Motown Chartbusters V.7-12 CD - Import

An eccentric but somewhat valuable way to build or complement a Motown collection, the box set Motown Chartbusters, Vols. 7-12 collects the final six volumes in the soul champion's hit series (all of them also available separately). It may not be the most economical way to buy Motown, but the Chartbusters series does offer an intriguing blend of big hits and plentiful obscurities (the latter of which Motown rarely reissues in full). For every oft-heard classic from Marvin Gaye, the Jackson 5, Diana Ross, or Stevie Wonder, the box also offers excellent rarities like Syreeta's "Spinnin' and Spinnin'" (one among many here from Syreeta) or Tata Vega's "Get It Up for Love," or Yvonne Fair's "It Should Have Been Me." Since this six-disc set deals with more '70s and '80s acts than the first one, the ratio of classics to subpar tracks is a bit lower, but it also has more rare material. ~ John Bush

Six discs stuffed with 99 fantastic hits the world's greatest soul label, Motown, scored in the '70s & '80s. Includes classics by Diana Ross, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Junior Walker & The All Stars, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Jimmy Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Billy Preston, Rick James, Teena Marie, The Commodores and more! Comes packaged a full color, CD-sized slipcase box with each disc in a separate standard jewelcase. 1999 release.