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Miracle MIR 12 (B), November 1961
B-side of Check Yourself
(Written by Berry Gordy)
The flip of the Temptations’ second single turns out to be the complete antithesis of the baffling, stop-start A-side Check Yourself. Where that was all musical experimentation, full of unexpected key and tempo changes and apparently specifically designed to frighten white radio audiences, this is an absolutely straight-down-the-line bit of late-period doo-wop.
Well-sung and really rather pretty, but utterly predictable. There’s some good vocal work – nothing amazing, no goosebumps to be had, but Melvin Franklin is on fine bass form, while Paul Williams (I think it’s Paul, anyway?) delivers another rich, throaty and attractive lead; he repeatedly swoops down to the bottom of his range, leading the liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 1 to again namecheck Brook Benton (as a compliment), and it’s a fair comparison – but otherwise, the only defining feature of the record is that the arpeggio 50s progression seems to be being played on vibes or xylophone, lending a fresh sparseness to proceedings and freeing up the piano to carry the end-of-verse breaks.
It’s a nice touch, but the song is just too conventional to rise above the pack. You just can’t escape the feeling of having heard it all before. (Indeed, as the liner notes point out, if you’ve ever listened to Jerry Butler’s 1958 hit For Your Precious Love, you pretty much have heard it before, because they’re nearly the same song.) The best Motown material had moved beyond such generic doo-wop by the time this was released, but even among Motown’s 1961 doo-wop releases, this can’t be called the best of the crop. (Angel by the Satintones, since you asked).
Still, it is pretty. It also says something for Berry Gordy Jr, who produced both sides of this single, that although he copped a solo songwriting credit for Your Wonderful Love and shared the credit for Check Yourself with several members of the Temptations, he opted to plug the “weird” side rather than the “conventional” side as the single.
Both sides of this single would end up featuring on the Temptations’ début album, Meet the Temptations, released almost three years later in 1964. Meanwhile, this 7″ was the group’s final appearance on the soon-to-be-extinguished Miracle Records imprint; the next time the Temptations had a single release, they would be on the new Gordy label.
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.
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| The Temptations “Check Yourself” |
Bob Kayli “Small Sad Sam” |
Yes. It was Paul Williams on lead.
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Thanks Robb – I thought so, but it’s good to know for sure.
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I’m sorry I missed this pretty ditty the first go-around. I can see a few extra tight dances in my life.
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That 4 does feel a bit harsh, looking back at this. Mind, there are at least two covers of it out there, by Chuck Jackson and Chris Clark, which I prefer to the original.
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I have to snicker when I see your frustration with audio quality because there was no master. (From my perspective), you do know we would hear these songs on cheap little AM radios??
Even after we bought it, the record player wasn’t much better!!
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Did you post this on the wrong review by mistake? 🙂
I’m no audiophile – when I talk about lack of a master, it’s usually as a footnote for those who don’t have access to the liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles box sets. The rest of it is about historical preservation; it’s a shame to me when a high-quality version of something will never be available, Motown or not (two of my all-time favourite records, the Chiffons’ “Sweet Talkin’ Guy” and Duke Browner’s “Crying Over You” spring to mind)… it doesn’t make the record any less valid, but it’s a loss to posterity. Like… how can I explain this? The artists and producers may have been keen to make sure their stuff sounded good on a low-quality AM radio, but there’s a difference between that and actively wanting your stuff sound as though it’s being played on a low-quality AM radio.
There are very few Motown singles which didn’t have master tapes to use, and of those few there are fewer still that are noticeably badly affected by it (off the top of my head, the Valadiers’ original “Greetings…” is particularly badly off). Ellen Fitton, who mastered the TCMS box sets, did a phenomenal job with the handful of singles that didn’t have a surviving tape.
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I think the backing vocals on this one are simply exquisite, pure and sublime. Yes indeed that is Paul on lead and I always thought this song was more of a Jackie Wilson cop more than anything else. It took me years to appreciate its artistry. I thought it was the worst song on the album, I’m truly blessed to know better.A stone jam that is something of an acquired taste much like the album. The exception being “The Way You Do The Things You Do”. IMHO.
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