20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Rare Earth

Performer: Rare Earth
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Rare Earth: Peter Hoorelbeke (vocals, drums); Rod Richards, Ray Monette (guitar, background vocals); Gil Bridges (flute, saxophone, percussion, background vocals); John Persh (trombone, bass, background vocals); Mark Olson, Kenny James (organ, keyboards); Michael Urso (bass, background vocals); Edward Guzman (congas, percussion). Producers: Rare Earth, Tom Baird, Norman Whitfield. Compilation producer: Harry Weinger. Recorded between 1969 and 1973. Includes liner notes by Tony Green. Digitally remastered by Suha Gur (Universal Mastering). This is part of MCA's 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection series. Rare Earth's edition of the 20th Century Masters series is a near-definitive collection of their singles for Motown. Over the course of seven tracks, all the group's biggest hits -- "Get Ready," "(I Know) I'm Losing You," "Born to Wander," "I Just Want to Celebrate," "Hey Big Brother," and "What'd I Say" -- are included, all in their original album versions. This means "(I Know) I'm Losing You" runs over ten minutes, "Ma" over 17, and "Get Ready" a shattering 21-plus minutes. This is means that it's for the serious casual fan, since these extended versions certainly demand patience. Still, this gives a good idea of what Rare Earth was about, and that makes it a first-rate compilation. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rare Earth were one of the few all-white acts to record for the Motown label, releasing albums on the subsidiary named after them. The band's creative high-water mark was arguably their epic, acid-tinged 20-minute-plus cover of the Temptations' "Get Ready." Though the band recorded throughout the 1970s, and teamed up with ace producer Norman Whitfield for 1973's acclaimed MA, Rare Earth never again achieved the success they had with their initial Temptations cover versions. The band continued to tour as a revival act for decades to come, and their records have become sought-after by rare groove DJs and collectors.

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