As mentioned, A Motown Christmas culls tracks from a variety of sources. These include six full-length albums, all of which yield their own rewards. Foremost among them is the Temptations' mighty Christmas Card (1970) and the Jackson 5's wonderful Christmas Album (1970). Smokey Robinson and the Miracles contributed two solid albums, Christmas With The Miracles (1963) and A Season For Miracles (1970), followed by lesser efforts from the Supremes (Merry Christmas, 1965) and Stevie Wonder (Someday At Christmas, 1967). Even further, Motown released a handful of non-LP Christmas singles and a 1968 compilation entitled Merry Christmas From Motown. Collectors should note that the latter album was repackaged (literally - the record label remained unchanged) in 1970 as Christmas Gift 'Rap, and then it was reissued on CD in 1993 in a rather bowdlerized version.

And, that's a bunch of Christmas records, despite the fact that such Motown stalwarts as Gladys Knight, the Four Tops, and Marvin Gaye never released formal Christmas albums - not, at least, during Motown's fabled Golden Decade, if at all. Which is to say, a lot of great music remains beyond A Motown Christmas - some of it never even officially released.

Thankfully, the label eventually unleashed a motherlode of such rare treasures, both as bonus tracks on individual CD reissues and on subsequent compilations. The first - and still the greatest - such anthology was Christmas In The City (1993). Consisting exclusively of elusive Detroit pearls, it's a collector's delight. Among the highlights: the Motown house band (aka the Funk Brothers), romping through "Winter Wonderland;" Kim Weston's chimerical "Wish You A Merry Christmas;" an unreleased Supremes track better than anything on their Merry Christmas album; and no fewer than four Marvin Gaye cuts, including his lovely "Purple Snowflakes."

In 2001, the astute marketing department at Motown took the best cuts from Christmas In The City, added a few more rarities, and tossed in some leftovers from their catalog. They released this hodgepodge as A Motown Christmas Vol. 2. The inclusion of such heretofore unreleased cuts as the Funk Brothers' "Xmas Twist" (credited to the Twistin' Kings) and the Supremes' "O Holy Night" (featuring a rare Florence Ballard lead vocal) make Motown Christmas Vol. 2 more attractive (not less) to major Motown fans (like me). But, the overall quality cannot compare to the original collection - especially to casual fans. And, at a mere 14 tracks (compared to 25 on the first volume), Motown Christmas Vol. 2 smacks of exploitation. If, like the first volume, Motown Christmas Vol. 2 had been stretched to 25 tracks, consumers could have purchased nearly the complete Motown Christmas catalog in two easy steps.

Instead, Motown Christmas Vol. 2 functions as an imperfect - though perfectly enjoyable - sequel to the 1973 masterpiece. Still, the two discs combined contain about two-thirds of the Motown Christmas songs I consider "essential," and I purchased well over ten CD's to collect them all.

But what of all those other Motown Christmas albums - the dozens upon dozens of choices you'll encounter when flipping through the CD racks or browsing sites like Amazon? Motown, you see, has become a master of catalog exploitation, shoddily packaging brief bits of their rich legacy for impulse purchase nearly everywhere - from record stores to truck stops. Take, for instance, the widely distributed, 12-song 20th Century Masters: The Best Of Motown Christmas (2003) (and its 2005 sequel). Those are twelve great songs, but they'll cost you about the same as the 25 great songs on the original Motown Christmas. So, buyer beware.

Still, Motown's Christmas legacy is almost as deep as it is broad. All those myriad collections are mined from the same rich vein, and at least one, A Motown Christmas Carol (1995), rises nearly to the level of the original Motown Christmas. Consisting of 19 songs (mainly traditional Christmas carols) interspersed with spoken greetings from Hitsville's brightest stars, A Motown Christmas Carol proves what the label can do when they, well, try. Here, they even threw in a previously unreleased Supremes track (later added as a bonus track to the girls' Merry Christmas) to induce holiday rapture in Diana Ross' legions of fans.

Still, it's no substitute for A Motown Christmas. Besides, at the risk of repeating myself, each individual piece of the Motown Christmas catalog has wonderful moments not included on Motown Christmas or similar albums. For instance, the Miracles' "Christmas Everyday" (1963) - one of the best original Motown Christmas songs - is available only on discs such as the group's highly recommended Our Very Best Christmas (1999). Which means, I bought them all, but A Motown Christmas will suffice for almost everyone else....

Of course, Motown didn't cease to exist after the "Golden Decade." The Temptations recorded another holiday record, Give Love At Christmas (1980), and the Four Tops finally waxed one, Christmas Here With You, in 1995. After recording nary a noel note for Motown, Gladys Knight and the Pips ultimately recorded two Christmas albums after they left the label for greener pastures (read more). Then in 1989, the label put together a brand new collection featuring stars from the present day (The Boys, Johnny Gill) as well as from their glorious past (the Temptations, Smokey Robinson). Christmas Cheers From Motown has some nice moments, but it serves mainly to remind us of what once was - and what would never again be. [top of page]