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Tamla T 54028 (B), September 1959
B-side of The Feeling Is So Fine
(Written by Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson)
The first version of a song the Miracles would end up recording twice in the space of a few months. It’s quite pretty, clearly intended as a slowie ballad in the Bad Girl vein, sung in a very high register by young Smokey, who gives it his all, but not really to any particular end.
The liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 1 refer to this song glowingly as “the crossroads of doo-wop balladry and modern silky soul”, but to my ears it mostly sounds like the former. If there’s a nod to “modern soul” here, it’s that Smokey belts out his vocals with abandon and trills away all over the scale without any real regard for the tune itself.
It’s to the detriment of the record, which – though it seems to be much beloved by Miracles fans – I’ve always felt is more of an exercise in vocal range and fuzzy atmospherics than a real song. I find it pretty but pretty forgettable, to be honest.
The recording quality of this first version is also really poor, Smokey’s high falsetto causing noticeable distortion at several points; I was expecting to discover that this was one of the numerous songs whose original master couldn’t be located when compiling The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 1, but no, it apparently really did sound like that.
This song was re-recorded the following year and released as the B-side to the Miracles’ first true masterpiece, Way Over There; that second version is covered separately in another entry. Strangely, of the two versions, it was this first pressing that ended up being used on the Miracles’ first LP, Hi, We’re The Miracles, in June of 1961.
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!)
COVERWATCH
Motown Junkies has reviewed other Motown versions of this song:
- The Miracles (re-recording) (February 1960)
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 Smokey Robinson & the Miracles? Click for more.)
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| The Miracles “The Feeling Is So Fine” |
The Satintones “My Beloved” |
Motown Junkies 
Yeah, I don’t like this either. and for the same reasons.
And yet, I am frustrated by this. Why? Well my favorite Smokey of the first three years is the opening seconds of this version. That’s right, that tiny bit of humming. For some reason that really connects with me as a tiny bit of perfection. It’s lost in the better sounding second version. It only pleases me in this first version. I actually tried to like the track because I so much like the humming bit at the start. But I gave up. over the years I’ve listened to that little opening bit dozens and dozens of times. I’ve only made it through the entire song once and made it halfway through an additional two times. that’s it. and I’ll will never bother again. But I’ll continue checking out those few seconds whenever I get a notion.
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This might be my favourite comment anyone’s left on the site to date. We may have different opinions on a lot of things, but we’re clearly in the same headspace when it comes to this sort of thing! (For me, it’s four seconds of backing vocals on Richard Wylie’s “I’ll Still Be Around”).
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I’ve been meaning to take issue with you on this song for some time. It’s at least a 7 for me, because I think there’s some substance to the prettiness. The three-against-two of the title lyrics perfectly exemplify the sensual longing which pervades so many great Smokey songs. The passionate ease with which the vocal rhythms articulate themselves culminates in a kind of epitome of desire as Smokey cries out ‘I love you’ at the fade. The song is beautifully – and, I think lovingly – put together. As for the words, nothing earth-shaking – but nothing clunky either, and it all sounds sincere to me. I also enjoy the Temptations’ take on the song on The Temptations Sing Smokey…
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The single with Way Over There was the first Tamla record to have national distribution. Perhaps he wanted this song on THAT disc.
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I guess I have to follow the rest of the crowd disagree with this verdict = ) Luckly, I was able to hear this first pressing pops, cracks, and all. A 3 seems too low especially since you gave the somewhat boring A-side a 5. I would give this between a 5 or 7.
I do agree that this song doesn’t sound like modern soul. It just sound’s like a slow doo wop ballad of the era. I also agree that this song, as pretty as it is, is forgettable. I listened to it 3 times and I still couldn’t tell you the chorus lol. I first heard this song, (maybe the re-recorded) version in the film “Cooley High”
It seems that up to this point The Miracles had one thing going for them. Which was instant identification. I hope my hindsight perspective isn’t distorting my ears, but it seems that nobody sounded like Smokey.
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My favorite thing about this song is the lyrics. It expressess an inner need in all of us and something we want to all attain-someone we can depend on. My hope is that we will all be so blessed in this life. I also love Claudette’s part in this song. It would have been nice if Claudette had been given the opportunity to record some things on her own as a solo artist. She has a lovely voice.
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Claudette sang lead on 4 Miracles’ recordings (“He Don’t Care About Me”, “Father Dear”, and 2 others the titles of which I have forgotten).
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Pingback: Top 5 Motown Singles: 1959-1961 — The Curvature
For me this is an 8 and along with bad girl the best out of motown until Mary Wells came along . Without dissecting it too much , it has a haunting otherworldly effect that i never tire of .
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The bridge here is a subtle example of Smokey’s influence on early Brian Wilson (compare to the bridge of Surfer Girl). It’s not as overwhelming as the Robinson>Lennon connection, but I’d bet money that Wilson knew this song.
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I give it a ten.
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