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Tamla T 54032 (B), October 1960
B-side of True Love
(Written by Donald Davis)
More forgettable material from the man known to history as Mr Mary Wells. Slower, smoother and softer than the A-side True Love, incredibly brief (less than two minutes long) and very slight.
This is a 3/4 ballad, well-played, but which can’t seem to decide what sort of song it wants to be; there are hints of pop, doo-wop and blues all mushed in together here, but by the end of it we’re no closer to knowing what Herman had in mind than we were at the beginning.
It’s You starts out wetter than the wettest MOR romantic pop, but then Griffin keeps losing control and howling his vocals at full pelt before getting a grip and going back to the crooning. It sounds like a bunch of bits from about four different songs, and what’s worse, you never really want to listen to any of them very much.
It’s not actually all that bad, it’s just very confusing, and it’s too short to be effective or memorable – it’s already over before it’s had a chance to get anything going at all. Like this review, in fact.
VERDICT
* * * * * * * * * *
3 / 10
(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 Herman Griffin? Click for more.)
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| Herman Griffin “True Love” |
Sherri Taylor & Singin’ Sammy Ward “Oh Lover” |
Motown Junkies 
Quite like this…………thanks to this site, I’m really getting to ‘hear’ a lot of these 45s that I’ve had since TCMS were issued. It has to be sais these 45s are a mixed bunch, but some tracks to jump out at you………I’d recommend using shuffle , thereby avoiding to plough through the C&W and novelty stuff 2 at a time!!
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Totally agree regarding TCMS – it’s been one of the joys of doing the site, “forcing” myself to give proper consideration and time to stuff I would previously have skipped over to get to other things. I made a “shortlist” (it’s almost 450 songs, so not terribly short) of my favourite TCMS finds which I only listen to on shuffle.
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Agree completely – this site makes TCMS infinitely more enjoyable – the main essays, the layout, and the many expert commenters – I can’t say enough about how thrilled I am to have stumbled into this priceless site. I had complained bitterly for years that there was no book that does justice to the Motown phenomenon, but this site is that book.
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Thank you for the kind words, I do appreciate it. There’s plenty more to come!
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Herman Griffin – It’s You.jpeg
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Oh Mr. Nixon I aaadored your opening and closing of this review = )
Like you expressed up above this Herman Griffin, or Mr. Wells as you say, is not a bad song, but very confusing. His delivery is strong, loud and clear, but it left me with no desire to listen to this song again. The 3 is well deserved.
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