Various All Turned On! Motown Instrumentals 1960-1972 (CD)

(Ace Records) 24 tracks

A stellar lineup takes the spotlight on this collection of soul, jazz, funk and other groovy Motown instrumentals, which includes six tracks otherwise available only as digital downloads and five masters previously unreleased in any format. 

Assembled by the creators of our popular "Motown Girls" and "Motown Guys" series, the CD begins with three absolute crowd-pleasers: San Remo Golden Strings' "Festival Time," a Northern Soul favorite that hit the U.K. charts in 1971, five years after its original U.S. release; a version of the Supremes' "Come See About Me" by Choker Campbell's Big Band; and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" by Earl Van Dyke & the Soul Brothers, a group that was known behind the scenes as the Funk Brothers. The five previously unreleased tracks are Choker Campbell's groovy stomper "The Break Down," Earl Van Dyke's organ, vibraphone and guitar-led "L.B.J.," saxophonist Frank Morelli's jazzy "Defunk Brothers," "Little Mack's Shuffle" by the Morrocco Muzik Makers featuring the tasteful work of guitarist Harold Williams and "Great Google Mook," a terrific honker 'n' twanger by the Mysterions. 

 Other highlights include trumpeter Jonah Jones' funky and almost unrecognizable arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" and a great version of Hugh Masekela's "Grazing In The Grass," recorded by Stevie himself under his pseudonym Eivets Rednow; "I-I-Bon #1" by Nick & the Jaguars, a driving 1960 rocker; "Double 0 And A Half" by the Agents, a band that included members of Jr. Walker's All Stars, and "Good Rockin'" by Jr. Walker & the All Stars themselves. As usual with our Motown compilations, the package includes notes and track comments by Hitsville historian Keith Hughes, as well as photos of many of the featured artists.