Yet another installment of Motown's backtracking
Chartbusters series,
Volume 6 is slight in classic material in comparison to its predecessor. Highlights include
the Temptations' "Just My Imagination" (later covered by
the Rolling Stones),
Diana Ross' "I'm Still Waiting," and
Stevie Wonder's ultrafunky take on
the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out." In the spirit of their work with
the Temptations,
the Supremes join forces with
the Four Tops for a cover of
Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High." As with many Motown covers, this does not pay off as well as the original. Even though
Stevie's "We Can Work It Out" is enjoyable, it lacks the mournful seriousness of
the Beatles' original. Like many in this series, the set is dominated by the familiar names at Motown:
the Temptations,
Ross,
Smokey Robinson, and so forth. Only a few obscure names make it onto
Volume 6:
the Elgins,
the Velvettes, and
R. Dean Taylor. The familiarity of artists will make this album more popular with casual music buyers, if not musical archaeologists hoping to hear unearthed treasures from the tape vault.