What's cool is that, through that Motown message board, they were able to more or less keep everyone up-to-date on the progress of the project from start to finish. I've never seen a record label give that sort of "inside" access to us fans like that before. Labels seem to enjoy the element of surprise, and making big splashy announcements about releases, while keeping all the details a secret while the project itself is underway. In a way, I can understand that, since a lot of times, these projects collapse or change radically from how they were originally intended. (As a close follower of the Beatles and Beach Boys, I've witnessed this sort of stuff happen all the time with them.) But on the other hand, I find myself having a lot more respect for a company like Motown that lets us in on the process a bit. Plus, as recent reissues by groups like The Who have shown, if you clue the public in on things, you might even have a chance to find people who have otherwise-lost multitracks and other artifacts in their posessions.
By the way, not to open that can of worms again, but in regards to "DSotM" - they might not have consulted the original engineer for the multichannel mix, but I think they did something even more important: consulted the BAND, used an engineer that the group itself approved of and had a more comfortable relationship with, and ultimately got the band's approval for the final release. These days, that's even more rare.
