Various Artists 100% MOTOWN - '60S

100% Motown '60s is a short, budget-priced compilation offering just a few of the label's hits from that decade; considering that this decade was the label's heyday, it almost seems a bit unjust to offer so few of its many great singles. The Supremes' "Baby Love," the Four Tops' "Reach Out, I'll Be There," and Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" are all classic singles and great choices for this collection, although some fans may gripe that Gladys Knight & the Pips' version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is included here instead of Marvin Gaye's. Gaye is represented by "Pride and Joy," a great song in its own right but just not as striking as his "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Likewise, the tracks from the Marvelettes, the Temptations, and Smokey Robinson & the Miracles are some of their best, yet not quite the definitive choices one would expect on a collection like this. Trying to sum up Motown's golden age in nine songs is a fool's errand, and 100% Motown '60s isn't quite up to the task, but the songs it does include are good enough to make it an enjoyable, if brief, collection. ~ Heather Phares

• Format: CD
• Genre: R&B