Motown
Motown - Motown
Michael McDonald
Release date: 2003-06-24
Audio CD
Adult Contemporary, Blue-Eyed Soul, Motown, Philly Soul, Pop, Pop-Soul, Pop/Rock, Pop/Rock Music, Popular Music, Rock, Rock/Pop, Soft Rock, Tribute Albums
1. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Michael McDonald, Whitfield, Norman
2. You Are Everything - Michael McDonald, Creed, Linda
3. Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Michael McDonald, Wonder, Stevie
4. I'm Gonna Make You Love Me - Michael McDonald, Gamble, Kenneth
5. Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing - Michael McDonald, Ashford, Nickolas
6. Reflections - Michael McDonald, Dozier, Lamont
7. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) - Michael McDonald, Holland, Brian
8. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Michael McDonald, Ashford, Nickolas
9. All in Love Is Fair - Michael McDonald, Wonder, Stevie
10. I Want You - Michael McDonald, Ross, A.
11. Distant Lover - Michael McDonald, Greene, S.
12. I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) - Michael McDonald, Wonder, Stevie
13. Since I Lost My Baby - Michael McDonald, Moore, Warren
14. Too High - Michael McDonald, Wonder, Stevie
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Motown
Date undefinedGood collection; funky and LOUD! Keeps me wide awake whenever I play it in the car.
Motown
Date undefinedAfter three mediocore albums in the 1990s. Michael McDonald chose to go back to his roots. Having been a long time admire of Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye as well as other artists he seems to top the originals.
Despite the fact that following the release of this album he had been ridiculed on TV (Family Guy), moviesThe 40-Year-Old Virgin (Unrated Full Screen Edition) and the popular Internet series Yacht Rock he doesn't seem to mind at all and that's why he did a second one. Don't let the cover fool you, there is an earlier American pressing.
Motown
Date undefinedAs a child growing up in the 1960s, I have memories of us kids sitting in the back seat of the family car and listening to "The Motown Sound" on the car's AM radio. Berry Gordy, Jr.'s Motown Records empire dominated AM radio playlists in the sixties, and you didn't have to wait very long to hear a Motown song. Dad always drove, Mom rode shotgun and us kids were all in the backseat. We had a lot of fun back in those days, and the world seemed dependable and carefree. The sweet and soulful "Motown Sound" made it all that much better.
Michael McDonald takes us back to Motown's glory days and the 1960s and 70s with his excellent album, Motown (2003). Not every singer could do a Motown tribute album like this, but Michael not only does a respectable job here, he gives a lot of these songs a lift right into the 21st century. It's a wonderful tribute! Now, some of you will say that the original versions are better, and I'll be the first to admit that in most cases that's true, but that's not really "what's going on" here. This is Michael McDonald doing an album of updated versions of Motown songs (although most of the arrangements are true to the originals). The production is pristine, full of pop orchestration and soulful female backing vocals just like the original Motown, and in most instances the only difference between the songs on this album and the originals is that Michael is doing the singing. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Ain't No Mountain High Enough and Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing are both notable, but certainly not the only highlights here. Stevie Wonder's All In Love Is Fair gets an emotionally soulful interpretation from Michael and sounds great, even rivaling the original. The cover of Marvin Gaye's I heard It Through The Grapevine is excellent, and I like this heartfelt version of The Temptations' Since I Lost My Baby, too.
No, these aren't the originals, but if you like Michael McDonald and you like Motown, you get both with "Motown". Plus a trip back to a magical time in popular music history.
