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Mel-o-dy 106 (B), February 1963
B-side of Sugar Cane Curtain
(Written by Reuben Noel and J. Bulman)
Unlike the confusing A-side, Sugar Cane Curtain, the B-side to the Chuck-a-Lucks’ one and only Motown single definitely is meant to be a comedy folk song, albeit an incredibly gentle, inoffensive one.
It’s still not very good, though.
A tall tale about a legendary oil driller, set to a jaunty country and western rhythm, something along the lines of John Henry’s Hammer (complete with the hammer-on-anvil noises usually incorporated into recordings of that song), only a bit crap. It’s not funny, not even a little bit, but it is reasonably well performed, with neat brushed drums and quite good male harmonies, and for those reasons it’s not as objectionable as the A-side. Still, I can’t in all honesty ever see myself listening to it ever again.
This was the end of the Chuck-a-Lucks’ brief tenure as Motown artists; they carried on as a comedy/country touring act throughout the Sixties and early Seventies, Allmusic describing their future endeavours as follows: “Their act was much more oriented toward comedy than music, especially as time went by, being a kind of a country/right-wing version of the Smothers Brothers as satirists — their 1967 live album, cut for Shannon Records, the label owned by Mary Reeves, the widow of Jim Reeves, is notable today for its jokes at the expense of hippies, homosexuals, and others considered “alien” to the southern/western audience they appealed to.” The lovable scamps.
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.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in The Chuck-A-Lucks? Click for more.)
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| The Chuck-A-Lucks “Sugar Cane Curtain” |
Kim Weston “It Should Have Been Me” |
Motown Junkies 
Appalling.
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A rating of “2” is WAYYYYYYYYYY too high!!! This is drek, as we in The Netherlands would say!
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Yes, this is a 1 for sure. I couldn’t even get through it one time, and that’s the first record in Motown history I can say that about!
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You were able to listen all the way through “Randy The Newspaper Boy”? You must be a masochist!
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I would have given that a better rating for the comedy effect it has on me . I think it will even be in my playlist , honestly !!!!
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I feel like the phrase ‘To each their own!’ has never been more appropriate than here, but that’s the beauty of music – and the reason I always say dissent is encouraged!
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