Elemental Music’s The Motown Collection is a continuing series of long-playing vinyl reissues of crate digger favorites from the Detroit-bred soul music giant 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.

Elemental released a total of 22 titles through 2024, including music by such storied Motown stars as Smokey Robinson (and the Miracles), The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye (both solo and with duet partner Mary Wells), The Jackson 5, Eddie Kendricks, Gladys Knight & the Pips, and The Undisputed Truth, and now their release schedule continues onward here in early January.

“As a rule of thumb, we always try to reissue the music that we love. That’s our priority. With the Motown Series, we wanted to take a deep dive into the label’s history and to reissue some more obscure titles,” describes Elemental Music Founder and producer of the Motown Sound Collection Jordi Soley.

“For many of the albums we’ll be putting out throughout 2024 and into 2025, it will be their first reissue since their original release. It’s our way of showing some love to Motown’s legacy.”

The collection continues on January 17th, 2025 with three more classics in the form of Gladys Knight & The Pips’ Nitty Gritty (140 Gram Limited Edition), Smokey Robinson’s Pure Smokey (140 Gram Limited Edition Vinyl Gatefold Sleeve), and finally Diana Ross & The Supremes’ Reflections (140 Gram Limited Edition Vinyl).

Called “a sturdy collection of fine soul and R&B tracks” by All Music Guide, Nitty Gritty was the sixth studio album by Gladys Knight & the Pips which was released in 1969. Thanks to the influence of producer Norman Whitfield, it placed emphasis on the raw funk and soul sounds of the band, resulting in an unforgettable set.

Three of the singles included became hits: Didn’t You Know (You’d Have to Cry Sometime) (#63 on the Pop chart and #11 on the R&B chart), The Nitty Gritty (#19 Pop/#2 R&B), and Friendship Train (#17 pop/#2 R&B). The album peaked at #81 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

Dusty Groove called Nitty Gritty “one of our favorite albums by Gladys Knight – a set that seems to have a lot more edge than some of her later work, thanks to some rumbling production from the legendary Norman Whitfield!”

This 140-gram edition of Nitty Gritty includes the original cover and back cover artwork.

Didn’t You Know (You’d Have To Cry Sometime) (Music Video)

SIDE A:
1. Cloud Nine
2. Runnin’ Out
3. Didn’t You Know (You’d Have to Cry Sometime)
4. (I Know) I’m Losing You
5. The Nitty Gritty
6. Ain’t No Sun Since You’ve Been Gone

SIDE B:
7. All I Could Do Was Cry
8. Keep an Eye
9. Got Myself a Good Man
10. It’s Summer
11. The Stranger
12. I Want Him to Say It Again

Released in 1969, Nitty Gritty was the sixth album by Gladys Knight & the Pips. Thanks to the influence of producer Norman Whitfield, it places emphasis on the raw funk and soul sounds of the band resulting in an unforgettable set.

Three of the singles included became hits: Didn’t You Know (You’d Have to Cry Sometime) (#63 Pop, #11 R&B), Nitty Gritty (#19 Pop, #2 R&B), and Friendship Train (#17 Pop, #2 R&B). Now available on 140g virgin vinyl.

Personally, I rate Gladys Knight second only to Aretha Franklin as the worlds best female soul singer. Her hoarse gritty contralto is also easier for a man to emulate in a karaoke (not that I would ever do anything like that!). Don’t underestimate the Pips though for their harmonies were grand, and their moves were legendary.

For all that they were overlooked at Motown, they did keep the group on the US pop top 40 for seven consecutive years, which no other record label was able to do. Their spurt of wild success on Buddah, following Motown, was all too short lived in the US. That success came later and was a bit more sustained here.

This fourth album for Motown, ‘Nitty Gritty’ was notably more funky and up-tempo, for the most part. The title track being a lively funked up version of Shirley Ellis’ minor hit with my own favorite cut on this album (and of all their Motown recordings, in truth), being ‘Didn’t You Know (You’d Have To Cry Sometime)‘ a spirited revenge song from Ashford/Simpson. I mean, listen to it yourselves and tell me Gladys doesn’t strive (and succeed) in wringing every drop of emotion out of each line.

Also, “If I Were Your Woman” is a gorgeously stirring ballad written by the prolific composer Pam Sawyer and writer-artist Gloria Jones, best known for her original version (and Northern Soul hymn) of “Tainted Love” (and, later, for being Marc Bolan’s partner).

As noted above, this reissue is coming out as a 140 Gram Limited Gatefold Edition Vinyl.

