Martha Reeves & The Vandellas "Spellbound" Lost & Found 62-72

Martha Reeves began her affiliation with Motown behind the scenes as an Artist and Repertoire assistant. As legend has it, some background vocalists were needed immediately and Reeves -- a local amateur herself -- used the opportunity to display not only her formidable talents, but those of her bandmates in the Del-Phis. This double-disc anthology presents a chronological overview of those formerly hidden nuggets with nearly four dozen previously unearthed songs spanning Reeves' and company's entire decade-long studio career. Interestingly, because of the combo's rather sudden kick-start, their earliest selections had been written for other established acts, such as the Supremes' ("Time Changes Things") and Stevie Wonder ("Someday, Someway"). The Vandellas' were supplied the best that Motown had to offer, and while all the artists shared the inimitable instrumental support of the Funk Brothers, more discerning and judicious was the matching of writers and producers to the talent. Perhaps Reeves' background in A&R helped her garner the attention of Holland-Dozier-Holland, whose magic touch can be heard on "All That Glitters Isn't Gold" and "If You Don't Want My Love," while the masterful William "Smokey" Robinson gets credit for providing the thoroughly groovy "That's How Bad" and the dark ballad "You Neglect Me." The team of Mickey Stevenson and Ivory Joe Hunter had a hand with the outstanding "Missing Lover," "I Got It Bad," [note: why weren't these crossover pop smashes?!] "I Can't Understand It," "Keep Stepping (Never Look Back)" and "You've Been on My Mind." Of similar value are "I'm So Glad You Belong to Me" -- which was a significant side for Edwin Starr and Blinky -- and another Holland-Dozier-Holland entry titled "Since You've Been Gone" that was also done to great effect by the Four Tops. Further essentials are the stereo mix of "Earthquake," as well as "Talking 'Bout Love" and "Let Me Fall in Love With You" -- a pair of early-'70s Stevie Wonder compositions, the latter co-penned by the one and only Syreeta. The collection's oversized 28-page liner booklet is packed with photos and discographical session information for true Motown-o-philes. Spellbound: Motown Lost & Found (2005) is limited to an edition of 5,000 copies and available online via www.hip-oselect.com. (Lindsay Planer, Allmusic)

trax disc 1:

01 Time Changes Things 02 Someday Someway 03 I Can't Take It 04 All That Glitters Isn't Gold 05 Coney Island 06 Spellbound 07 Too Far Gone To Save Myself 08 Missing Lover 09 It's Your Wedding Day 10 I Got It Bad 11 Too Much Pressure On My Heart 12 That's How Bad 13 I Can't Understand It 14 Keep Stepping (Never Look Back) 15 You Neglect Me 16 You've Been On My Mind 17 I Can't Help It (I Love You) 18 Save Some Room In Your Heart 19 Hold On I'm Coming 20 If You Don't Want My Love 21 Since You've Been Gone 22 Love Where Are You Hiding 23 For Once In My Life 24 Back-To-School Promo trax disc 2:

01 Looking In The Mirror 02 A Little Bit Of Heaven (On A Little Patch Of Earth) -03 Candy Man 04 I'm Glad You Belong To Me 05 It Must Be Him 06 Oh, I've Been Blessed 07 I Can't Erase The Way I Feel 08 I've Got To See You 09 Since You've Been Gone (Sweet, Sweet Baby) 10 Operation Teamwork 11 Take It Off 12 Full Speed Ahead 13 I'll Take A Raincheck (If Love Invites Me) 14 Is There A Place (In His Heart For Me) 15 In A World Of My Own 16 Standing Ovation 17 Earthquake 18 Build Your Love On A Strong Foundation 19 Where Was I (When Love Came By) 20 There's Love In This World 21 Let Me Fall In Love With You 22 Talking 'Bout Love 23 Ain't My Stuff Good Enough

...served by Gyro1966...