The song itself hasn’t got worse, it’s still superb, and this is still a fine record. But yet again, I’m left wondering what I might have made of a Motown recording if I’d heard this version first, because as things stand, as lovely as Marvin sounds here, I’d go for the Marvelettes’ version every single time. (7)
I can’t escape the feeling that the vocal and the track still don’t properly agree with each other, even here at the second time of asking. Still pretty, though. (6)
Artless and joyless, this is one of the weakest records the Marvelettes ever released, especially on a 45, and the song should never have left the drawing board. (2)
A really good little record, small in scale but beautifully formed. (7)
Still not a great song by any means, but this is just about the best version of it that exists, and that counts for something. (6)
I’d be a massive hypocrite if, having berated the Contours for doing the same thing over and over again, I didn’t at least give them credit for trying something new. I just wish it had turned out a bit… better, that’s all. (5)
A highly interesting diversion, and a bold attempt at trying something new; the result is a pretty, if not earth-shattering record, and should be applauded for its pluck if not its greatness. (5)
Remarkable, and wholly excellent. (9)
An enjoyable record, hardly a classic single but a vast improvement on what had come before. It was still very early days for both writers and singer, and there was much better to come from both, but this was at least a step in the right direction. (6)
A nice set-filler, a pretty bit of enjoyable “middle of Side Two” album padding, but it’s not catchy or instant enough to cut it as a hit record in its own right. (6)
This is easily as good a record as the A-side. (6)
A totally average-sounding early-Sixties girl group record with poorly-conceived, unsympathetic lyrics. Compared to the A-side, this can’t help but be a major disappointment. (5)
The best record the Marvelettes ever made; magnificent, and beautiful, and forever. (10)
It’s not terrible or anything; it’s just not up to the standards set either by Mary, by the A-side, or by the Holland-Dozier-Gorman trio themselves, and has to go down as a bit of a disappointment. From small acorns, and all that. (5)
This is one of the best records the Marvelettes ever made, and it simply couldn’t have been left hidden away on the album. (9)
A run-of-the-mill early-Sixties R&B workout with some bluesy piano, sung well enough by Lamont but with little else to commend it. Lyrically it goes nowhere, and musically, it’s unimpressive, unimaginative and ultimately boring. 3
