Hit & Run! More Motown Guys - Various Artists

A compilation of rare and previously unissued Motown recordings. It summons the work of artists, familiar and unfamiliar, committed to tape at the company’s headquarters at 2648 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit between 1961 and 1968 – arguably Motown’s golden era. Among the familiar names here are Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Marv Johnson, the Temptations and Four Tops – mainstays whose unique talent, when coupled with that of the company’s in-house songwriters, musicians and producers, empowered Motown during the 20th Century, and continues to ensure its legacy in the 21st. Among the unfamiliar? Michael Thomas, for one; Johnny Earl, for another. And the truth is that some of the others here – the Hit Pack, the Serenaders, Gino Parks – are barely known outside the circle of Motown aficionados. Of this collection’s 25 tracks, 15 have never been available before, but the music is surely as engaging and illuminating as anything already out in the world. Sadly, nobody can be quite certain who within Motown was advocating for these lesser-known artists, or why the music failed to capture sufficient votes in the company’s storied Quality Control meetings every Friday – or at least the pre-meeting approval of the QC queen, Janie Bradford.