CD-Charts Position 1
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Spellbound: Lost & Found

by: Martha Reeves

Release Date July 16, 2008
Motown's valuable Lost And Found series has been handed over to Hip-O-Select, who have expanded the format to double-CD sets, in this case featuring the ten-year tenure with the Gordy label of the fabulous Martha and the Vandellas (latterly Martha Reeves and the Vandellas). An unfortunate side-effect of this for UK customers is that the releases are somewhat harder to find, especially since Hip-O-Select seem not to export directly to here, and often pricey. They are, however, well worth tracking down.

The Motown vaults have been heavily plundered in recent years and it is now too well known that the quality of the hitherto unreleased material is unbelievably high to warrant expounding yet again. I would like to think there is another ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
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The Ultimate Collection

by: Martha Reeves & the Vandellas

Release Date August 10, 1998
Martha Reeves And The Vandellas were rather over-shadowed by Diana Ross And The Supremes. It really isn't possible to compare Reeves voice with Ross as both had unique and individual qualities of their own. But it's not unfair to say that Martha Reeves could have had the same extravagently successful career as Diana Ross, had she ever really been given the chance.

Martha and the Vandellas were actually pumping out hits before Diana Ross and the Supremes had began their long series of million-selling chart toppers and top 10 smash hits. Whilst they were dubbed as "the no-hit" Supremes by fellow Motown colleagues at that time due to their lack of chart success, Martha and the Vandellas were recording classic after classic.

Come ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
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Dance Party & Watchout!

by: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Release Date April 22, 2002
The story goes that Martha Reeves was yanked from her secretarial chair to fill in when Mary Wells had cancelled a session at short notice when she and the Vandellas, named after Van Dyke Street in Detroit MI and the torch singer Della Reese, cut their first group record in 1963, though this incident is elsewhere placed in 1961, even before they had backed Marvin Gaye on his first hit, Stubborn Kind of Fellow. 
By 1965 when Dance Party came out the Vandellas were Betty Kelly and Rosalind Ashford, both from Detroit. It contained, along with their B-sides, the timeless classics Dancing In The Street (turned down by Kim Weston), Nowhere To Run and Wild One, all of which had already been big hit singles. One of the B-sides, There He Is (At My Door), dated ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
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Gold

by: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Release Date April 03, 2006
This generous two disc set includes all the hits, as well as a few British B-side favorites like 'Third Finger Left Hand' and 'Forget Me Not' among others.

Nobody could come close to Martha on hits like 'Heatwave', 'Dancing In The Street' and 'Nowhere To Run'. These recordings define the era and the Motown sound so well.

It is no secret that the group were overlooked towards the end of their stay at Motown. Nevertheless, many of the recordings are still noteworthy, including three tracks here from the excellent 'Black Magic' album.

This set ends with an unreleased bonus track, then four tracks from Martha's solo career. Two of which are from her lost classic album on MCA, one from her album on Arista and one from her disco ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
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Natural Resources & Black Magic

by: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Release Date April 22, 2002
By the time these albums were recorded, Martha and the Vandellas were no longer the attraction they had been in the sixties, but the albums are still worth a listen by committed Motown fans.

The first album, Natural resources, was released in 1970. Only one single was released in America (I should be proud, which failed to chart) and no single was released in Britain. I should be proud is an anti-Vietnam song, which Martha delivers with real feeling. There are some covers here, including Something (Beatles), Put a little love in your heart (Jackie De Shannon) and Everybody’s talking (Harry Nilsson), but most of the songs are original, though none are as impressive as I should be proud.

The second album, Black magic, was released in 1972. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
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Early Classics

by: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Release Date July 22, 1996
Since the release of this compilation the Motown catalogue has been extensively revamped and in the UK all the original Martha (Reeves) and the Vandellas albums have become available, along with some non-album bonus tracks, in the excellent 2 Classic Albums 1 CD series. Several of the other artists that were featured in the Early Classics series of the mid-nineties have been afforded the same treatment.

The purpose of the series was to present early album tracks and B-sides alongside some more familiar singles, and so has to some extent been superceded by the more recent releases, though they still serve as a useful low-priced introduction, and still feature some extra titles.

10 of the tracks here are now duplicated on the stereo CDs featuring ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Come and Get These Memories / Heatwave

by: Martha Reeves & the Vandellas

Release Date April 22, 2002
My copy of this CD was returned to Amazon. One track had an audio drop-out at the beginning of the song; another two tracks had a low hum on the back end of the fade out.

Another CD from the same series (Love Child / Supremes A' Go-Go) had similar faults.

Annoyed? YES!

CD-Charts Position 8
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Ridin' High & Sugar n' Spice

by: Martha Reeves & the Vandellas

Release Date April 22, 2002
These are the first two albums to be released following the name change at Motown's behest to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Both are usefully paired up on this 2 Classic Albums 1 CD, along with three bonus tracks.

Ridin' High reflected the changes happening within the group, at Motown and in the world. The album was one of their most popular and included the hit single Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone. This had been recorded in April 1967 with Vandellas Rosalind Ashford and Betty Kelly, but by the time the album came out in May 1968, Betty had been replaced by Martha's sister, Lois Reeves. Lois appeared on several other singles that preceded and followed up the album: Honey Chile (their last big Top Ten single), I Promise To Wait My Love, I Can't Dance To That Music ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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The Very Best of

by: Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

Release Date July 30, 2004
These are the first two albums to be released following the name change at Motown's behest to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Both are usefully paired up on this 2 Classic Albums 1 CD, along with three bonus tracks.

Ridin' High reflected the changes happening within the group, at Motown and in the world. The album was one of their most popular and included the hit single Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone. This had been recorded in April 1967 with Vandellas Rosalind Ashford and Betty Kelly, but by the time the album came out in May 1968, Betty had been replaced by Martha's sister, Lois Reeves. Lois appeared on several other singles that preceded and followed up the album: Honey Chile (their last big Top Ten single), I Promise To Wait My Love, I Can't Dance To That Music ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

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Universal Masters Collection

by: Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Release Date March 23, 2005
These are the first two albums to be released following the name change at Motown's behest to Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. Both are usefully paired up on this 2 Classic Albums 1 CD, along with three bonus tracks.

Ridin' High reflected the changes happening within the group, at Motown and in the world. The album was one of their most popular and included the hit single Love Bug Leave My Heart Alone. This had been recorded in April 1967 with Vandellas Rosalind Ashford and Betty Kelly, but by the time the album came out in May 1968, Betty had been replaced by Martha's sister, Lois Reeves. Lois appeared on several other singles that preceded and followed up the album: Honey Chile (their last big Top Ten single), I Promise To Wait My Love, I Can't Dance To That Music ... Read More: