Motown (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  Pop Vocal  »  Contemp. Pop Vocals
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: June 24, 2003
• Label: Motown Records
• UPC: 602498011331
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106436568
• Average Customer Review:    (1 customer review)
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #3660 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #70 in Pop Vocal (See Top 100 Pop Vocal Bestsellers)
• #30 in Contemp. Pop Vocals (See Top 100 Contemp. Pop Vocals Bestsellers)

Personnel: Michael McDonald (vocals, piano, Fender Rhodes piano);

Toby Baker (acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, bass, programming);

Simon Climie (acoustic & electric guitars, background vocals); Chris Rodriguez (electric guitar, sitar); Tommy Sims (electric guitar, background vocals); Michael Thompson, Larry Carlton (guitar); Mark Douthit (saxophone); Tony Swain (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, synthesizer); Tim Akers, Tim Carmen (Hammond B-3 organ); Bob James (keyboards); Nathan East (bass); Nicky "Mischief" Shaw (drums, percussion, programming); Harvey Mason (drums, percussion); Ricky Lawson (drums); Paul Waller (programming); Tracy Ackermann, Alfreda McCrary, Leon Ware (background vocals).

MOTOWN was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

As a guy who made his reputation for being neck-deep in the sounds of blue-eyed soul, it seems Michael McDonald was destined to put out MOTOWN (released on the label of the same name), an album's worth of classics from this esteemed company's canon. McDonald went out and hired Fourplay, a quartet of top-notch jazz musicians, to back him up on his Motown debut. The combination of this St. Louis native's gruff vocals and the silky accompaniment of Larry Carlton, Bob James, Harvey Mason, and Nathan East gives adds a fresh touch to songs originally recorded by the likes of The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Wonder and Gaye songs make up the lion's share of the material, reflecting McDonald's longtime admiration of these two R&B giants. He doesn't disappoint, whether cutting loose on "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" or lovingly caressing "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)." With the stellar degree of care and respect accorded to these songs by McDonald, this 2003 outing ends up being a fine tribute to the Motown Records legacy.

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