{"title":"West Grand","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"a-cellarful-of-motown-a-northern-soul-love-affair","title":"A Cellarful Of Motown!… A Northern Soul Love Affair","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWest Grand\u003c\/strong\u003e has been set up to mine the deep vaults of mighty Motown courtesy of a license deal with Universal Music. The first \u003cem\u003eWest Grand LP\u003c\/em\u003e fuses two musical religions, Motown and Northern Soul.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn some ways they are unlikely bedfellows. Motown became known as Hitsville by churning out hit after hit, while Northern Soul passion is fired by a constant search for the unknown and the obscure. The 16 tracks here - on incredibly the first Motown various artists vinyl album released worldwide for 40 years - join the dots.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAll of them were recorded in the 1960s. None of them were released at the time, despite being prime examples of the sublime magic conjured up by Berry Gordy’s genius-like team of singers, writers, producers, arrangers, and musicians at that tiny little snakepit of a recording studio on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMotown\u003c\/strong\u003e authority Adam White’s album sleeve notes confirm just how productive that studio was. It often ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a result, lots of the most sublime music ever made was somehow rejected for release. It would have stayed unknown and unloved in tape boxes if it had not been for detective work by Soul aficionados turned detectives. That’s Northern Soul power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMany were DJs and collectors tracking down cassette copies or acetates (some of them found in rubbish skips and about to be destroyed). Others, notably Paul Nixon, the founder of the CD series \u003cem\u003eA Cellarful Of Motown!\u003c\/em\u003e which inspired this album, badgered the Motown gatekeepers so much they were eventually granted access to the forbidden kingdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver recent years all the tracks contained here have been released—some bootlegged, some on legitimate seven-inch issues, some on CD, one download-only. The album proudly boasts debut vinyl release for some in the collection. All have been remastered and have never sounded better.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMarvin Gaye \u0026amp; Tammi Terrell\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eTears At The End Of A Love Affair\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBrenda Holloway\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eThink It Over (Before You Break My Heart)\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJimmy Ruffin\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eHe Who Picks A Rose\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGladys Knight And The Pips\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eIf You Ever Get Your Hands On Love\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Originals\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eSuspicion\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBarbara McNair\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eBaby A Go-Go\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJ. J. Barnes\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003e(Tell Me) Ain't It The Truth\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Funk Brothers\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eTell Me It's Just A Rumour Baby\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMarvin Gaye\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eThis Love Starved Heart Of Mine (It's Killing Me)\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Monitors\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eCrying In The Night\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eKim Weston\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eYou Hit Me Where It Hurt Me\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCarolyn Crawford\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eKeep Stepping (Never Look Back)\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Contours\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eBaby Hit And Run (Alternate Vocal)\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTammi Terrell\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eI Gotta Find A Way To Get You Back\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Spinners\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eMemories Of Her Love Keep Haunting Me\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eChris Clarke\u003c\/strong\u003e - \"\u003cem\u003eCome On And See Me\u003c\/em\u003e\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"West Grand","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":51826251530571,"sku":"R7519-9033","price":26.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":56560634364235,"sku":"R7519-7440","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/WG0001LP-1024x1024_4730698c-ed4f-4033-a1a8-becca084f1db.jpg?v=1752233020"},{"product_id":"real-humdinger-scotts-on-swingers-s-o-s","title":"Real Humdinger \/ Scott's On Swingers (S.O.S.)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe are talking Holy Grail territory… \u003cstrong\u003eEdwin Starr\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eJJ Barnes\u003c\/strong\u003e were two of the main stars at Ric-Tic, the legendary 1960s Detroit Soul label that ended up being purchased by Motown to take out the competition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eJJ Barnes\u003c\/em\u003e Real Humdinger Ric-Tic 45 is a standout gem from the Motor City’s Soul heyday years and an all time Northern Soul classic. \u003cstrong\u003eEdwin’s\u003c\/strong\u003e Ric-Tic 45s and subsequent gems for Motown made him such a Northern Soul icon that he moved to live in England.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhat Anglophile \u003cstrong\u003eEdwin\u003c\/strong\u003e never revealed is that he actually recorded the first version of Real Humdinger for Ric-Tic. It never got released and its very existence was unknown. After painstaking detective work, West Grand found about the recording and have now managed to license it from Universal Music \/ Motown for its debut worldwide release.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNews of the discovery has created huge interest amongst Soul fans globally. As a bonus, the flip side is another “wow find” that had been stuck, also unknown and unloved, in the tape vaults for nearly 60 years. It is a preciously unused alternative take on Scott's on Swingers. The track is in effect an extended jingle for Detroit back in the day star radio DJ Scott Regan based on Edwin’s smash S.O.S (Stop Her On Sight). The released take came out on a limited edition RIC-Tic giveaway single that now commands a £400 price tag.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"West Grand","offers":[{"title":"7\" - Black","offer_id":51826770903371,"sku":"R1776-4563","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/WG0002S-1024x1024_7a443819-fce7-4b25-b48c-bb30715281c5.jpg?v=1752233102"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/west-grand.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}