This latest offering from Motown/Universal is aimed fairly and squarely at the nations dancefloors concentrating on the full 12" versions (where applicable) of a selection of the labels output during the 'disco' years of the 1970's and 80's. In recent years the soul of the 70/80's has become in demand on the modern soul scene with songs that wouldn't have seen the light of day at the time of release have now found there way onto rare groove and northern soul playlists.

A whole new era of dance and soul erupted during the early 70's and 80's with labels like Philly International/TK/Glades/Soul Train etc. setting the standards for black soul music to hit the nations dancefloors and the rest as they say is history. Despite all the flack that the world 'disco' conjures up, the reality is the vast majority of it was class music with great melodies and arrangements and have stood the test of time over nearly three decades. Although at this point Motown had moved over to Los Angeles that didn't mean that they didn't have their finger on the pulse and Gordy was quick to ensure that his mighty music empire was up there amongst the best and a number of his artists are as much a part of the disco era as say Barry White/Tavares/Van McCoy etc.

The earliest example of Motown disco dates back to 1973 when the groups most successful male group The Temptations threw down the most wicked dance groove of the day with their single 'Law Of The Land' featuring the vocals lead of Dennis Edwards. Issued here in the UK as a single in two parts this CD features the whole version. Staying wit the Temptations their then recently departed Eddie Kendrick's embarked on a solo career with Motown producing some insatiable grooves kicking off with 'Keep On Truckin' which enjoys a lengthy 7:57 performance from the man with the falsetto voice. Also, check our Eddie's gorgeous 'Date With The Rain' which always reminds me of Billy Griffin's similar titled hit song of the early eighties.

Motown giants Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye played an equal important role in the success of Motown's dance grooves and fans of Ms Ross will be particularly pleased at the inclusion of the full versions of 'Love Hangover' and 'The Boss' both of which were massive tracks for me personally at the time of release and still cook up a storm even to this day on my classic 'Gold' events. Marvin on the other hand took a slower groove with 'Got To Give It Up' in 1977 to the top of the charts and an appearance on Soul Train gave the single a massive push (watch out for the clip one of these days).

By the end of 1970's with disco hanging onto grim death across the globe great songs were still being recorded and the highlight of this set has to be the gorgeous Thelma Houston with her 'Saturday Night, Sunday Morning' which still sounds as fresh today as it did then. Thelma had recorded other songs for Motown during the late sixties and also for the ABC/Dunhill group as well as that duet with the late Jr Walker. Included here is Thelma's rendition of 'Don't Leave Me This Way' (by far the better version) formerly a hit for Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes is found on disc 2.

Motown needed some serious funk by the end of the seventies and were rewarded with a vast array of hits for the next few years by the late Rick James who with his Stone City Band, and Mary Jane Girls delivered some of the most infectious funk ever to emanate out of Motown with 'Big Time' and 'You and I' being popular and you can enjoy Rick in action by visiting our video section from the home page of this site. The legendary ex Impression member Jerry Butler enjoyed some releases on Motown during the eighties and his 'I Love To See You Dancin' whilst not his best song from his repertoire, does have that classic smooth 'Ice Man' magic although I feel the production was somewhat messy in places.

Teena Marie sprung up during the late seventies having initially recorded a duet with the aforementioned Rick James and continued to record on her own at Motown and her record 'Behind The Groove' was a fine example of what this lady could deliver. Again, have a look on our video page to see Teena in action from 1982. One of the most interesting songs on disc 2 has to be Carl Bean's gay anthem 'I Was Born This Way' which is simply brilliant and at long last the subject of sexual preferences was out in the open which is something that Motown had obviously avoided during their glory years. This song is now well and truly established on the modern soul scene and quite deservedly so sounding so much like a Salsoul release.

Final mention to the last track has to be for the fabulous songwriter/producer and artist in his own right the legendary Willie Hutch whose northern soul releases are as much a part of the scene as Motown itself, and whilst Willie's main work for the label during the seventies centered around his blaxploitation soundtrack's such as 'The Mack' and 'Foxy Brown' his infectious 'In and Out' was an essential piece of dancefloor magic that no self respecting DJ should have been without. 'Motown Disco' also includes music from Switch, Platinum Hook, 21st Creation, Tata Vega, and The Originals making this double CD and LP a most worthy purchase although in reality the sixties fans may scoff at this.

Rating 8/10