The Motown Sound Collection: LP Reissue Series

THE MOTOWN SOUND COLLECTION:
MARVIN GAYE AND MARY WELLS’ TOGETHER
THE SUPREMES’ I HEAR A SYMPHONY
AND THE TEMPTATIONS’ CLOUD NINE
ARRIVE JULY 12

The Motown Sound Collection, An LP Reissue Series of Classic
And Collectible Albums From the Legendary Detroit Label,
Continues with Monthly Releases Through the End of 2024

JUNE 18, 2024 (NEW YORK) — On July 12, 2024, Elemental Music’s Motown Sound Collection continues its ongoing series reissuing crucial titles from the Motown Records catalog with three titles: Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells’ Together (in a mono edition), The Supremes’ I Hear a Symphony (pressed on green vinyl) and The Temptations’ Cloud Nine.

Marvin Gaye was still a rising solo soul star with five Topive R&B hits and a Top10 pop hit, 1963’s “Pride and Joy,” when Motown decided to exploit his singular sex appeal by pairing him with one of its female stars, Mary Wells, for his first duo outing. Released April 15, 1964, Together found the two singers displaying natural chemistry that paid off at the cash register. Both sides of the LP’s first single, “What’s the Matter With You, Baby” and “Once Upon a Time,” reached the R&B Top Five, with the former number peaking at No. 17 on the pop side. Wells exited Motown for 20th Century Records not long after the album’s release, but Gaye proved to be a durable duet partner at Motown, racking up hits with Kim Weston and, most notably, Tammi Terrell.

The Temptations “Cloud Nine”

The Supremes were well on their way to establishing themselves as the bestselling female pop vocal group of the ‘60s, trailing only The Beatles in singles sales during the decade, when I Hear A Symphony on Feb. 18, 1966. The title track became the trio’s sixth No. 1 Pop 45” (and peaked at No. 2 on the R&B side); another custom-tailored Holland-Dozier-Holland tune, “My World is Empty Without You,” rose to No. 5 on the pop side and No. 10 on the R&B charts. The album’s other selections were an indicator of the label’s even grander mainstream ambitions for the group, leaning heavily on such Vegas-friendly standards as “With a Song in My Heart,” “Without a Song,” and “Stranger in Paradise” and covers of contemporaneous pop hits like The Beatles’ smash “Yesterday.”

Issued Feb. 17, 1969, The Temptations’ album Cloud Nine represented a turning point for both the hitmaking vocal group and for soul music. The collection solidified and built upon the relationship forged with producer-songwriter Norman Whitfield, who had produced their No. 1 single “I Wish It Would Rain.” Co-authored by Whitfield and Barrett Strong, the song “Cloud Nine” reflected the influence of Sly and the Family Stone’s hard-funk, acid-bathed sound and layered call-and-response vocals. The single launched the Temps’ “psychedelic soul” era, reaching No. 6 on the pop charts, soaring to No. 2 on the R&B side, and garnering a GRAMMY® Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance. Another single from the album, “Run Away Child, Running Wild” (heard in an expansive nine-minute version on the LP), topped the R&B chart and equaled its predecessor’s Pop position. Whitfield, who worked with The Temptations on seven more trend-setting albums, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.

The Supremes “I Hear a Symphony”

These unforgettable Hitsville titles are part of a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Motown Records catalog. All releases will replicate the ‘60s and ‘70s LPs’ bold sound and 12-by-12 full-color packaging. The Motown Sound Collection continues with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Forthcoming titles slated for release in the collection include a red vinyl pressing, in a die-cut cover, of the Jackson 5’s Get It Together, and the mono editions of the Miracles’ Make It Happen and More Hits By the Supremes (August 16); the mono version of Meet the Temptations (September 13); a red vinyl version of the Jackson 5’s Third Album and the mono edition of the Supremes’ A Bit of Liverpool (October 11); and the mono versions of Four Tops and Marvin Gaye’s When I’m Alone I Cry (Nov. 15).

Marvin Gaye & Mary Wells “What’s The Matter With You, Baby”

Elemental Music, founded in 2012, specializes in the release of newly discovered and out-of-print recordings, primarily Jazz, Blues, and Soul. These recordings are meticulously curated and reissued with love.

For more information about Elemental Music’s Motown Sound Collection: https://www.elemental-music.com/72-motown

The complete 2024 release schedule for the
Motown Sound Collection:

May 10:
The Temptations: I Wish It Would Rain
The Supremes: We Remember Sam Cooke

June 7:
Smokey Robinson: Smokey (Blue Vinyl/Gatefold edition)
The Four Tops’ Still Waters Run Deep

July 12:
Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells’ Together (Mono edition)
The Supremes’ I Hear a Symphony (Green vinyl)
The Temptations’ Cloud Nine

Aug. 16:
The Jackson Five: Get It Together (Red Vinyl/Die-Cut Cover)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ Make It Happen (Mono edition)
More Hits By The Supremes (Mono edition)

Sept. 13:
Meet the Temptations (Mono edition)
Marvin Gaye’s In the Groove
The Supremes’ Love Child.

Oct. 11:
The Jackson 5: Third Album (Red Vinyl)
The Supremes: A Bit of Liverpool (Mono edition)
The Temptations’ Sky’s the Limit

Nov. 15:
Four Tops (Mono edition)
Marvin Gaye: When I’m Alone I Cry (Mono edition)
Eddie Kendricks’ People…Hold On

Dec. 13:
Gladys Knight & the Pips’ Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the One to Say Goodbye)
The Temptations’ Solid Rock
The Undisputed Truth: The Undisputed Truth

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