Released in 1968, Reflections was the 12th album from the Supremes, their first billed as Diana Ross & the Supremes. It was also the first album to include liner notes by Diana Ross and their first with new member Cindy Birdsong.

It was the Supremes’ last album with new productions from the creative team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, and included productions from Deke Richards, Frank Wilson and Smokey Robinson.

The title song was a No. 2 pop smash while the album peaked at #3 on Billboard’s Top 200. This 140-gram edition includes the original cover and back cover artwork.

Diana Ross & The Supremes - Reflections (Music Video)

SIDE A:
1. Reflections
2. I’m Gonna Make It (I Will Wait for You)
3. Forever Came Today
4. I Can’t Make It Alone
5. In and Out of Love
6. Bah-Bah-Bah

SIDE B:
7. What the World Needs Now Is Love
8. Up, Up and Away
9. Love (Makes Me Do Foolish Things)
10. Then
11. Misery Makes Its Home in My Heart
12. Ode to Billie Joe

As aforementioned, this mighty fine album was the last Holland Dozier Holland produced Supremes album. Of further interest, this was the first album billed as Diana Ross and the Supremes. While the album is kind of a hodge podge of tracks, there are some real gems and the overall listening experience is lots of fun.

Reflections and Forever Came Today were the Supremes nod to psychedelia complete with some weird sound effects and such. Mary Wilson has said that neither she nor Cindy Birdsong (or Florence Ballard, for that matter) sang on Forever Came Today or several other recordings from this period though, which just adds to the mystery of these recordings.

Indeed, if you listen closely, you can actually notice different sounding voices on background vocals. All of that aside, among the gems here are I’m Gonna Make It, Bah-Bah-Bah (a haunting Brenda Holloway composition), Misery Makes Its Home In My Heart, the simply terrific What the World Needs Now Is Love, and a surprisingly not campy Diana solo on the closer Ode To Billie Joe.

Pure Smokey was William “Smokey” Robinson’s second solo album after leaving The Miracles. It was issued on Motown’s Tamla label in 1974 and presents mostly songs composed by Robinson along with Marv Tarplin, another ex-Miracle who joined Robinson in California after leaving the group.

Marv didn’t only assist Smokey, he wrote, played guitar, toured, etc. Hits from the album include, I Am I Am (#6 R&B), Virgin Man (#12 R&B), and It’s Her Turn to Live, a tribute to mothers co-written by Tarplin (#29 R&B). All Music Guide wrote Pure Smokey “creates a seamless blend of smoothed-out disco and gorgeous soft soul.”

This limited edition 140-gram virgin vinyl edition includes the original cover and back cover artwork.

Smokey Robinson - Virgin Man (Music Video)

SIDE A:
1. It’s Her Turn to Live
2. The Love Between Me and My Kids
3. Asleep on My Love
4. I Am I Am
5. Just Passing Through

SIDE B:
6. Virgin Man
7. She’s Only a Baby Herself
8. Fulfill Your Need
9. A Tattoo

Sometimes an album title is a total misnomer but NOT in this case. Pure Smokey is such a wonderful album (and Smokey has many, as we all well know) that George Harrison named a song after it on his Thirty Three & 1/3 album (which sounds great next to something like this).

On this recording Smokey reflects on his family and a mature side of romance with a variety of soulful textures, styles and tempos. It’s Her Turn To Live starts out with a rather unusual note for Smokey, a wah-wah driven funk excursion outside his usual ballad style but still brimming over with his great love poetry and class 9and which forever sheds anyone’s misconceptions of funk grooves as songless musicians exercises.

On the classic Virgin Man Smokey furthers the same approach, only on a deeper funk level and those two songs are just chillingly lovely and easily exhibiting the most sweetest funk this side of Marvin, Curtis, Isaac and Barry.

Along the way Smokey also offers up many tracks full of his classic mellow soul stylings, such as the surprisingly pointed and unsentimental The Love Between Me And My Kids, I Am I Am, A Tattoo and Just Passing Through, which is a true and unsung classic for that should’ve been a big hit group of Motown songs buried out there still.

Taken along with these there are plenty of slow ballads here too, such as the tender Asleep On My Love, Fulfill Your Need and She’s Only A Baby Herself, a song I think may actually be a reflection on Smokey’s extra marital affair around the same period (but that has not yet been confirmed, even now).

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.

Founded in 2012, Elemental Music specializes in releasing newly discovered and out-of-print recordings, primarily jazz, blues, and soul. These recordings are meticulously curated and reissued with love.

Official Purchase Link

www.elemental-music.com