Pitchfork

Hip-O Select, a division of Universal Music Enterprises, has launched a massive 12-volume set that compiles every A-side and B-side released by Motown and its subsidiaries from 1959 to 1972.

The first volume of the collection,The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 1: 1959-1961, was released January 14 on a six-CD, 154-track set. But don't go heading to Best Buy to purchase this limited-edition collection, it will only be available on Hip-O Select.com and via iTunes. The exclusivity of each volume will vary from year to year, with volume one limited to a mere 5,000 copies.

The release is the first phase of the plan that extends through Motown's 50th Anniversary in 2009. Coincidence? Not at all. From now on, the volumes will feature every single from each year, with the second volume, featuring every single from 1962, set for release in May 2005. The third volume, which will consist of Motown's 1963 singles output, is also in the works and should be out in October.

The initial set includes Motown's first major hits, like Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", the Miracles' "Shop Around", and the Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman", plus the raw Motown debuts of the Supremes, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Mary Wells, among others.

Not only does this collection feature great music, but in fantastic packaging. It resembles a scaled-down 78 rpm-era album,\x810/0and more than 100 pages of rare photos and notes. Also, for vinyl enthusiasts each box will feature an actual reproduction 45 rpm single from its respective era.

"It's an awesome undertaking for an awesome and worthy body of work," says Universal A&R VP Harry Weinger, who is overseeing the project. "This is a window to the beginnings of a musical institution, where you can hear the one-offs and experiments next to the big hits, and where you just might hear the revolution to come."

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