Tags
Mel-o-dy 107 (B), March 1963
B-side of The Interview (Summit Chanted Meeting)
(Written by Barney Ales and Al Klein)
I was expecting real horrors here, perhaps a nuclear-themed continuation of the dreadful A-side The Interview (Summit Chanted Meeting) (an alleged comedy “break-in” record), but thankfully no. It appears that Motown wisely steered clear of allowing Messrs Haney or Armstrong any more valuable recording time, and instead opted to fill the B-side of their one and only Motown single with a slinky, sexy instrumental saxophone blues instead.
It’s such a blessed relief, after the sheer all-encompassing awfulness of the A-side, that it’s easy to initially overlook the weirdness of this situation. Who is this actually by? (It’s not Haney and Armstrong, surely, unless they were secretly a pair of top blues musicians moonlighting as inept comedians in their mid-forties). What’s this got to do with the topside? (Nothing, so far as I can tell). Why is it so short? (Barely one and three-quarter minutes, and it fades out.) Why did Motown think people who loved the A-side would want to hear this? (I’ve no idea; maybe Haney and Armstrong didn’t have any more material – indeed, the topside was apparently Haney’s one and only appearance on record anywhere, though Armstrong stuck around Hitsville for a while, racking up demos and getting a second (terrible) release under the name “Ray Oddis” nearly two years later – and Motown had to put something on the B-side.) Baffling.
Still, as a piece of meaningless instrumental fluff apparently intended as nothing more than space filler, it’s really rather nice. Background music, aural wallpaper, sure, but eminently listenable and – actually – rather groovy. Plus, as a restorative after the exertions of the A-side, it fits the bill quite nicely.
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 Haney and Armstrong? Click for more.)
![]() |
![]() |
Bert “Jack” Haney & Brice “Nikiter” Armstrong “The Interview (Summit Chanted Meeting)” |
Amos Milburn “My Baby Gave Me Another Chance” |
I love your site. It is the perfect companion to The Complete Motown Singles. The A-side is (except for “Bobby’s Girl” bit) pretty bad. As to the B-side, it was common for break-in records too have instrumentals on the back. Dickie Goodman’s(the king of break-ins?) had them from time to time. I guess to plug only the A-side and cut down on lawyer fees.
LikeLike
Thanks Michael – glad you’re enjoying it! Really nice to get such positive feedback.
Interesting information too! It’s a phenomenon that never really caught on in Britain, so a lot of the standard break-in tropes are alien to me. If it was usual practice, Peaceful makes a lot more sense.
LikeLike
A possible (probable) explanation to the b-side: Dickie Goodman, the king of break-in records (now there’s a title no one should endeavor to have) would usually put a really short throwaway mid-tempo blues or jazz number on his b-sides. Something that could be done cheaply by studio musicians in a quick take. Klein was apparently imitating Goodman right down to the format of the record.
LikeLike
Interesting that Al Klein shared the songwriting credit with Motown’s chief marketing man, Barney Ales. I remember playing both sides of this record, and STILL deciding to resist buying it despite my habit of buying every Motown 45 released. It seemed like a fairly “blah” instrumental. Saxophone is my favourite instrument, and I like Jazz and Jazzy R&B instrumentals. So, based on the descriptions of it on this thread, I’m hoping to hear it again. But, I can’t find it on The Internet. Can anyone here point me the way to hear it?
LikeLike
Spotify! 🙂 That’s how I found most of what I looked for.
LikeLike
I’ve just realized…this sounds an awful lot like “Spoonful”. Especially towards the end.
LikeLike