Occasional Albums Thing 019 - Various Artists “Tamla Motown Presents 20 Mod Classics” Volumes 1 & 2

Imagine, if you will, your narrator in late 1979 or early 1980. We were coming through to the tail end of the initial rush of the Punk years, my favourite band was unquestionably The Jam, a film had been released based on The Who’s “Quadrophenia”, band’s that had formed in the wake of The Jam and at times been the support acts at their gigs were coalescing into what was being tagged the Mod Revival (New Hearts/Secret Affair, Purple Hearts, The Chords, Squire). We talked in this very blog how Paul Weller had titled The Jam’s third album “All Mod Cons” purely to get the word Mod on an album cover (https://www.whiterabbitrecords.co.uk/blog/read_204711/2023-albums-thing-188-the-jam-all-mod-cons.html) and it piqued my interest. By the time the first volume of “…20 Mod Classics” was released to cash-in on the Mod Revival, I was fully on board with it.

The importance of Tamla Motown, and soul music in general, to the great British record buying public cannot be underestimated. I cannot count how many times while I’ve been DJ’ing I’ve heard the line “Got any Motown ?” (on one occasion it was asked while I was actually playing Motown !). That Berry Gordy’s independent label group (Tamla Motown as a label only exists outside the USA, in America it was a group of imprints including Tamla, Gordy, Motown, Soul, V.I.P and many others) from Detroit, Michigan made such a huge impression on British teenagers in the 1960’s and beyond is some story. Until Dave Godin formed the Tamla Motown Appreciation Society and Dusty Springfield presented the Ready Steady Go “The Sounds of Motown” Special (featuring Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Supremes, The Temptations, Martha & The Vandellas, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, all of whom had had US #1 hits) this was largely underground music, but music well known to London’s Mods.

When 17/18 year old me got hold of these two compilations I was genuinely ecstatic. This was the music the real Mods listened and danced to and it wasn’t the Motown you got to hear at wedding receptions or school discos. Some of this stuff was genuinely obscure as far as the mainstream was concerned. Track 1, side 1 of Volume 1 is what has become my favourite Motown tune but you don’t hear Marvin Gaye’s “Can I Get A Witness” played too much do you ? It’s a relentless gospel styled call and response stormer that just keeps on climbing. This is what Soul music is, the meshing together of the religious and the secular, gospel music allied to rhythm and blues. When I found an original 1963 Stateside 7” of it in a bunch of records that came my way via the shop I was a very, very happy fellow.

The other participants from that RSG Motown special are all here too; Smokey & The Miracles with the strangely joyful “I Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying”; The (no hit) Supremes (as they were known around Hitsville) give us the thumping “Back In My Arms Again” (later covered by The Jam); The Temptations would have had dance moves as intricate as their harmonies to accompany “Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)”; Martha & The Vandellas contribute big hits and the lesser known Mod favourite “In My Lonely Room” (covered by Mod gods The Action); “Little” Stevie Wonder is represented by the novelty “Hey Harmonica Man”.

All that and we haven’t even mentioned The Marvelettes (“You're My Remedy”), The Velvelettes (“Lonely, Lonely Girl Am I”), Jr. Walker & The All Stars (the mighty “Roadrunner”), Brenda Holloway (with the sultry “When I’m Gone”), the Detroit Spinners (“I'll Always Love You”) and Kim Weston (“Helpless”). There’s big hits included too with Mary Wells and The Temptations “My Guy/Girl” combo and the Four Tops sensational “I Can’t Help Myself”.

Motown was a hit machine. Berry Gordy really wanted to win over White America. He had an eye on the supper club crowd but settled for their teenagers sending streams of his records shooting up the charts. Take a look at the list of singles the company released during 1964 and 1965 (https://motownjunkies.co.uk/index/#1964) and it’s quite astonishing that this little independent R&B label from Detroit could conquer the world like that. The basic sound of Northern Soul is others trying to emulate Motown. The most expensive Northern Soul record is a Motown recording. Heavy Rock bands have covered Motown, Punk bands have covered Motown. The superlatives and accolades go on and on but ultimately they “simply” made fucking great records.

Marvin Gaye “Can I Get A Witness” - https://youtu.be/fZEIslztUeo?si=KQg6zPbe4yJFSy6g