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Motown M 1036 (B), December 1962
B-side of Darling, I Hum Our Song
(Written by Edward Holland Jr.)
If the A-side of Eddie Holland’s sixth Motown single, the ballad Darling, I Hum Our Song, had been a slightly risky choice, this B-side sees Eddie back in more familiar territory: thin and conventional, but highly engaging, extremely likeable Jackie Wilson-esque midtempo dance pop.
Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, but written by Eddie alone, without their input – the first such solo Motown writing credit for the older Holland – this is a fun, loose workout, and both Eddie and the band seem to be enjoying themselves with it. There are two really good bits – the plaintive intro, which features different chords (more interesting chords) to the rest of the record, and a raw sax solo at the one minute mark that gets intriguingly mixed in for an instrumental break as Eddie gets faded down. Like the A-side, the horns and drums drive this along, and if they don’t do anything terribly inventive, they keep the groove going extremely well.
It’s no masterpiece or anything – it’s very thin, there’s no chorus to speak of, and the lyrics are pretty forgettable (though the concept, Eddie lacking the courage to break up with a no-good girlfriend but telling himself he needs Just A Few More Days to get it together, is an interesting one) – but it’s good fun all the same, and combined with the A-side, this adds up to just about the best pair of sides Eddie Holland had turned in to date.
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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| Eddie Holland “Darling, I Hum Our Song” |
Marvin Gaye “Hitch Hike” |
Eddie Holland was a virtual unknown to listeners of the white pop stations in New York City during the early ’60s, but if you moved the AM dial to the extreme right and found all those terrific R&B stations, there was Eddie belting out sweet soul music like this one. Loved the melody; loved the beat with a bass you could pick up by jamming your transistor radio against your ear. This song is a definite 9 to this Junkie.
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I think this is a decent mid-tempo song in the 1962 style, but a rating of “6” is too high. It’s a well-written song, but the vocal is a bit under par, as is the production. The instrumental is quite thin, and I’d have used strong background vocals. I’d give it a weak “5”.
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