Don't ever tell me this woman can't sing again, best 7.90 i've spent on Itunes yet. I love her to pieces!

Bunch of jazz standards she recorded back in '73, but after 'Lady Sings the Blues' Berry wanted to put out a more 'pop' sounding album so this was shelved. what a mistake, it's beautiful.

maybe her best album. Ever.


[Edited 10/23/06 8:03am]

Marrk said:

"Blue" is a masterpiece I like it better than "Lady sings the blues".
I think Motown has a lot of unreleased material in the vault. I read that the groups recorded tons of songs, probably more than what was released.
It wasn`t that long ago i bought a new 2 disc set of prevously unreleased songs from Martha Reeves and the Vandellas.
There`s already been released PLENTY of Supremes songs from the vaults, songs that appeared on "25th anniversary", "The never before released masters", and all the bonus tracks on the Rodgers and Hammerstein cd and the 40th anniversary editions of "Where did our love go" and "I hear a symphony".
I`m not sure if there`s that much of Ross` solo recordings in the vault, i haven`t heard of anything, but if there is, they should release it

Icicle said:

Thanks for replying, i know there's probably 1000's of songs in the Motown vaults by various artists, probably all before my time, but damn if Motown isn't my favourite genre of music, by saying that, i mean it's not just a label, I just hope these artists get their proper due, allegedly gordy ripped off a lot of them but goddamn., he's just a flawed God, but thank him all the same.

May i recommend the cheap 'Soul Legends' series that's recently come out to anyone who is just discovering motown? great hits with a few obscure tracks thrown in too.

And where have you been?

Marrk said:

Motown is a musical genre of its own, like rock, pop, soul, thanks to one man, Berry Gordy. One of my favorite Motown acts were Gladys Knight and pips, although i prefer the Buddah years. All of their motown albums are being released this november, i made a thread about it a few days ago, but i don`t think anyone noticed. Anyway, i`m really excited about that



Me?

Icicle said:

Not you, you're cool.

i meant anybody just getting into Motown.

Marrk said:

Oh, okay

If anyone is intersted, I'm selling a sealed copy of this along with another Diana CD. Just ask me if you want the Ebay link.

Anywho, I agree, it's a nice album and I'm sure Motown has plenty of awesome stuff in their vaults! Most labels which is very sad! Could help record sales overall, I'm sure. I doubt it's the artists holding these things up.

VinnyM27 said:

If it's sealed how would you know?

Marrk said:

I bought a copy and bought this extra one. Meant to use it as a gift or return it later but lost the receipt. It's sealed with the stickers...trust me.

Blue is definitely better than the Lady Sings The Blues Soundtrack really because of its cohesiveness, Diana's voice, and the production. I really wasn't all that interested in the LSTB soundtrack that much because the balance of snippets from the motion picture and Billie Holiday covers really didn't hold up to much on that album, IMHO. Blue is just a jazz album that has her doing something a little more challenging on her own terms and having some independence, unlike the more pop oriented record Berry convinced her to make a year later entitled Touch Me In The Morning. Blue does contain some of her best work, vocally, but overall, her 1980 comeback album, Diana is just downright her greatest achievement overall.

Motown definitely has alot of stuff in the vaults that needs to be released...'

There is a 1973 Michael Jackson solo album produced by Stevie Wonder.A single was even planned,"Buttercup",but for some reason,it was shelved.

There is a 1979 Marvin Gaye album called 'Love Man' that remains unreleased.

There is a 1986 Mary Jane Girls album called 'Conversation' that remains unreleased.Produced by Rick James,this would have been their third album.

I can't believe they're letting this stuff sit in the vaults,collecting dust.

SoulAlive said:

I would love to have the Michael Jackson album

After some research and reading liner notes, i realized there`s plenty of unreleased Ross songs in the Motown vaults.

In 1978 she recorded an album called "Diana Ross sings songs from The Wiz", the re-recording of "Home" was released on "The motown anthology"

The deluxe edition of "Diana" (1980) included songs from a cancelled album called "Revelations"

The 2003 release of her "To love again" album contained 2 songs that were previously unreleased. The re-release of her debut album also included several unreleased tracks, and a live version of "Something on my mind", from her first concert as a solo artist, as she called "The let`s see if Diana Ross can do it by herself show", i would have liked to have the entire concert on cd.

SO, my point is that there has to be a lot of Diana Ross songs in the motown vaults...

Which album did "Friend to Friend" come from.?




I so agree, the wealth of artists that Motown brought to the table are invaluable..when people talk about the "Motown sound" they were really talking about a completely unique sound, which has often be imitated but never repeated.
[Edited 10/28/06 11:45am]

whatsgoingon said:

"Friend to friend" is from the 1980 album, "Diana", and it`s probably my favorite track next to "Upside down" and "My old piano" BEAUTIFUL song

Some of the biggest names in music started out as Motown acts, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight.

SoulAlive said:

And that's just what we KNOW about; there's probably tonnes more.

SoulAlive said:[quote]Motown definitely has alot of stuff in the vaults that needs to be released...'

There is a 1973 Michael Jackson solo album produced by Stevie Wonder.A single was even planned,"Buttercup",but for some reason,it was shelved.

quote]

i know about that, but interesting that 'Farewell my summer love' was recorded in the same year and took 11 yrs to be released, perhaps the Stevie-produced album didn't sound that good. I'd be surprised if that's the case considering Stevie's music at the time, perhaps Motown was unsure of Michael's burgeoning 'adult' voice, i guess it was breaking at the time.

Imagine that, an MJ and Stevie album that was possibly sub-par. therefore no release. Interesting that either Stevie or Michael have spoke of this collaboration before though.

I wonder if it actually an urban myth?

SoulAlive said:

Their are a lot of shelved Jackon material in the Motown vault. At least one J5 album, 4 Jermaine LP's, 2 Mike Lp's and one each from Tito and Marlon.

"Love Man", I believe is being released later this year included in a "In Our Lifetime" Deluex Edition.

Motown recently released an David Ruffin LP "The David Ruffin Album", two Supremes LP's and a Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and Marvin Gayes Live LP's