Motown: The Classic Years

RELEASE
August 29, 2000
LABEL
Motown
GENRES
Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Motown, Early R&B

Album Review

Motown: The Classic Years collects two discs' worth of highlights from the label's heyday in the '60s and '70s, including 23 number one hits. Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Tears of a Clown," the Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?," Edwin Starr's "War," and Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" are among the Motown standards included on this collection, along with songs from Gladys Knight & the Pips, Stevie Wonder, Jr. Walker & the All-Stars, Mary Wells, the Four Tops, and the Spinners. The Classic Years' double-disc size allows it to collect more hits than a single-disc compilation would, yet it's more easily manageable than a multi-disc box set would be for casual fans. Overall, this collection doesn't offer anything rare or unique for Motown diehards, but for listeners who just want a solid collection of some of pop music's finest moments, it's just the ticket.
Heather Phares, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Money (That's What I Want)
  2. Shop Around
  3. Please Mr. Postman
  4. Do You Love Me
  5. You Beat Me to the Punch
  6. Fingertips, Pt. 2 [Live]
  7. (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave
  8. My Guy
  9. Where Did Our Love Go
  10. Dancing in the Street
  11. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)
  12. My Girl
  13. Shotgun
  14. Stop! In the Name of Love
  15. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
  16. The Tracks of My Tears
  17. Uptight (Everything's Alright)
  18. Going to a Go-Go
  19. Ain't Too Proud to Beg
  20. What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
  21. You Can't Hurry Love
  22. Reach Out (I'll Be There)
  23. Jimmy Mack
  24. Your Precious Love
  25. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
  26. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
  27. My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)
  28. I Can't Get Next to You
  29. I Want You Back
  30. Someday We'll Be Together
  31. Up the Ladder to the Roof
  32. Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)
  33. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
  34. It's a Shame
  35. War
  36. Tears of a Clown
  37. What's Going On
  38. Smiling Faces Sometimes
  39. Papa Was a Rollin' Stone
  40. Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)