at the market that wants it and then do a little expansion

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    So nobody in the US from this forum bought it?

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    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    Universal is the wrong vehicle to do the marketing- it seems to me you need a more economical way, smaller, cheaper, aimed at the market that wants it and then do a little expansion
    Exactly. This is where they could target Soultown on SiriusXM. It's geared toward a smaller market, but the market are the ones who would be likely to purchase the releases. Even Real Gone has done more with promotion and marketing than Universal has done.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bradsupremes View Post
    Exactly. This is where they could target Soultown on SiriusXM. It's geared toward a smaller market, but the market are the ones who would be likely to purchase the releases. Even Real Gone has done more with promotion and marketing than Universal has done.
    That's exactly right.

    I listen to Soultown some every day on my drive to work. It's advertised as Soul and Motown.

    Sadly, I suspect at least Andy and George know all this and they've done their best to little avail.

    What I find a little scary is that subject to a few young guys finding Diana like recently occurred, the market is gradually diminishing.

    Even an older guy like me uses Apple Music, has a Sirius Subscription, and bought Thank You and never played it all the way through and only knows one song a little bit, Thank You.

  32. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    I listen to Soultown some every day on my drive to work. It's advertised as Soul and Motown.
    Quote Originally Posted by jobeterob View Post
    Even an older guy like me uses Apple Music, has a Sirius Subscription, and bought Thank You and never played it all the way through and only knows one song a little bit, Thank You.
    This leads me to wonder how many other Sirius XM listeners there are, who are similar to you, that no longer typically buy CD's on a regular basis? My in-laws also defer to streaming and Sirius, and regularly tune into channels like Soultown. They gave up buying CD's at least a decade ago.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Yeah, that's what I meant about how the album is a bit depressing for me. It's still so damn relevant. But Marvin was very in tuned to the world around him. Stevie is the same way. It's always interesting to ponder what Marvin's catalog would've been like if he hadn't been so preoccupied with Jan [[although it did yield two excellent albums) and the drugs hadn't taken over his life. One of my favorite things about Stevie is that he never sacrificed the love song for the social song, and vice versa. He was always creating songs about the human condition, be it relationships or world problems. I wonder if Marvin might have been able to do that without the aforementioned issues in his life.
    True dat about Stevie. He still cranks out relevant social commentary - of course not as frequently as we would like- every now and again. Check out: Where Is Our Love Song w/Gary Clark, Jr and his jam session, live w/H.E.R. on Superstition! Both of which dropped during the pandemic. So, yeah your point is well taken, RanRan. Always appreciate your deep insight.

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    This leads me to wonder how many other Sirius XM listeners there are, who are similar to you, that no longer typically buy CD's on a regular basis? My in-laws also defer to streaming and Sirius, and regularly tune into channels like Soultown. They gave up buying CD's at least a decade ago.
    Good points all! The last time I even looked at CDs, and I'm pushing 60 fast, is when Mom passed in 2017. The ones that were missing in my collection became mine, from her collection! I sold the rest to friends. I too lurv Sirius XM SoulTown and get ALL my music from YouTube.

  35. #35
    I feel that, nativeNY. These days, I buy far more used CD's and used vinyls versus brand new product. Eventually I too plan to stop buying physical media altogether, with the exception of buying the occasional essential album. It's gonna be difficult for me to go full-stop cold turkey with the collecting. Every person's capacity to consume such material things is limited [[my limitation is storage space). Our earth's resources are limited too.

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    I feel that, nativeNY. These days, I buy far more used CD's and used vinyls versus brand new product. Eventually I too plan to stop buying physical media altogether, with the exception of buying the occasional essential album. It's gonna be difficult for me to go full-stop cold turkey with the collecting. Every person's capacity to consume such material things is limited [[my limitation is storage space). Our earth's resources are limited too.
    My cd buying lessened considerably as the Tower's, Virgin's, and HMV's closed or reduced their number of stores. I still buy cds from Amazon but there is nothing like strolling through a record store and finding something that you didn't know was even available. I've done some downloading but I still prefer a nice, professionally made cd.

    Ironically, in recent years I've started buying more vinyl. I say ironic because I actually threw a lot away when cds became popular. But I have just about reached my storage limit on cds, vinyl, not to mention magazines.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    My cd buying lessened considerably as the Tower's, Virgin's, and HMV's closed or reduced their number of stores. I still buy cds from Amazon but there is nothing like strolling through a record store and finding something that you didn't know was even available. I've done some downloading but I still prefer a nice, professionally made cd.

