Pitchfork

What size Motown 50th anniversary compilation would you like: small, medium, or large? Because there are three comps coming out in the next couple months to commemorate the occasion, and other than slightly distinctive organizing principles, the main difference between each one is length (and price).

First up is the largest compilation. Motown/UMe will release Motown: The Complete No. 1's worldwide on December 8 and in the U.S. on December 9. The Complete No. 1's is exactly what it sounds like: a compilation of every chart-topper the label has released, but not only in the U.S. These are all the songs that have topped charts around the world at any time, plus the handful of songs originally recorded by Motown artists that reached #1 in cover versions. The compilation is ordered chronologically, starting with the Miracles' early 1960s hit "Shop Around" and ending with Erykah Badu's "Bag Lady" from 2000.

The Complete No. 1's has pretty sweet packaging too: 10 discs contained in five digipaks, all housed in a replica of "Hitsville U.S.A.", the original Motown headquarters. The package also contains a small photo book, track annotations, and an essay by Smokey Robinson. Check the mammoth tracklist here.

The medium-sized compilation will follow in the UK via UMTV on January 12, the exact date of Motown's 50th anniversary. Motown 50 is a collection of 50 tracks chosen in a worldwide online poll plus 11 covers by Motown artists thrown in for good measure.

Finally, the most humbly sized package arrives the very next day. It's a 25-track collection called NOW That's What I Call Motown (for real), and is indeed part of Universal/Sony/EMI's whole NOW That's What I Call Music! deal.

Remember, these are all in addition to Hip-O Select's recent The Complete Motown Singles series, not to mention the documentary and stage musical Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. recently mentioned to Billboard.com. So. much. Motown.

Motown 50:

Disc 1:

01 Marvin Gaye: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
02 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: "Dancing in the Street"
03 The Supremes: "Baby Love"
04 Four Tops: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"
05 The Velvelettes: "Needle in a Haystack"
06 The Temptations: "Get Ready"
07 The Supremes: "You Can't Hurry Love"
08 The Elgins: "Heaven Must Have Sent You"
09 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: "Nowhere to Run"
10 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: "Jimmy Mack"
11 The Isley Brothers: "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)"
12 Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: "The Tears of a Clown"
13 Jackson 5: "ABC"
14 Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston: "It Takes Two"
15 Mary Wells: "My Guy"
16 The Contours: "Do You Love Me"
17 Frank Wilson: "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)"
18 R. Dean Taylor: "There's a Ghost in My House"
19 The Supremes: "Stop! In the Name of Love"
20 Jr. Walker & the All Stars: "Shotgun"
21 Stevie Wonder: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
22 Jackson 5: "I Want You Back"
23 Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye: "You Are Everything"
24 Diana Ross: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"

Disc 2:

01 Stevie Wonder: "Superstition"
02 The Temptations: "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
03 Marvin Gaye: "What's Going On"
04 Commodores: "Brick House"
05 Edwin Starr: "War"
06 The Temptations: "My Girl"
07 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: "The Tracks of My Tears"
08 Lionel Richie & Diana Ross: "Endless Love"
09 Commodores: "Easy"
10 Diana Ross & the Supremes: "Reflections"
11 Four Tops: "Reach Out, I'll Be There"
12 Marvin Gaye: "Let's Get It On"
13 Jimmy Ruffin: "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted"
14 Michael Jackson: "Got to Be There"
15 Smokey Robinson: "Being With You"
16 Stevie Wonder: "Sir Duke"
17 The Miracles: Love Machine"
18 Lionel Richie: "All Night Long (All Night)"
19 Diana Ross: "Love Hangover"
20 Thelma Houston: "Don't Leave Me This Way"

Disc 3:

01 Stevie Wonder: "Masterblaster (Jammin)"
02 Commodores: "Nightshift"
03 Diana Ross: "Upside Down"
04 Rick James: "Super Freak"
05 The Temptations: "Treat Her Like a Lady"
06 Lionel Richie: "My Destiny"

Covers:

07 Stevie Wonder: "Light My Fire"
08 Four Tops: "Everybody's Talking"
09 Rare Earth: "Get Ready"
10 Kim Weston & Marvin Gaye: "Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love)"
11 Martha Reeves & the Vandellas: "I Say a Little Prayer"
12 Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: "Wichita Lineman"
13 Thelma Houston: "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
14 The Temptations: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
15 The Supremes: "Come Together"
16 David Ruffin: "Put a Little Love in Your Heart"
17 Michael Jackson: "You've Got a Friend"

NOW That's What I Call Motown:

01 Barrett Strong: "Money (That's What I Want)"
02 The Marvelettes: "Please Mr. Postman"
03 The Miracles: "Shop Around"
04 The Contours: "Do You Love Me"
05 Martha & the Vandellas: "Dancing in the Street"
06 Mary Wells: "My Guy"
07 The Temptations: "My Girl"
08 The Supremes: "Stop! in the Name of Love"
09 Jr. Walker & the All Stars: "Shotgun"
10 Four Tops: "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"
11 The Supremes: "You Keep Me Hangin' On"
12 Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell: "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing"
13 Marvin Gaye: "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
14 The Temptations: "I Can't Get Next to You"
15 The Jackson 5: "I Want You Back"
16 Stevie Wonder: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours"
17 Edwin Starr: "War"
18 Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: "The Tears of a Clown"
19 Marvin Gaye: "What's Going On"
20 Gladys Knight & the Pips: "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)"
21 Marvin Gaye: "Let's Get It On"
22 The Miracles: "Love Machine (Part 1)"
23 The Commodores: "Brickhouse"
24 Diana Ross: "Upside Down"
25 Rick James: "Super Freak"