Release Date - 10th June 2002

Ten days to go and the most important Motown CD ever issued hits the streets of the UK. Never in the history of collecting Motown music has there ever been ‘buzz’ quite like this, as Universal Music at long last decide to issue a collection of unreleased/bootleg songs from some of the greatest names on the label. It has been a long time coming and I am sure that the company will be rewarded for their efforts and commitment in this project with healthy sales and an eventual UK album chart position.
The songs themselves are simply brilliant. I cannot, and will not, attempt to sound clever by giving the reader any history behind these songs. I simply don’t know anything, as almost everything on these two CD’s is new to me as well, and I suspect these songs have been circulating on poor quality white label acetates on the northern soul scene for a number of years. This is where ‘Cellarful Of Motown’ comes into it’s own with top-notch sound quality and of course a legitimate licensing – it just has to be the biggest Motown collection EVER.

Those of you who enjoy Motown instrumentals are catered for as Earl Van Dyke delivers the instrumental for ‘He Was Really Saying Something’ and also the Isley’s ‘Tell Me It’s Just A Rumour’

In order to give you a taste of what is to come on the 10th June I have included some audio snippets for your attention and they can be accessed by clicking on the links within the track listing at the bottom of this page. Everyone will have favourite tracks from this set but in my case my favourite ten tunes are the ones I have included as ‘streaming media’

An important word of warning – in order to convince key personnel at Universal that this has been a worthwhile project I cannot over emphasise the importance of pointing out that all Motown fans should not only purchase this excellent set, but NOT to burn CD copies for friends etc. This is not an expensive item by any means and believes me; it is worth every penny of its retail price. Those at Universal will be monitoring the sales patterns of this CD very carefully and if sales fall short of expectations due to CD bootlegging, then we can all kiss any future volumes in this series goodbye.

Finally, before clicking on the below links please be forewarned that songs by Chuck Jackson/Yvonne Fair/Isleys/Tammi are just brilliant!!!!

This CD should silence the critics!

Rating 12/10

Original press release/tracklisting/audio links;

We've all heard stories about treasures and lost masterpieces turning up in an attic or cellar but how often does it happen?  Well this album discovers not one priceless treasure but 40 of them. Many of the rare tracks collected here have been changing hands for large sums of money on the bootleg market, with inferior pressings and poor quality recordings.  Here at last is an official release of priceless tunes, straight from the Detroit vault, fully endorsed by Motown, each track lovingly restored from the original master tapes. Motown collectors have been waiting for these tracks to surface on CD for years!

Collectable gem's gathered here include Earl Van Dyke's rousing instrumental version of 'He Was Really Saying Something' and Tammi Terrell's fantastic rendition of the Stevie Wonder composition 'All I Do Is Think About You' (which turned up almost 20 years later on his own 'Hotter Than July' album!).  Marvin Gaye's version of 'Lucky Lucky Me' was one of the greatest Motown discoveries of the 90's, whilst the cut featured here boasting Jimmy Ruffin on vocals has taken nearly 40 years to be unearthed!   And of course we couldn't forget the sadly neglected Marv Johnson who is represented here with his distinctive cover of The Temptations' tune 'Save My Love For A Rainy Day'.

With the exception of Jnr Walker's 'Riding High On Love', which itself makes its debut appearance on CD, all tracks here are previously unreleased, never having seen the light of day on an official release until now. Initial orders will come in a limited edition slipcase. The package will include a 16-page full colour booklet complete with photos and in-depth liner notes and credits for each featured track.

Accept no imitations, this is the real deal!  An exciting development - Motown resurrecting archive material for the collector!

Click on the below links to hear selected audio clips of these great songs.

Tracklisting
CD:1
1.Baby A Go-Go  - Barbara McNair
2.All Your Love - Brenda Holloway
3.He Was Really Sayin' Something - Earl van Dyke (aka The Funk Brothers)
4.Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead  - Contours
5.Do I Love You - Chris Clark
6.Baby Hit And Run (alternate vocal) - The Contours
7.How Can I - Brenda Holloway
8.I Like Everything About You - The Contours feat. Dennis Edwards
9. All I Do Is Think About You  - Tammi Terrell
10.Lucky Lucky Me  - Jimmy Ruffin
11.In The Neighborhood - Jimmy Ruffin
12.Poor Little Rich Girl - The Marvelettes
13.The Other Side Of Town - The Marvelettes
14.Save My Love For A Rainy Day - Marv Johnson
15.Tell Me It's A Rumour Baby (instr) - Funk Brothers
16.If You Ever Get Your Hands On Love - Gladys Knight & The Pips
17. Are You Sure Love Is The Name Of The Game - Stevie Wonder
18.Until You Came Along - Carolyn Crawford
19.Before It's Over Singing - Sammy Ward
20.Long Gone Lover - Velvelettes
CD: 2
1.My Sugar Baby - Frank Wilson
2.Here Are The Pieces Of My Broken Heart (alternate single 'ref' mix) - Gladys Knight & The Pips
3.There's A Definite Change In You - The Temptations
4.Who You Gonna Run To - Brenda Holloway
5.(It's Easy To Fall In Love With) A Guy Like You - Martha & The Vandellas
6.The Touch Of Venus - Patrice Holloway
7.I Wish I Liked You (As Much As I Love You ) - Marvin Gaye
8.Trapped In A Love Affair - Brenda Holloway
9. I Know How To Love Her - Jimmy Ruffin
10.Riding High On Love - Jr Walker & The All Stars
11.Why When Love Is Gone (alternate single 'ref' mix) - The Originals
12.If This World Were Mine (alternate single 'ref' mix) - Fantastic Four
13.Don't Let Me Down - Kim Weston
14.Don't Put Off Till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today (extended single mix)  - The Monitors
15.(Tell Me) It Ain't The Truth - J J Barnes
16.You Made Me Feel Like (Everything Is Alright) - Syreeta
17.The Isley Brothers - Weakspot In My Heart
18. Don't Make Me Live Without Your Love - The Lewis Sisters
19.It Must Be Love Baby - Chuck Jackson & Yvonne Fair
20.Ain't No Place Like Motown - The Velvelettes

Catalogue No: 5446192