    Ironically, in recent years I've started buying more vinyl. I say ironic because I actually threw a lot away when cds became popular. But I have just about reached my storage limit on cds, vinyl, not to mention magazines.
    Mentioning Tower Records, Carlo you have to check out their original doc, All Things Must Pass. You too Reese, it dives deep into the birth of the CD and its so-called death with relation to the music industry. And how Tower Records rose from a small sleepy neighborhood store to a worldwide phenomenon and then crashed and spectacularly burned.

  38. #38
    Same case for me, Reese...no question that I used to buy music more frequently when the music superstores were still around. The HMV superstore in downtown Toronto used to be my favourite. I don't think I ever had the pleasure of visiting a Tower Records store. I remember being a young teen and my uncle took me music shopping downtown. During that trip, he said we'd check out Tower Records, only to find out it had closed only a couple of weeks prior.

    NativeNY...yes, that "All Things Must Pass" doc was very interesting and also sad.

    We had a major chain in Canada called Sunrise Records, which was founded in the late 70's. They ended up closing down about 10 years ago, and then an investor decided he wanted to resurrect the Sunrise Records chain, by using their brand and re-strategizing. He focused on opening smaller stores in malls, in more suburban type cities, with a mix of CDs, dvds, t-shirts, vinyl, games, etc. It seems to be working well. He ended up buying out HMV in the UK, when those stores were at risk of closing, a few years back. He also bought out FYE in the US, and now he's opened a couple of FYE stores here as well, for the first time. The pandemic seemed to slow the expansion of the chain, but it's nice to see that music stores can still be successful, with the right strategy in place. Most of these stores that operate under this chain don't have heaps and heaps of CDs and vinyl for sale, but at least it's something. Best of all, some of their stores stock the latest Motown releases.
    Last edited by carlo; 04-14-2022 at 10:14 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    Same case for me, Reese...no question that I used to buy music more frequently when the music superstores were still around. The HMV superstore in downtown Toronto used to be my favourite. I don't think I ever had the pleasure of visiting a Tower Records store. I remember being a young teen and my uncle took me music shopping downtown. During that trip, he said we'd check out Tower Records, only to find out it had closed only a couple of weeks prior.

    NativeNY...yes, that "All Things Must Pass" doc was very interesting and also sad.

    We had a major chain in Canada called Sunrise Records, which was founded in the late 70's. They ended up closing down about 10 years ago, and then an investor decided he wanted to resurrect the Sunrise Records chain, by using their brand and re-strategizing. He focused on opening smaller stores in malls, in more suburban type cities, with a mix of CDs, dvds, t-shirts, vinyl, games, etc. It seems to be working well. He ended up buying out HMV in the UK, when those stores were at risk of closing, a few years back. He also bought out FYE in the US, and now he's opened a couple of FYE stores here as well, for the first time. The pandemic seemed to slow the expansion of the chain, but it's nice to see that music stores can still be successful, with the right strategy in place. Most of these stores that operate under this chain don't have heaps and heaps of CDs and vinyl for sale, but at least it's something. Best of all, some of their stores stock the latest Motown releases.
    Carlo, my go-to records stores were: Sam Goodys near Radio City on 6th Ave and when I was young boy, NativeNY, Nobody Beats the Wiz in the Boogie Down Bronnoxx on 3rd Avenue and 149th street!!

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    Any of you all remember that great retrospective on WGO on CNN w/Don Lemon? They had some of Marvin's relatives being interviewed. And even other artists take/cover of it! You gotta catch Maxwell's being compared to Marvin!!! Spoiler Alert! Imma keep my tap shut.

  41. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by nativeNY63 View Post
    Carlo, my go-to records stores were: Sam Goodys near Radio City on 6th Ave and when I was young boy, NativeNY, Nobody Beats the Wiz in the Boogie Down Bronnoxx on 3rd Avenue and 149th street!!
    Nice!! Wish I could have been around to check those stores out. I discovered J&R Music during one of my trips and I was able to find a lot of gems there. It was also a great store.

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    Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
    Nice!! Wish I could have been around to check those stores out. I discovered J&R Music during one of my trips and I was able to find a lot of gems there. It was also a great store.
    Whenever I used to visit NYC, I made a ritual of going to J&R on Sunday mornings. I could easily spend a couple of hours there before a matinee. And they always had something that I couldn't find in my city.

