Motown's LEGENDS series doesn't quite hold up to some of the label's other compilation packages (notably the double-disc ANTHOLOGY series), but as short, career-spanning samplers, they are still highly enjoyable. This is true of Martha Reeves & the Vandellas' LEGENDS disc, an 11-track tour of the group's danceable, R&B-inflected pop. Two of the group's biggest hits are here, the mid-tempo "Jimmy Mack" and the irrepressibly joyous "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave," which is arguably the trio's finest moment. And while "Dancing in the Streets" and "Honey Chile" are conspicuously absent, there are plenty of gems on the set.

The ballad "In and Out of My Life" and the surging "I Love the Man" showcase Reeves's sultry leads and the tight-knit harmonies of Betty Kelly and Rosalind Ashford. The torchy "To Think You Would Hurt Me" and the rave-up version of Holland/Dozier/Holland's "Mickey's Monkey" (which was a hit for Smokey Robinson & the Miracles) prove Reeves & the Vandellas equally adept at plucking the heartstrings and filling the dance floor. Bonus tracks, particularly the funky "Easily Persuaded," make this collection worth picking up.