Various Artists
'Late Night Motown'
Universal Music
UK Release date 6th March 2006


The opening track on this latest compilation is enough to get you hooked. This new Motown CD has 18 cracking tracks to whet one's appetite and whilst the majority of them are readily available on other CD's, there is no getting away from the fact that they have all been carefully selected with late night love in mind - and boy do they all fit the bill!. Opening with one the Temptations' finest flip sides 'What Love Has Joined Together' featuring a sterling performance from the late Eddie Kendricks on lead vocals over a fabulous orchestral arrangement, together with that instantly recognizable background harmonies as only the Temps can deliver. Another flip side follows with 'Where Did You Go' from the Four Tops dating back to 1965. How this track found itself relegated to a flip side I will never know - but let's not go over old ground here.

Last year we were treated to one of Motown's finest compilation's here in the UK after Universal Music delivered the long awaited two CD set from diva Kim Weston complete with unreleased recordings, and to be honest I rated it as the finest Motown compilation in years. From that CD Kim's 1964 UK Stateside recording of 'A Little More Love' continues the roll here and for those reading this review who have neither heard this great song, or seen a video of Kim in action, should click the link at the foot of this page to access our streaming clip of her performing this very song.

Fans of the legendary Funk Brothers work need look no further than sampling more of their genius work as instrumentalists by checking out some neat guitar riffs and bass lines on Barbara McNair's mid tempo 'Steal Away Tonight' which was included on her own anthology set last year too. Barbara never quite achieved the same success as other ladies at Motown but this sultry offering just oozes pure sex!. It's not often we are treated to songs from some of Motown's lesser known artists and whilst northern soul fans will be well aware of the work of the Fantastic Four from their waxings on sister Motown label Ric-Tic (and later on Motown itself) the group surely must rate as one of the great escapes from the Motown hit machine yet one listen to their infectious 'To Share Your Love' is enough to convince even a novice of their vocal ability and standout delivery - in fairness the overall arrangement itself is a credit to Motown.

The visit to these shores in a couple of months time from the legendary Gladys Knight will be music to our ears and she must surely rate as one soul music's finest voices of all time, as yet again we find another lost flip side in 'Since I Lost You' from 1967 containing an opening guitar riff  that would destroy Mike Tyson at 100 yards, before settling into another one of those sexy and sultry Motown mid tempo killer tracks. The late Marvin Gaye enjoys two sides on the CD firstly with a duet with the late and much missed Tammi Terrell with 'If This World Were Mine' again 1967 and the very different yet appealing 'Why Did I Choose You' which is a delightful heavily orchestrated piece of magic that would make perfect late night listening for those discerning radio stations sensible enough to pick up on it.

A couple of well known singles follow with Smokey Robinson's 'Baby Baby Don't Cry' the fabulous 'Does You Mama Know About Me' from the much underrated Bobby Taylor & the Vancouver's, and equally so The Originals with their 1969 Marvin Gaye written 'Baby I'm For Real' (also check out Sherrick's great version of this song from 1987). No Motown compilation would be complete without some form of inclusion from the great Ruffin brothers, and in this case there's a song from both David and Jimmy. David delivers the heart rendering 'I Let Love Love Slip Away' and you know its a fact of life that everytime you hear him sing, you almost believe its still the Temptations singing and a solo career from 1968 onwards took away none of the magic he produced during the previous six years. If I had to choose one song to convince me to buy this excellent CD then the inclusion of a David Ruffin song  would do it!.

Whilst brother Jimmy Ruffin never quite managed the same success as David, he had to achieve HIS success as a solo artist during the glory years, and let's be fair he recorded some potent material for Motown during the 60's and fans will always regard him as one of the labels major names. Last, but by no means least, we have a delightful track from the late Eddie Kendrick's with 'Never Gonna Leave You'  which would, (and still does) fit in with the best soul music of the early to mid eighties where this kind of semi ballad ruled supreme. Eddie, together with the aforementioned David Ruffin will always remain THE sound of The Temptations for millions of Motown fans worldwide. This review started with the vocals of Eddie, and also ends with him - brilliant!!

Rating 10/10 (faultless)

Kim Weston video clip