Anxiously awaited by Marvelettes fans, Forever More, The Complete Motown albums Volume 2 is the final installment of this iconic vocal group's recorded output, as well as previously unreleased material uncovered in the legendary Tamla/Motown vaults. Picking up when the group had been whittled down to a trio consisting of Gladys Horton, Wanda Young and Katherine Anderon, this collection concludes when Ann Bogan replaced Horton.
Berry Gordy proudly proclaimed that the Motown sound was based on "rats, roaches, soul, guts and love." As his musical empire developed into the "Sound Of Young America" and entered the popular music mainstream expanding into upscale nightclubs and television, certain groups, notably the Marvelettes were left behind.
Arguably, even the Marvelettes album cover art and graphics were not as visually compelling as their label mates. The recording "Return Of The Marvelettes," actually only featured the voice of Wanda Young, displayed a cover portrait of three woman riding horseback, two with obscured faces. In Marc Taylor's "The Original Marvelettes Motown's Mystery Girl Group," Katherine Anderson stated "Smokey wanted me to do a photo shoot. I told them if I wasn't good enough to sing background on some of the songs, then I'm not good enough to do a cover shoot." The anonymous females were actually members of the Norman Whitfield inspired group, The Undisputed Truth. Ironically some of his unreleased tracks on the Marvelettees are to be found in this collection. As if to make up for past deficiencies, this four disc set is visually beautifully presented, featuring striking portraits of these attractive young singers in their heyday.
However, as another Motown label proudly proclaimed, "It's What's In the Grooves That Count's" and now at long last, previously hard to obtain later period Marvelettes vinyl albums have been gathered together in digital format for the first time, and what a marvel they are to listen to. "The Marvelettes" and "Sophisticated Soul" are presented here in both mono and stereo versions. "In Full Bloom" truly is the blossoming of the unique soulful Marvelettes transition to adult material. Sadly by this time, internal problems had ended the group as a performing entity. Smokey Robinson had hoped to work his musical magic on Wanda Young, married at the time to one of the Miracles, Bobby Rogers. At the last minute, it was decided that the project would be better promoted as a Marvelettes rrecording, but failed to capture the record buying public's attention. As further incentive to own a copy of this striking collection, an entire disk of 24 previously unreleased tracks sweetens the deal.
Given that this Hip-o Select collection is a limited edition of 5,000 copies it will soon sell out, much as "The Marvelettes Complete Motown Albums Volume One." The rather hefty price of this set it may not attract a new generation of casual curious fans to the Marvelettes legacy. However, finally having the complete recorded works of the Marvelettes available on compact disc now provides the voting members of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame to no longer have an excuse NOT to be fully aware of the important contribution these women made to the evolution of pop music during their career span.
In retrospect, the Marvelettes may have been shortchanged by not having been groomed for more wide acceptance in their heyday. Throughout their career, they maintained the "rats, roaches, soul, guts and love" energy that their fans loved them so much for in the first place, their ultimate badge of honor. May their memory and the musical magic they wove burn bright forever more!