Any purists would probably talc up the floor and shuffle right away from this compilation given that the true roots of the genre are attached to rare, upbeat Detroit-style soul that was often entirely unaffiliated with Tamla-Motown. In fact, many gems only became rare and underground in the first place because they weren't able to get an airing at the time of release due to the ubiquitousness of the Motown sound. History and Soul politics apart Universal, being the owners of the Motown legacy, are no strangers to milking their huge catalogue reserves the question is have they put together a package that stands out from the soul compilation pack?
On the whole the answer is no. Not that this is a bad compilation but it has fallen in to the trap of hundreds of compilations in the past in going for substance over style. Forty eight tracks across two CD's overkills the mood slightly and suggests that the eyes were bigger than the stomach when trawling through the Motown archives. Gems like Frank Wilson's 'Do I love you (indeed I do)' and The Original's 'Goodnight Irene' rub shoulders awkwardly with a plenty of run of the mill tracks which I would wager would see a complete play though less than once. Even the quite brilliant Marvellete's 'I'll keep holding on' can't carry this album, particularly as it is also appears on other Motown compilations out there like Motown's own 'Mod Fav Raves 2'.
Had this been a condensed compilation including only the stand-out tracks it would have got unreserved top marks. As a result, if you're only after a seriously weighty bunch of classic stompers then this isn't for you, if on the other hand you want a couple of hours of decent tracks that occasionally scale the heights then this could be just your ticket.
Rating: 3/5
Release Date: 5th May 2005
Record Label:Universal
Words By: Mark Steel
