The second release of three new Motown goodies from Universal Music Uk and this time its the turn of the legendary Jimmy Ruffin with a two CD ultimate Motown collection which will be music to the ears of specialist collectors. Readers will be aware that Jimmy is the brother of the late David Ruffin a one time lead vocalist with the fabulous Temptations although I have always felt that despite Jimmy's immense talent as a performer he appears to have been left out in the cold when it came to Motown giving him a big push during the glory years despite enjoying success with a string of hit singles between 1965-1970. He deserved to have been a bigger artist than he was at Motown.

Whilst this forty eight track disc covers a substantial amount of Ruffin's work for Motown I would be very disappointed if there was nothing left in the vaults to issue and this was his entire output for the label as there are no unreleased items on disc two that set my pulse racing (unlike the Barbara McNair CD) as the recent discoveries of the last couple of years appear to have surfaced on previously issued (and still available) discs here in the UK.

Jimmy had three main LP titles in the sixties notably 'The Jimmy Ruffin Way' 'Jimmy Ruffin...Forever' and 'Ruff' 'n' Ready' all of which penned hit singles. 'What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted' is his biggest commercial hit to date and has been re-released many times. This gorgeous mid tempo performance was produced by 'Mickey' Stevenson, and written by the successful song writing team of James Dean, William Wetherspoon, and Paul Riser and remains to this Jimmy's signature tune. It is interesting to note that the film 'Standing In The Shadows Of Motown' features the Funk Brothers playing this very track with vocalist Joan Osborne delivering a blistering cover version which remains the highlight of the film. Motown in their attempts to penetrate the European and overseas market recorded this song in a number of different languages and disc two contains a fine example.

Other hit singles include the much loved 'I've Passed This Way Before' as well as 'Gonna Give Her All The Love I Got' I'll Say Forever My Love' and his massive pop hit of 1970 'Farewell Is A Lonely Sound' again all written by Dean/Wetherspoon who played a big part in writing Jimmy's hits during this period. Lovers of classic Motown will love 'Don't You Miss Me A Little Bit Baby' a great performance from 1967 written by Barrett Strong/Norman Whitfield (check out the superb guitar riff by the Funk Brothers). Motown wasn't just about the uptempo dance tunes as they were responsible for some of the greatest love songs of the last forty years. Listen to the delightful 'Our Favourite Melody' a gorgeous arrangement from Paul Riser and David Van De Pitte whose work on Marvin Gaye's major project 'What's Going On' is a fine example of what to expect on this song from 1972.

The flip side to the aforementioned song 'You Gave Me Love' is one of those great flip sides that is just waiting to be picked up by the northern soul crowd for one of their 'modern' soul discoveries. Written by the much respected Johnny Bristol and produced by Wade Marcus this song really grows and grows with each listen - a monster in the making. We all know that Motown had a habit of issuing some of their better songs tucked away on 'B' sides and 'If You Will Let Me, I Know I Can' is a perfect example of pop music at its very best as this bouncy and joyful song which originally surfaced as flip to the US issued 'Farewell' and appears to have missed by most of us?

'Just Before Love Ends' is a dead ringer for 'Broken Hearted' complete with spoken intro yet whilst having the same beat and overall arrangement as the hit single still holds enough originality to set it aside from the rest - if you haven't heard this track before let me warn you that this is one of the strongest cuts on disc one and is a song I guarantee you'll love from the very first play. Originally issued on the 1970 US only LP 'The Groove Governor'

Let's take a look at disc two that contains twenty two tracks, eleven of which are previously unreleased and the best of which I have included as streaming audio for you to try before buying. Kicking off with his self written single for Miracle Records 'Don't Feel Sorry For Me' and the flip side 'Heart' good vocal performances and an indication of what was possibly to come later on in the decade. Both songs very doo-wop styled arrangement with Jimmy sounding somewhat gospel. 'Baby I've Got It' was always a strong track in itself despite being relegated to the flip of 'Hearted' here in the UK with the backing vocals sounding so similar to Hitchike - could it have been Martha Reeves on backing?. This is a great mid tempo dance tune in true Motown style. Next up is two songs with the same backing track from 1964 - the first is entitled 'I Know How To Love Her' a wonderful uplifting piece of Motown magic with Jimmy never sounding so good. The second song with the same backing is his rendition of Marvin Gaye's 1969 hit song 'Too Busy Thinking About My Baby' which IS the better version and was the version collectors were after.

It is well known that Motown recorded the same song with a number of the artists on the roster to see who came up trumps with the critiques. Martha Reeves was successful in securing the fabulous Norman Whitfield written uptempo dancer 'I Gotta Let You Go' (although relegated to a 'B' here in the UK) and this version by Jimmy uses exactly the same tempo although background vocals have been juggled around somewhat - this is the business in terms of northern soul. Same can be said of his version of 'He Who Picks A Rose' (also recorded by Edwin Starr) a perfect piece of uptempo Motown that will set any respectful northern dance floor alight. This is one song on this set where the Funk Brothers reign supreme.

It's ironic that David Ruffin was lead singer on this next song when the Temptations took 'Beauty Is Only Skin Deep' to the top of the charts in 1966 and whilst this version is credible it isn't as strong as the original but fits in nicely with the rest of this CD. It was only during the last ten years that we discovered that 'All For You' the fabulous 1965 instrumental by Earl Van Dyke (Funk Bros) had been recorded as a vocal version with Marvin Gaye's version being the first to surface. Jimmy takes on a vocal version as 'Lucky Lucky Me' and I wonder who else recorded a version?

The last eleven tracks on this disc are unreleased masters a number of which re included below for your attention. Click on the links and judge for yourself. This CD will please connoisseurs and casual collectors alike and is a wonderful introduction to one of Motown's unsung hero's of the glory years at Hitsville. Finally, I had the pleasure of seeing Jimmy perform live against EdwinStarr/4 Tops/Temptations/Martha Reeves at a reunion in Manchester back in 1995 - to say that Jimmy stole the show with Edwin Starr is an understatement to say the least.

Rating 9/10

A selection of unreleased items from the vaults of Motown.
1  In the Neighborhood
2 Love Is A Hurtin' Thing
3 Shake Hands With A Dreamer
4 I Could Never Love Another (after loving you)
5 I Pray You Still Love Me
6 I Love The Way She Loves Me
7 East Side West Side
8 Change Your Mind