Classic Motown's glamorous chart punches aren't the whole story with the Marvelettes. After early-Sixties wonders like "Beechwood 4-5789," the girl group, fronted by Gladys Horton and later Wanda Rogers, released songs more often smart, frank and out-there than hit-bound. This 109-track comp peaks with "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game," a 1966 smash where writer-producer Smokey Robinson helps Rogers embark on a jazzy love safari. But throughout these four discs, the Marvelettes, whether rocking up "The Stranger" or going pop-orchestral on "Marionette," show how giant soul hooks and adventurousness may coexist.

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Listen To "The Stranger":

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• Photos: Random Notes

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.