Mowest, mo' problems: the glorious failure of Motown's Californian outpost

In 1971 Motown set up a Californian arm, Mowest. As a new compilation shows, it put out some terrific music, but it was a commercial disasterIf success was purely a question of aesthetics, then Mowest could have ruled the world. The label logo certainly deserved to be stuck to the centre of any number of hit records: a generous slice of bright blue Pacific framed by a golden sunset and the equally golden California sand, it promised fine times and good living. The reality of its brief tenure, ho...

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