Great news for TEENA MARIE fans – Hip-O Select release three CDs by the late chanteuse at the end of June.
Out of print for some years – and fetching outrageous prices on the internet – the albums ‘Lady Tee‘ (1980) and the self-produced ‘Irons In The Fire‘ (also from 1980) have been remastered and will be reissued with bonus tracks. The former album contains additonal tracks in the shape of different versions of Teena’s smash dance hit, ‘Behind The Groove,’ while the latter LP contains a bunch of additional live tracks recorded in Long Beach during a 1981 tour with mentor Rick James and his Stone City band.
Probably of most interest to Marie devotees is the 26-track 2-CD set, ‘First Class Love: Rare Tee,’ which has exhumed a load of previously unheard material from the Motown archives. Much of the material dates from the years 1976 and ’77 and originates from aborted sessions Marie took part in prior to her debut LP release ‘Wild & Peaceful’ in 1979. It includes a duet with Ronnie McNeir plus tracks scheduled for an unreleased fifth Motown LP and a clutch of acoustic demos. It all adds up to a fascinating package that’s presented with Hip-O Select’s customary panache.
Look out for full reviews soon at SJF.
