Motown

1	I Heard It Through the Grapevine / Fourplay 3:44
2	You Are Everything / Fourplay 2:48
3	Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours / Fourplay 4:07
4	I'm Gonna Make You Love Me / Fourplay 3:56
5	Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing / Fourplay 2:48
6	Reflections / Fourplay 3:22
7	How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) / Fourplay 5:21
8	Ain't No Mountain High Enough / Fourplay 2:49
9	All in Love Is Fair / Fourplay 3:31
10	I Want You / Fourplay 4:28
11	Distant Lover / Fourplay 4:20
12	I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever) / Fourplay 5:05
13	Since I Lost My Baby / Fourplay 4:34
14	Too High / Fourplay Bonus Track 5:25

Barnes & Noble

Blue-eyed soul crooner Michael McDonald led the Doobie Brothers to fame in the late '70s before embarking on a solo career, capturing fans with his endearingly gruff, R&B-tinged vocals. So it's only fitting that the St. Louis native joined the Motown Records family in 2003. Named after the legendary label, McDonald's first disc for them is an elegant collection of Motown covers. Produced by Simon Climie (B. B. King, Eric Clapton) and backed by Fourplay, McDonald pours himself into 14 classic cuts. Rather than cast too broad a net in selecting from Motown's enormous canon, the silver-haired singer leans heavily on the Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder songbooks. Traditional Gaye duets such as "Ain't Nothing like the Real Thing" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" find McDonald flying solo with just a hint of background harmonies, while Wonder's "Signed Sealed Delivered" is given a pitch-perfect reading. By far the most effective interpretations are McDonald's yearning reading of Gaye's "I Want You" and a funky take on Wonder's "Too High," accented by bubbling bass lines from Fourplay's Nathan East and quick, snappy guitar solos from Larry Carlton. On a project that could have easily turned into boomer-fueled nostalgia, McDonald does a fine job of paying homage to the past while reaching for new heights as a solo artist. Dave Gil de Rubio

All Music Guide

Michael McDonald never disguises what his seventh solo album is: the title Motown makes it clear that this 2003 effort is a tribute to the glory days of Berry Gordy's Detroit empire. McDonald never strays too far from that thesis, occasionally dipping into the late '70s for material (he takes on Marvin Gaye's "I Want You") and sometimes choosing to wax relatively obscure items from Motown's vast, rich catalog, but for the most part, this is devoted to the songs that you know by heart, whether you were a kid in the '60s or raised on oldies radio. Since this is McDonald, not a neo-soul neophyte, this is cleanly and sharply produced, relying heavily on synthesizers, drum machines, and professional vocalists, but anybody who has spent any time with his solo records will find this not to be objectionable, but par for the course. If McDonald doesn't reinvent these songs -- hell, he uses the original arrangements as a blueprint, then cleans them up -- he does display a love and reverence for the work, and his singing is passionate throughout. Ultimately, Motown doesn't add much to his discography, but for those who love McDonald and Motown in equal measures, it's a fine listen. Stephen Thomas Erlewine