Various Artists - Motown Chartbusters Volume 3 (1969)

Here's another thing I started listening to in the late 90s, which also subsequently became a summer tradition for me to dig out and enjoy afresh - although it's still 45 minutes of truly timeless music at any time of year.  In 1997, these British Tamla-Motown compilation LPs from the 60s and 70s came out in a fresh wave of budget CD reissues, and this one was reviewed as the absolute jewel in the crown.

Not all the tracks selected for these original LPs were the most recent Motown hits of the day - some dated back a few years, reflecting either a re-release of the song, or the delay in being issued for the UK charts, and suchlike.  This is what led to Volume 3 having a particularly outstanding tracklist, bookended by I Heard It Through The Grapevine (1968) and The Tracks Of My Tears (1965).  Virtually everything in between is pure gold, so to mention the highlights would be to list almost all sixteen tracks.  Just enjoy some prime pop-soul music - and in the words of one of the album's extra sublime entries, summer's here, and the time is right for dancing in the streets.  Or if your physique's anything like mine, at least walking sedately in the streets.

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