MOTOWN IN MONO

If you remember hearing new Motown records on the AM dial back in the ‘60s, then you were hearing the mono versions of hits by The Supremes, Miracles and Four Tops. To celebrate the label’s 60th, Motown is going back to mono.

A five-LP set comprising The Four Tops’ Reach Out (1967), The Marvelettes’ Sophisticated Soul (1968), The Miracles’ You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me (1963), Diana Ross & The Supremes’ Reflections (1968), and The Temptations’ The Temptations Sing Smokey (1965) will be released 11/8 in a limited edition of 2,500 copies.

The source is the original analog tapes.

“There was a big reason why mono was a great thing for Motown—the emphasis then was radio,” says remastering engineer Kevin Gray. “They did special mixes in mono, intended for radio, and those are the ones we grew up listening to.

“I'm approaching these Motown albums by trying to keep everything balanced within the same framework. Within an album, I try to find a level that is representative of what the album was supposed to be, and then I match everything as closely as I can to that with EQ. I certainly don't find any need to add further compression. The tapes have held up well. I'm always pleased when that happens. It's been very rewarding to work on them, and they sounded very, very good.”

The albums are available for preorder from The Sound of Vinyl’s global online stores.