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5. Barrett Strong: “Let’s Rock”
The most energetic Motown single up to that point, it has a liveliness not found in the label's previous sides which makes up for the lack of imagination on show here. (5)Continue reading »
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6. Barrett Strong: “Do The Very Best You Can”
Three singles, three B-sides which might, all told, be better than the plug sides. Hmmm. (6)Continue reading »
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34. Mable John: “Who Wouldn’t Love A Man Like That”
Mable John, an early confidante of Berry Gordy (from back when he was struggling to get songwriting work) and who provides the touching opening essay for the first volume in the Complete Motown Singles...
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35. Mable John: “You Made A Fool Out Of Me”
A bluesy pop ballad with doo-wop tempo, Mable John turns in a similarly startling lead vocal performance as she did on the A-side, but the song isn't as strong. (4)Continue reading »
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58. Barrett Strong: “You Got What It Takes”
A straight, almost note-for-note cover of a bluesy R&B song taken to the Top Ten in a version by Motown alumnus Marv Johnson on United Artists in 1959, this is pretty much an exercise in...
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157. Singin’ Sammy Ward: “Everybody Knew It But Me”
There's simply no reason to seek out and listen to this one, not when there's a superior version of what is for all intents and purposes the exact same song already out there. (4)Continue reading »
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316. Mable John: “Who Wouldn’t Love A Man Like That” (version 2)
Something of a sad note upon which for a legend to depart the scene, even if the record itself isn't the train wreck it might have been. (4)Continue reading »
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409. Shorty Long: “Wind It Up”
Perfectly capable, enjoyable R&B dance fluff that gets the job done without pulling up any trees; it's only really the name on the label that marks this out as any kind of disappointment, but...
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488. The Spinners: “How Can I”
All my complaints about this being slightly scruffy are really only minor niggles, and it's really only the existence of a better version which diminishes this one for me, and there's really only a...
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