Motown - The Compact Disc Story

[mysterysinger]

This refers to a 1986 publication that would have accompanied some US CDs issued at that time and which several of you may have seen before. I've only just come across it and thought it might be worth sharing.

It's entitled:

The Compact Disc Story
Brought to you by Motown Record Corporation
and Includes The Complete Motown CD Catalog.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...77720308532480

[mysterysinger]

You might also like to see.....

Original 2 albums on 1 CD series

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...57637231731375

Compact Command Performances

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...57677040166624

Motown Anthology [[original series)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...77720298770858

[Motown Eddie]

Thanks Mysterysinger for posting these. I stated buying CDs in 1986 at the time that Motown dug deep into the digital revolution. While everything that they put out in the format wasn't perfect, it was a bold move on their part.

[mysterysinger]

You're welcome Eddie. Motown does seem to have been early in on the CD format, but believe it or not I resisted buying any CDs for a while in favour of vinyl. I bought my first CD around 1988 but still bought sparingly.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

My very first CD was Diana Ross & The Supremes' "Never Before Released Masters" in 1987. Motown announced that it would not be available in LP format, so I had no other choice but to buy it -- confident and sure that I could play it on my brother-in-law's new CD player. Little did I know that Motown had already started reissuing its classic LP titles as 2-fers in this all-new CD format. Like a kid at Christmas, I bought every Motown 2-fer I could get my hands on before I even owned a CD player. That's how exciting it was to suddenly see so much Motown product available in a format straight from the master-tapes with no more surface noise, scratches, warps, nor off-center pressings! I got a new CD player for Christmas which convinced me to sell my entire LP record collection and go the CD route. To this day, I'm glad I made the change.

[reese]

My very first CD was Diana Ross & The Supremes' "Never Before Released Masters" in 1987. Motown announced that it would not be available in LP format, so I had no other choice but to buy it -- confident and sure that I could play it on my brother-in-law's new CD player. Little did I know that Motown had already started reissuing its classic LP titles as 2-fers in this all-new CD format. Like a kid at Christmas, I bought every Motown 2-fer I could get my hands on before I even owned a CD player. That's how exciting it was to suddenly see so much Motown product available in a format straight from the master-tapes with no more surface noise, scratches, warps, nor off-center pressings! I got a new CD player for Christmas which convinced me to sell my entire LP record collection and go the CD route. To this day, I'm glad I made the change.

I bought my first cd player in Christmas of 1986, with my first cd purchase being the Supremes' 25TH ANNIVERSARY. I remember being happy that the release contained three songs that weren't on the vinyl as well as an additional Coke commercial. Imagine my surprise when the Coke commercial just ended up being the one I already had but split in half [I think this was corrected in subsequent pressings].

From then on, cds became an obsession as there was always something new to purchase. Going to record stores in those days was such a pleasure because you never knew what you would find. I remember walking into Tower and finding the Vandellas' BLACK MAGIC and WATCHOUT! on cd, or the Supremes' debut album. Sure, I already had them on vinyl but there was something about getting them on cd.

[gman]

I jumped in with all 4's too....the thought of the Cd never sounding any worse than you did when you got it was my jump....plus at that point many of the classic LPS I owned were out of print and I wasn't going to pay $20- $50 at the NYC collectors stores....I cannot tell you how many LPS I had already brought 3-4 copies of in my life!

Ebay was not around yet...TG for Ebay...I got vinyl for very good prices that I would not have considered paying double digit prices for in used shops...

a few years earlier, I replaced all my pretty played out Mono LPS with NM/VG+ Stereo copies...my orig LPS had been thru a few cheap record players, and as a adult not high quality turntables...every time I updated my record players, the older vinyl sounded worse...my early units had heavy tracking tone arms...by the early 80's my light tracking tone arm unit was much gentler on my vinyl...

[Philles/Motown Gary]

I bought my first cd player in Christmas of 1986, with my first cd purchase being the Supremes' 25TH ANNIVERSARY. I remember being happy that the release contained three songs that weren't on the vinyl as well as an additional Coke commercial. Imagine my surprise when the Coke commercial just ended up being the one I already had but split in half [I think this was corrected in subsequent pressings].

