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Tamla T 54066 (A), July 1962
b/w For This I Thank You
(Written by Brian Holland, Mickey Stevenson and Andre Williams)
The end of the Motown road for Geno Purifoy, a gospel-trained Southerner who recorded under the stage name “Gino Parks”, this is just about the loudest and angriest record Motown had released in its first four years of existence.
Held back for more than seven months after its recording, this record shows little of the subtle, clever musical touch writers Brian Holland or Mickey Stevenson were starting to become known for; perhaps that’s a result of having been co-written by professional loon Andre “Bacon Fat” Williams, who – revealingly – mentions in the liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 2 that Motown boss Berry Gordy Jr. had actively “discontinued the blues stuff”, thereby limiting Parks’ opportunities – this was his first release since Same Thing over a year previously. (This is a revelation which may also go some way towards explaining how Hattie Littles’ Back In My Arms ended up being shelved.)
In those same liner notes, Williams describes this record as a conscious attempt to move Parks “out of blues territory”, believing it could become a crossover pop chart hit. This description is surprising, because Fire is actually a loud, raucous, disorganised mess, featuring syncopated, uncontrollable drums smashing out crazed rolls and fills, Parks screaming his lead vocal at the top of his lungs between long, breathless, gospel-inspired exhortations, the Love-Tones on backing vocals shouting the word “Fire!” over and over again, and an extended Fifties jazz-club instrumental break at 1:44 that’s almost genteel by comparison.
It’s certainly not blues, but it’s no pop record either; it’s at the absolute outer limits of jazz-influenced, gospel-tinged R&B, and almost defiantly uncommercial. Perhaps Motown had doubts about how the single would perform, explaining why they left it in the can for so long after it was finished before finally releasing it; if so, they were right. The single stiffed, and Parks’ Motown career was over. Save for one song, More Lovin’, co-written with Williams and Stevenson for Mable John (a song which didn’t see the light of day until the release of Mable’s superb CD compilation My Name Is Mable in 2004), his involvement with the company was pretty much through.
He didn’t leave the music industry altogether; after a 1966 single on Golden World, My Sophisticated Lady – written and produced by Andre Williams – Parks later cut the Northern Soul stomper Nerves Of Steel for Crazy Horse in the late Sixties, arranged by Berry Gordy’s ex-wife and former Motown polymath Raynoma Liles Gordy, “Miss Ray” herself, and written and produced by her then-husband Eddie Singleton.
MOTOWN JUNKIES VERDICT
(I’ve had MY say, now it’s your turn. Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment, or click the thumbs at the bottom there. Dissent is encouraged!)
You’re reading Motown Junkies, an attempt to review every Motown A- and B-side ever released. Click on the “previous” and “next” buttons below to go back and forth through the catalogue, or visit the Master Index for a full list of reviews so far.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in Gino Parks? Click for more.)
Hattie Littles “Is It True (What They Say About You)” |
Gino Parks “For This I Thank You” |
Bruce_F said:
This song is raw, fun, and out of control in more ways than one. It’s a great ride until the fade-out at the end. Good stuff.
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Mickee said:
I love this tune,it’s definitely jazz influenced and definitely quirky but I would still say it is structured…if not amazing! I’d give it 8 out of 10 myself purely for entertainment value and if it was a longer 10/10.The fact that this 45 has ‘For this I thankyou’ on the other side is a big bonus of course …again I’d give that 8 out of 10.It’s a hugely popular dance tune on the Northern soul & R&B/Mod circuits here and as always the proof of a records worth is on the dance floor! Great site btw!
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Steve Robbins said:
I think I have a way to define my ranking of a song. I will ask myself “What chance is there that this song will be a major hit?”
You see, I’m now a member of the QC squad. Time to vote. I don’t want to know the songs qualities, will it sell?” In this case, absolutely not….3/10. I come from a business career, I’m just lookin at the bottom line.
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Chris Robinson said:
That’s the most ridiculous thing i’ve ever heard. Why look at the bottom line of a song released 50 yrs ago? Who cares? Its a monster recording, passionate, soulful, raw, brilliant.
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The Nixon Administration said:
Got to agree with Chris there; even if we don’t see eye to eye on this particular record’s merits, commercial performance is pretty much irrelevant today.
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Steve Robbins said:
You’re mising the point. I’m not looking back 50 years and seeing how the song sold. I’m placing my body in the Motown conference room, attending as a member of the Quality Control group, listening to each song and its’ (de)merits. I have to judge whether the song is a good enough song to release. Kapeesh?
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144man said:
The only way you’d be able to do that is by not having you’re brain contaminated by any musical developments between then and now.
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Brian Phillips said:
If I were a member of the QC squad, I would have said that it was a bit TOO in step, near the end, with “Turn On Your Love Light”, a touch that was unnecessary for this record. As for me, I rather enjoy this record and find the drumming and the vocals to be outstanding. In the context of the time, I’d say it was commercial, but in retrospect, out of step with what Motown/Tamla/VIP eventually became famous for.
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Ben Shulman said:
I spoke to the lovely Frances Nero recently and she told me that her and Gino cut a series of unreleased duets for Golden World in ’66-’67. Somebody should try digging up those tapes!
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Kevin Moore said:
QUESTION: Would this have been well-known enough for the young Jimi Hendrix to have played it in cover bands during his chitlin’ circuit days?
ENHANCEMENT IDEA: It would be pretty cool to have a page that lists the chart positions and/or total sales for each single. Is that info in the public domain?
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Robb Klein said:
There were way too many different metro areas, and cities with charts to have ALL that information tabulated for each and every charted release. And total sales for tonnes of obscure records wouldn’t be possible, as far as I know. They were probably only estimated for super hits. Even then, they must have been missing actual figures from several distributors. No, “Fire” was NOT big enough for Jimi Hendrix to have ever heard it, unless he got to hear Motown’s “Switched On Blues” LP, which was also a cutout, and failure, sales wise. I don’t remember hearing “Fire” played in Chicago.
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Ben Shulman said:
Before Frances Nero passed a few years back she informed me in a phone conversation we had that her and Gino apparently recorded a whole slew of material for Golden World in ’66 that to this day has still never seen the light of day. Wouldn’t that be something to hear eh?!
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Ben Shulman said:
Apparently I already left this comment here 5 years ago. I’m such a putz!
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