Power To The Motown People: Civil Rights

It’s International Workers Day, and this new album is appropriate to talk about. It contains songs from 1967-1985 that explore oppression, war, and the way people treat each other. What’s interesting in retrospect is the power of these songs to observe, not preach. What’s scary is how contemporary many of the observations are. Marvin Gaye singing “war is not the answer,” for example. This collection goes beyond the hits and we hear the Temptation’s take on “War, what is it good for”, and Edwin Starr tackling Cloud Nine. 30 cuts by the very very best Motown artists, all focused on one theme, they are extremely tasty all together in one package. It is, perhaps, instructive that this album is only available by import. The Undisputed Truth’s “Unite The World” sounds contemporary, but is not a message that is heard well in the United States in the way they are stating. Contemporary United States believes that Unity means making everyone in the whole world American. Too bad. This music is well worth hearing by all US citizens. Excellent collection!Power To The Motown People