Ivy Stone

Memphis has always been a studio town, where making hit records looked easy. An unknown Elvis could walk into Sun Studios and cut a side, while Willie Mitchell worked his magic around the corner at the Hi Records studio. This vast studio ecosystem meant that even when Stax Records folded in 1975, everybody still knew somebody who could get them into a real recording facility. The city’s largest player in the business was gone, but the possibilities that it introduced were not.

To mark 60 years, Motown Unreleased 1969 boasts 60 tracks, all recorded in 1969 and left unheard – until now. The label’s heaviest hitters are all here, including Diana Ross and The Supremes with their rendition of the Ron Miller/Orlando Murden standard “For Once in My Life,” Gladys Knight and The Pips (“You Took Me This Far (Take Me All the Way)),” Jackson 5 (“What’s So Good About Goodbye”), and Marvin Gaye (“I’ll Take Care of Business”). Three tracks each can be heard from The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, and Jr. Walker and The All-Stars, and four each from Edwin Starr and Bobby Taylor.