MOTOWN YESTERYEAR 45s

**tomato tom** · 10-06-2010, 05:58 PM

Just wondering...singles on this re-issue label seem to be skyrocketing in price. Are they really becoming REAL collecetables? I have only about 30 45s in this series, mainly picked up cheap, as I collect anything Motown. But I just saw Al Greens Lets Get Married / Sha La La at £20. and The Marvelettes Please Mr Postman / Twistin Postman at £25 in a local record dealers store. Even Four Tops Walk Away Renee / You keep Running Away was £10. crazy. You can pick up the originals cheaper, or at least at a reasonable price. Thoughts?..Paulo XXX

**tamla617** · 10-06-2010, 06:03 PM

i've got shorty long's function at the junction a side,cant remember whats on or who sang on the b side right now,you might have it what is the price on this one? if you know cheers

**adrian** · 10-06-2010, 06:20 PM

Originally Posted by paulo

Just wondering...singles on this re-issue label seem to be skyrocketing in price. Are they really becoming REAL collecetables? I have only about 30 45s in this series, mainly picked up cheap, as I collect anything Motown. But I just saw Al Greens Lets Get Married / Sha La La at £20. and The Marvelettes Please Mr Postman / Twistin Postman at £25 in a local record dealers store. Even Four Tops Walk Away Renee / You keep Running Away was £10. crazy. You can pick up the originals cheaper, or at least at a reasonable price. Thoughts?..Paulo XXX

I have only got 5 Motown Yesteryear 45s:-

Marvin Gaye - Ain't That Peculiar/One More Heartache
Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted/I've Passed This Way Before
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't No Mountain High Enough/Your Precious Love
Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough/Reach Out And Touch [[Somebody's Hand
Stevie Wonder - Uptight [[Everything's Alright)/Castles In The Sand

As you said, you can get the originals for a reasonable price.

**Motown_M_1056** · 10-06-2010, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by paulo

Just wondering...singles on this re-issue label seem to be skyrocketing in price. Are they really becoming REAL collecetables? I have only about 30 45s in this series, mainly picked up cheap, as I collect anything Motown. But I just saw Al Greens Lets Get Married / Sha La La at £20. and The Marvelettes Please Mr Postman / Twistin Postman at £25 in a local record dealers store. Even Four Tops Walk Away Renee / You keep Running Away was £10. crazy. You can pick up the originals cheaper, or at least at a reasonable price. Thoughts?..Paulo XXX

Motown collectibles always fetch higher prices. Wouldn't this be another example of this? I gather these singles are selling for higher prices in the UK where northern soul fans tend to overpay for & overprice most vinyl. The only thing I can remember aabout the Motown Yesteryear series is that they featured rare pairings of hit A & B sides like Brenda Holloway's When I'm Gone backed with Just Look What You've Ddone. I'm using that as an example. Fans got two its for one price.

**Sotosound** · 10-07-2010, 03:16 PM

I've got a few of these singles. Some of them are wonderful couplings but I get the impression that they were cheaply done at the time. As a result -

"Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" by the Four Tops features the stereo mix folded into mono.

"Remember Me" by Diana Ross is pressed using really cr*ppy vinyl, so that the recording is drowned in surface noise.

"You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes has a deep electronic hum from start to finish, suggesting that the mastering engineer was out to lunch at the time.

My guess is that the UK record dealer concerned is thinking that if he prices these records high then someone might believe that they're highly collectible and part with their cash.

For me, these discs were the only way back in the 70s to get single mixes of a lot of old Motown favourites that I'd discovered a few years too late, on stereo Motown Chartbuster LPs etc. In the 70s they were, therefore, almost invaluable.

Now, however, I can get almost anything like this in original mono on CD and would prefer to avoid secondhand Motown Yesteryear singles because of the variable quality of the mastering and pressing.

And this is coming from a big fan of vinyl....

**tomato tom** · 10-08-2010, 03:04 PM

B side of Shorty Long is Here comes The Judge. And I got it for 50 cents in flea market in Tampa, Florida eons ago...Paulo XXX

**tomato tom** · 10-08-2010, 03:14 PM

Sotosound
I agree about the sound. Of the ones I have, either the pressings are Off Centre, so dont play right, or the sound is muddy. Just do find these prices outrageous though. I picked up most of mine at no more than £2 in the U.K., and like I said in the previous reply, 50 U.S.Cents in the U.S....Paulo. XXX

**Sotosound** · 10-08-2010, 06:40 PM

Paulo

Thanks for reminding me. I forgot about them being off-centre.

Fortunately, being American pressings they had large centre holes, meaning that with a sharp eye and a gentle nudge they could be realigned on the turntable before lowering the needle.

A lot of faff, however.

**grapevine** · 10-09-2010, 05:56 AM

...there's scans of over 130 of the Motown Yesteryear 45's sides ...over in one of the Motown Treasures Picture sites...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/motown...90552/pic/list

...if you can't see them immediately ...you need to join the main Motown Treasures members group first...

http://launch.dir.groups.yahoo.com/g...towntreasures/

**soulster** · 10-09-2010, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by paulo

Just wondering...singles on this re-issue label seem to be skyrocketing in price. Are they really becoming REAL collecetables? I have only about 30 45s in this series, mainly picked up cheap, as I collect anything Motown. But I just saw Al Greens Lets Get Married / Sha La La at £20. and The Marvelettes Please Mr Postman / Twistin Postman at £25 in a local record dealers store. Even Four Tops Walk Away Renee / You keep Running Away was £10. crazy. You can pick up the originals cheaper, or at least at a reasonable price. Thoughts?..Paulo XXX

Well, many of them were made from the original stampers used to cut the original 45s. Therefore, one can be assured that the sound will be 100% authentic, since Universal can't always seem to get it right on CD, and people aren't going to get some stereo reissue.

Al Green's original 45s had nothing to do with Motown. They were on the Hi label, distributed by London records in the early-mid 70s. Big question of if Motown, when they acquired the catalog for a short time, used the original stampers.

topdiva1 · 10-09-2010, 11:13 AM

These will always be collectable.

**soulster** · 10-09-2010, 12:01 PM

I'm afraid you're right. As long as we cannot always get the sound of those original mono 45s on CD, collectors will seek out either the Yesteryear series or the original 45s.