Track Listing

1. Whatcha gonna do - Johnson, Terry
2. Jamie - Holland, Eddie
3. Little big for Sandy - Petersen, Paul
4. Cheatin' is telling on you - Lollipops
5. Crying in the night - Monitors (2)
6. I miss you baby - Johnson, Marv (1)
7. Cos you know me - Robin, Rick & Him
8. I got a feeling - Randolph, Barbara
9. Suzie - Johnson, Terry
10. You need me - Lewis Sisters (1)
11. Can't stop looking for my baby - Fantastic Four
12. Sweeter as the days go by - Gaye, Marvin
13. Now is the time for love - Marvelettes
14. It's been a long long time - Elgins
15. It's growing - Taylor, Bobby & The Vancouvers
16. Steal away tonight - McNair, Barbara
17. Hungry for love - San Remo Strings
18. I like everything about you - Jackson, Chuck
19. Never say no to your baby - Hit Pack
20. Day by day or never - Clark, Chris (1)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34344 in Music
• Released on: 2002-04-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .21 pounds
• Running time: 57 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The fourth volume in the brilliant Tamla Motown Big Hits and Hard to Find Classics series boasts yet another scintillating selection plucked from the Motown vaults. This time, the tracklisting--spanning the years 1961 to 1970--features fewer familiar hits in favour of a generous helping of highly prized rarities.

Probably the best known track here is Barbara Randolph’s sensually sultry version of the HDH composition "I Got a Feeling", originally recorded by The Four Tops. Other comparatively well-known tracks include Eddie Holland’s "Jamie", which owes more to the late 50s/early 60s doo-wop pop style than the later trademark "Sound of Young America", and The Marvelettes swoonsome In Full Bloom album cut "Now Is The Time For Love".

In keeping with Hitsville’s seemingly inexhaustible supply of riches, the more obscure sides are just as thrilling. The Lewis Sisters were known as "the singing teachers" and the spectral "You Need Me" is decorated by drop-dead gorgeous vocals that build to a tumultuous Wagnerian chorus. Another consummate vocalist is Barbara McNair, a genuine diva. Her two Motown albums, The Real Barbara McNair and Here I Am, sold poorly at the time (the late 60s) but are now collectors items, as evinced by the sophisticated swing of Steal Away Tonight. Further proof that Motown is the greatest soul/pop label of all time.--Chris King

Customer Reviews

A Must For Motown Collectors
A well thought out selection greets us in the fourth of the Big Hits and Hard to Find Classics series, the hits are known to collectors of Motown, but it's the "Hard To Find Classics", that will draw the punters to this collection.
First we have both sides of Terry Johnson's November 1969 Gordy single, then that rarity on Motown, a white pop singer, Paul Peterson's August 1968 single on Motown.
Next up we find the Lollipops VIP single from October 1969, and amazingly the Rick, Him & Him, VIP single from June 1966. These alone make this CD, a must for collectors, but wait there's more.
We also have The Lewis Sisters (cult favourites in Britain) with their August 1965 VIP single, then the withdrawn Barbara McNair, Motown single from July 1967, "Steal Away Tonight"; this track alone is worth the price of the CD.
Next up the ever popular San Remo Strings, when are we going to get a "Complete Sessions" CD?
Nice to see the in demand March 1965 Soul label release from the Hit Pack.

Also worth the price of this CD are the previously un-issued tracks in the form of Marvin Gaye's "Sweeter As The Days Go By", a Frank Wilson original, but withdrawn single; and The Monitors "Crying In the Night".
Album cuts include Chris Clark from her "Soul Sounds" album, Chuck Jackson from his "Arrives!" album, and the Marvelettes, from their "In Full Bloom" album.
One small point though, and the reason it gets four instead of five stars; Barbara Randolph's "I Got A Feeling" appeared on the Original Vol. 1, and Eddie Holland's "Jamie" appeared on Vol. 2.
But for Motown collectors this is a "MUST HAVE" CD, plus lovers of sixties music, won't be disappointed too.

Rare Class 60's to 80's
If you are looking for commercial motown pop then this is not for you, but if like me you love soul music and classic rare motown sounds then this is for you. From the classic dance floor filler of Marv Johnson to the obscure hit's of Paul Peterson "A little bit for Sandy" very early sixties with a late 50's feel.Then we have the golden voice of Barbra McNair with a lovely swinging balad "Steal Away Tonight" and many many more. Definantly not to be labelled a "northern Soul" record allthough it does appeal to that fraternity (I am a big fan) this is a soul/motown connissuers record in my opinion surpassing the first three in this series by miles. Give it a try you won't be dissapointed it gets better and better with every play.

Strong On Hard To Find Classics
Spectrum have shown some enterprise with the Motown catalogue, and this series must have hit a winning formula to have reached Volume 4. The Big Hits make the releases sufficiently commercial to allow the inclusion of the Hard To Find Classics, which obviously appeal more to the collector.
This is the first of the series to have been compiled in the UK. Paul Nixon has been generous with the rarities, mostly unavailable or long deleted on CD prior to this collection, and has added valuable liner information. The Northern Soul fraternity has shown a preference for a certain kind of Motown sound and there are several prime examples here although its scope is thankfully wider.
Well known names include Marvin Gaye, whose cover of Motown-legend Frank Wilson lay in the vaults until 1979, and the Marvelettes, with an album track from 1969, but it is the more unsung heroes that flourish here. Barbara McNair, a former Playboy model and actress, smoulders wonderfully through Steal Away Tonight. The Elgins contribute It's Been A Long Long Time, a single that sounds so Motown-esque its origins as a Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne standard from the 1940s are completely buried. Eddie Holland (from Holland-Dozier-Holland) added a new vocal to a song assigned to Barrett Strong before he left the label, and had a Top Ten Billboard R&B hit with Jamie in 1961. A B-side by the forgotten ensemble Rick Robin And Him turns out to be a male/female duet (but as the writer is Richard Witte, I wonder if he is Rick, and the track is actually by Rick, Robin and Him?).
Barbara Randolph's classic I Got A Feeling gets a repeat airing (it was also on Volume 1) and the great Chris Clark closes the collection in fine style with a superb track from her first album, which makes one want the whole LP, Soul Sounds - and that's what these compilations are all about