From then on, cds became an obsession as there was always something new to purchase. Going to record stores in those days was such a pleasure because you never knew what you would find. I remember walking into Tower and finding the Vandellas' BLACK MAGIC and WATCHOUT! on cd, or the Supremes' debut album. Sure, I already had them on vinyl but there was something about getting them on cd.

Yeah, Reese, those early days of CD releases were exciting and ADDICTING! Walking into those wonderful mall record/CD stores was thrilling! It made CD shopping for Motown as well as other labels/categories fresh, new, and fun! There was a point, however, where it became frustrating. I had purchased so much, there was nothing left to buy until Motown's next batch of CD releases occurred which sometimes seemed to take forever. In the meantime, the temporary shortage of Pop & Soul releases inspired me to explore and discover the Telarc label and their magnificent Classical Choral recordings, especially those by Robert Shaw & The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. Completist that I am, I bought every Choral work on the market on a wide array of labels including imports like Hungaroton, Deutsche Grammophon, and the U.K.'s own John Rutter & The Cambridge Singers on Collegium! [[I didn't buy every version available of a certain choral work, but I bought one recording of every Choral work available.) To this day, I'm grateful for having discovered this whole new world of music which opened up whole new vistas for me. It would have never happened without the advent of CD. And the same can be said for Motown Select and the amazing array of outstanding collections they made available.

[Philles/Motown Gary]

To Reese and everyone -- Do any of you remember Wayne Green's "CD Review" in which they reviewed the latest new batch of CD releases and CD players for the month?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_Review

Or "CD Guide" which was an extensive catalog of CDs available on the market? [[Surprisingly, there was no link available to show what it looked like.)

Do any of you remember a monthly newsletter called "ICE" [[International CD Exchange) in which various record labels [[including Motown) would announce their upcoming reissue CD releases for the month?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-August...-127632-2357-0

All of the above were necessary luxuries for any self-respecting CD buyer!

[Motown Eddie]

Do any of you remember a monthly newsletter called "ICE" [[International CD Exchange) in which various record labels [[including Motown) would announce their upcoming reissue CD releases for the month?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-August...-127632-2357-0

Yes; I remember ICE Magazine! I had a monthly subscription to ICE [beginning in 1988 thru the time they closed in the 2000's] and looked forward to getting it see what CDs were coming out. Also, the magazine was like Consumer Reports for CD buyers since anyone could make a complaint about a release on CD that had errors and/or poor sound quality.

[reese]

To Reese and everyone -- Do any of you remember Wayne Green's "CD Review" in which they reviewed the latest new batch of CD releases and CD players for the month?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_Review

Or "CD Guide" which was an extensive catalog of CDs available on the market? [[Surprisingly, there was no link available to show what it looked like.)

Do any of you remember a monthly newsletter called "ICE" [[International CD Exchange) in which various record labels [[including Motown) would announce their upcoming reissue CD releases for the month?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1991-August...-127632-2357-0

All of the above were necessary luxuries for any self-respecting CD buyer!

I definitely remember ICE. It was my main source for what was coming out.

But oh, those times when a cd/album wasn't released when it was supposed to be. I remember Aretha's last gospel album was supposed to be released on a certain date. When I got to the record store and couldn't find it, I went to the magazine and found that it had been delayed by a month!

[reese]

I also remember in those early days of cds that they weren't always released simultaneously with the album.

I recall Aretha's ONE LORD, ONE FAITH..., and Gladys' ALL OUR LOVE being released on vinyl and cassette but the cd didn't come out for weeks. The same thing happened with Diana's RED HOT RHYTHM AND BLUES. By this time, I was exclusively buying cds for new releases so this was quite frustrating. In a few cases, I couldn't wait and ended up buying the vinyl and/or cassette anyway.

[144man]

I used to get Ice in England. It was available in the magazine section of Tower Records.

[gman]

I remember the first time I saw CD's in Tower...in the rock section...about 25 titles....total...nothing but Columbia label titles...Bruce, Billy Joel, Streisand...like the 1 very best selling LP of each, and I distinctly remember they were $24.99 each!!!...could they have been only Japanese imports at that early moment..or were USA copies that expensive?

[mysterysinger]

Here's a link to an earlier thread on the first Motown CDs for interest

https://soulfuldetroit.com/showthrea...-Compact-Discs