The Motown Box [Box] (CD - 2005)

Given the tremendous volume, range, and generally superior quality of Motown's output throughout the 1960s, it is difficult to find a satisfyingly comprehensive collection, and fans are easily in danger of finding themselves neck-deep in the sea of compilations flooding the market. The four-disc HITSVILLE U.S.A. box and THE MOTOWN STORY, VOL. 1: THE SIXTIES are good bets, but 2005's beautifully compiled four-disc THE MOTOWN BOX matches--and arguably surpasses--those collections.

In addition to containing nearly every essential chart hit by the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, Martha & the Vandellas, and Little Stevie Wonder--not to mention classics by the likes of Mary Wells, the Elgins, the Spinners, and the Marvellettes--THE MOTOWN BOX boasts extended stereo remixes of the majority of singles. Audiophiles used to the mono mixes will relish the rich sound here, and Motown fanatics will have to own the fourth disc, which contains rarities and B-sides. These bonuses heighten the appeal on this already outstanding and thorough collection of some of the best pop music of the 20th century. minimize