Motown Sound Collection: Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Temptations

THE MOTOWN SOUND COLLECTION:
SEPTEMBER 13 OFFERS THE RELEASE OF
MARVIN GAYE’S IN THE GROOVE,
DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES’ LOVE CHILD,
AND MEET THE TEMPTATIONS

Elemental Music’s LP Reissue Series of Classic and Collectible Albums from the Legendary Detroit Soul Label Continues with Monthly Releases Through the End of 2024

AUGUST 28, 2024 (New York, NY) — Elemental Music’s ongoing LP reissue series, the Motown Sound Collection, continues with the release on September 13, 2024 of three more classic titles from the Detroit record label’s archives: Marvin Gaye’s In The Groove, Diana Ross And The Supremes’ Love Child, and The Temptations’ debut album, Meet The Temptations (in its original mono).

MARVIN GAYE’S In The Groove
In The Groove was initially released on August 26, 1968, on the Motown subsidiary Tamla Records; however, it was reissued the following year under the title I Heard It Through The Grapevine after that song became a smash success. In The Groove, his first solo studio outing in several years represents the singer reestablishing himself as a solo artist following recordings that paired him first with Kim Weston and later with Tammi Terrell. The album also found Gaye operating without his go-to songwriting team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, who split from Motown in early 1968. In The Groove, which reached #2 on Billboard’s Soul chart, is well stocked with tunes from other Motown hitmakers, such as Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, Barrett Strong & Norman Whitfield, and Ivory Jo Hunter (including the Stevie Wonder collaboration “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever”). There’s also a cover of Goffin & King’s “Some Kind of Wonderful” and two tracks Gaye co-wrote with his then-wife Anna Gordy Gaye, “Change What You Can” and “At Last (I Found a Love).”

MARVIN GAYE “Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever”

DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES’ Love Child
Released on November 13, 1968, Love Child was the group’s 15th studio album; it’s also one of the first studio releases after they became Diana Ross And The Supremes (the name change occurred the prior year when Cindy Birdsong replaced Florence Ballard). The title track, which soon became one of the Supremes’ iconic hits, “Love Child,” achieved a #1 triple crown – topping the Billboard Hot 100, Cashbox Top 100, and Record World’s Top 100 charts in the US, as well as reaching #1 in the UK, New Zealand, and Canada. The album also features the Smokey Robinson song “He’s My Sunny Boy,” a pair of Ashford & Simpson gems (“Some Things You Never Get Used To” and “You Ain’t Livin’ Till You’re Lovin’”), and “Can’t Shake It Loose,” which George Clinton co-wrote while working as a Motown staff writer. Critic Jason Elias’ praised Love Child for having a “late-’60s Motown sound without gimmicks” and proclaiming it “is more than recommended.”

DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES “Love Child”

THE TEMPTATIONS’ Meet The Temptations
2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the Temptations’ debut album, Meet The Temptations, which All Music Guide’s Bruce Eder hailed as a “great record” in his 4½ star review. While more a collection of singles than a studio effort, Meet The Temptations provides a fascinating look at how the Temptations’ sound developed over their first recordings as the group worked with different producers, including Berry Gordy, Norman Whitfield, and Smokey Robinson. Among these early singles, only 1962 released “Dreams Come True” broke into the charts. However, the Temptations’ fortunes changed with their 1964 career-launching single, “The Way You Do The Things You Do,” which topped off at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, hitting #1 on Cash Box’s R&B Single Chart. The song also marked the debut of the classic Temptations lineup, with new member David Ruffin joining Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, and Otis Williams. The reissue will come out in mono, just as when Motown first released Meet The Temptations.

THE TEMPTATIONS “Dreams Come True”

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 will continue with titles scheduled for release through early 2025.

Forthcoming titles include a red vinyl version of the Jackson 5’s Third Album and the mono edition of the Supremes’ A Bit of Liverpool (October 11), the mono versions of Four Tops and Marvin Gaye’s When I’m Alone I Cry (November 15), and The Temptations’ Solid Rock
(December 13).

Founded in 2012, Elemental Music 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

Click HERE to see complete release schedule!

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