    I miss that store so much. My last visit was right before they closed and it was rather sad. The pickings were slim and the only cds they had were by artists that I never heard of.
    Last edited by reese; 04-17-2022 at 11:03 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Whenever I used to visit NYC, I made a ritual of going to J&R on Sunday mornings. I could easily spend a couple of hours there before a matinee. And they always had something that I couldn't find in my city.

    I miss that store so much. My last visit was right before they closed and it was rather sad. The pickings were slim and the only cds they had were by artists that I never heard of.
    I Hear Ya! I used to work a few blocks from J&R Music World and I went there all the time during the '80s & '90s. They were the place to get all the latest hits along with reissues of Classic R&B/Soul Music [everything from the 'pricey' imports from Japan & England to the Motown 'budget' catalog LPs]. It was a real shame when they closed in 2008 and I went there one last time before they closed their doors.

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    I remember there being another smaller record store next [[left?) to J&R that had a great selection of r&b lps and cds at nice prices.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jack020 View Post
    I remember there being another smaller record store next [[left?) to J&R that had a great selection of r&b lps and cds at nice prices.
    That store was called Bondy's and they were on Park Row a few doors up from J&R Music World. They were a smaller store that did have a good selection of records [sometimes for better prices than J&R]. Also remember that J&R Music World had an annex on Nassau St. [one block away from the main store's Park Row location] that a had a decent selection of music. However my favorite store in that area was J&R's main store since they had the Soul Music Import LPs that were coming in from overseas during the early 1980s. I also bought cut-out albums at a discount by Kool & The Gang, Aretha Franklin, The Rascals and others at J&R during that time.
    Last edited by Motown Eddie; 04-19-2022 at 04:49 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Motown Eddie View Post
    That store was called Bondy's and they were on Park Row a few doors up from J&R Music World. They were a smaller store that did have a good selection of records [sometimes for better prices than J&R]. Also remember that J&R Music World had an annex on Nassau St. [one block away from the main store's Park Row location] that a had a decent selection of music. However my favorite store in that area was J&R's main store since they had the Soul Music Import LPs that were coming in from overseas during the early 1980s. I also bought cut-out albums at a discount by Kool & The Gang, Aretha Franklin, The Rascals and others at J&R during that time.
    I remember visiting Bondy's as well.

    There was also a really nice record store on 125th Street in Harlem, across the street from the Apollo. I can't remember its name but I stumbled in there one day and couldn't believe all of the great cds and dvds. I remember leaving with, amongst other things, a dvd of a concert with Denise LaSalle and Shirley Brown, and feeling so lucky that I had found this place. I can't tell you how disappointed I was to go back one year and found the store closed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    I remember visiting Bondy's as well.

    There was also a really nice record store on 125th Street in Harlem, across the street from the Apollo. I can't remember its name but I stumbled in there one day and couldn't believe all of the great cds and dvds. I remember leaving with, amongst other things, a dvd of a concert with Denise LaSalle and Shirley Brown, and feeling so lucky that I had found this place. I can't tell you how disappointed I was to go back one year and found the store closed.
    I remember that store. They had the Dandridge/Poitier Porgy and Bess​ DVD for sale as well [super bootleg, to be sure].

  48. #48
    I actually purchased this - had it on pre-order since October. It sounds fabulous both the original album and the second disc cut in Mono with materials that was on the Deluxe cd release from a few years back. Keep in mind that there is always a new generation that will discover this masterpiece and that modern analog equipment is contiously being refined which present opportunities to re-present classic material to its best sonic advantage. In any case, Kevin Gray did an excellent job on this. My copy was flat and quiet, no problems with the pressing - the soundstage was just miles above the previous versions I own [[ a first edition Tamla repress, a 1982 Motown reissue, and Motown digitally mastered delux cd set.). I jump for the anlaog reissues when I can - I picked up a number of Motowns over the last six months - the Marvelettes - Sophisticated Soul, Tammi Terrell - Irresistible, Temptations - Sing Smokey, MLK - Speech inWashigton, Syreeta - One to One, Jackson 5 - Greatest Hits [[quadrophonic mix), the Supremes - Reflections [[mono). So there's hope that more will be released.

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    Thanks for your input!
    I ordered it and cannot wait until end of april. The only thing I dont get why the price in Europe is higher than in the USA.

  50. #50
    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    Whenever I used to visit NYC, I made a ritual of going to J&R on Sunday mornings. I could easily spend a couple of hours there before a matinee. And they always had something that I couldn't find in my city.
    Hey Reese, yeah J&R definitely had a great R&B section. I remember finding a lot of titles that I couldn't normally find at my go-to stores in Toronto...and the prices were pretty low too!

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