Various Artists - A Cellarful Of Motown!… A Northern Soul Love Affair [West Grand]

Format: LP in printed sleeve.

The title says it all: A Cellarful Of Motown! …A Northern Soul Love Affair.

West Grand has been created to explore the deep archives of the mighty Motown label, thanks to a licensing agreement with Universal Music.

West Grand's first LP fuses two musical religions: Motown and Northern Soul.

In some ways, they might seem like opposing worlds. Motown was known as Hitsville for producing hit after hit, while Northern Soul's passion is fueled by the constant search for the unknown and the hidden.
The 16 tracks included here — in what is, incredibly, the first multi-artist Motown vinyl album released globally in 40 years — connect those two universes. All were recorded in the 1960s. None were released at the time, despite being perfect examples of the sublime magic created by Berry Gordy's almost visionary team of singers, songwriters, producers, arrangers, and musicians in that small recording studio on West Grand Boulevard, Detroit.

The liner notes, written by Motown expert Adam White, confirm how incredibly productive that studio was, often operating 24/7.
As a result, a great deal of sublime music remained unreleased. It would have remained unknown and forgotten in tape boxes had it not been for the detective work of soul fans turned researchers. That is the power of Northern Soul. Many were DJs and collectors who tracked down cassette copies or acetates (some salvaged from dumpsters, on the verge of destruction). Others, like Paul Nixon — founder of the A Cellarful Of Motown! CD series, which inspired this album — insisted so much with the Motown gatekeepers that they finally gained access to the forbidden realm.

In recent years, all the tracks included here have seen the light of day: some in bootleg editions, others in legitimate seven-inch singles, some on CD, and one solely in digital format. This album presents several of these recordings on vinyl for the first time. All have been remastered and have never sounded so good.

As a tribute to the creators of Motown music and the passion of the rarest soul, West Grand believes it has shaped a classic.