Trojan Motor City Reggae (2008)

Product Summary Label: TROJAN RECORDS/SBME UPC: 00060768056121 Release Date: 7/18/2006 Buy.com Sku: 202714387 Item#: M2YGQQ Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. You've Really Got A Hold On Me - Derrick Harriott ~ Various Artists 2. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home) - Cornell Campbell ~ Various Artists 3. Further You Look, The Less You See, The - John Holt ~ Various Artists 4. I Want A love I Can See - Jackie Edwards ~ Various Artists 5. Way You Do The Things You Do, The - Eric Donaldson ~ Various Artists 6. Girl's Alright With Me, The - Derrick Harriott ~ Various Artists 7. Since I Lost You - The Techniques ~ Various Artists 8. Baby I Need Your Loving - Bob Andy ~ Various Artists 9. Tracks Of My Tears, The - Pat Kelly ~ Various Artists 10. My Girl Has Gone (When You Were Mine) - Ken Parker ~ Various Artists 11. Put Yourself In My Place - Ken Lazarus ~ Various Artists 12. This Old Heart Of Mine - Delroy Wilson ~ Various Artists 13. My Girl - Slim Smith ~ Various Artists 14. It's Growing - Jimmy Riley ~ Various Artists 15. Since I Lost My Baby - Bob Andy ~ Various Artists 16. Don't Look Back - Buster Brown ~ Various Artists 17. Can't Help Myself - Delroy Wilson ~ Various Artists Disc 2 Song Title Sample 1. It's The Same Old Song - Delroy Wilson ~ Various Artists 2. Born To Love You - The Heptones ~ Various Artists 3. Everybody Needs Love - Delroy Wilson ~ Various Artists 4. Ain't That Peculiar - Delroy Wilson ~ Various Artists 5. My World Is Empty Without You - The Heptones ~ Various Artists 6. Place In The Sun, A - Slim Smith ~ Various Artists 7. Get Ready - Delroy Wilson ~ Various Artists 8. Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got - Pat Kelly ~ Various Artists 9. Love I Saw in You, The (Just a Mirage) - The Uniques ~ Various Artists 10. Whole World Is A Stage, The - Roman Stewart/The Tennors ~ Various Artists 11. You're My Everything - The Techniques ~ Various Artists 12. That's The Way Love Is - The Uniques ~ Various Artists 13. You've Made Me So Very Happy - Alton Ellis ~ Various Artists 14. Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing - Bob & Marcia ~ Various Artists 15. I Love You Madly - Buster Brown ~ Various Artists 16. I Wish It Would Rain - Pat Kelly ~ Various Artists Disc 3 Song Title Sample 1. For Once In My Life - Slim Smith ~ Various Artists 2. Don't Know Why (I Love You) - Desi Young ~ Various Artists 3. Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday - John Holt ~ Various Artists 4. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Alton Ellis ~ Various Artists 5. Message From A Black Man - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires ~ Various Artists 6. Slave - Derrick Harriott ~ Various Artists 7. Ball Of Confusion - A Darker Shade Of Black ~ Various Artists 8. War - A Darker Shade Of Black ~ Various Artists 9. Onion Song, The - Bob & Marcia ~ Various Artists 10. I'll Be There - Barry Biggs/The Dragonaires ~ Various Artists 11. God Bless Whoever Sent You - Hopeton Lewis ~ Various Artists 12. It's A Shame - Alton Ellis ~ Various Artists 13. Just My Imagination - Norman Brown ~ Various Artists 14. (It's The Way) Nature Planned It - Ken Boothe/B.B. Seaton ~ Various Artists 15. Touch Me In The Morning - John Holt ~ Various Artists 16. Let's Get It On - Lloyd Chambers ~ Various Artists 17. Your Kiss Is Sweet - Inner Circle ~ Various Artists   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info On this well-selected 2006 three-disc box set, Trojan presents reggae/rocksteady versions of Motown classics. Among the many highlights of the 50-track collection are John Holt's take on "The Further You Look, The Less You See," which stays close to its American counterpart until the jaunty chorus kicks in, and the Heptones' groove-laden version of "My World Is Empty Without You." More than anything, this compilation connects the dots between 1960s Detroit and Kingston, making it ideal for listeners who appreciate both vintage R&B and old-school reggae. American R&B and soul had a huge influence on Jamaican popular music in the late 1960s, with artists like Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions, James Brown and others playing a hand through their releases on the unique development of late period ska into rocksteady. Jamaican singers and musicians were particularly taken by the material coming out on Detroit's Motown Records, and as this three-disc, 50-track collection shows, Motown's influence was deep and pervasive. The tracks collected here certainly sound familiar, featuring songs made famous by the Four Tops, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye and other Motown stars, but at the same time these versions feel eerily shifted into a parallel universe that places Motown' s studios in Kingston instead of Detroit. It's as if everything in the world has been turned upside down by the peculiar Jamaican approach to rhythm (which would eventually codify into true reggae), and songs like the Miracles' "You Really Got a Hold on Me" (sung here by Derrick Harriott), while they manage to retain the feel and tone of the original American version, also sound strikingly different. It all makes for a fascinating journey through a sort of alternative Motown universe. Clear highlights include "The Way You Do the Things You Do" by Jackie Edwards, Slim Smith's poignant "My Girl," Busty Brown's "Don't Look Back," the Heptones' airy "Born to Love You," Delroy Wilson's ragged, garage-sounding "Ain't That Peculiar," Pat Kelly's pretty take on "I Wish It Would Rain," and Alton Ellis' stirring "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)." Not everything works translated into a Jamaican approach, obviously (Lloyd Charmers' try at Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," for instance, sounds more odd than anything else; it really is difficult to imagine anyone but Gaye singing it), but this set is never anything less than interesting, and at times it's downright fascinating. ~ Steve Leggett   Technical Info Release Date : 07/18/2006 Original Release Date : 2008 Catalog ID : 05612 Label : Trojan (Cityhall) Number of Discs : 3 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00060768056121    Related Videos Christmas In The Heart : ... A Cherry Cherry Christmas... In Search of Solid Ground... Draw The Line: David Gray