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
was about, and that makes it a first-rate compilation. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine