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Gordy G 7020 (B), June 1963
B-side of Farewell My Love
(Written by Norman Whitfield and Janie Bradford)
Norman Whitfield had taken control of the Temptations for the first time on a prevous B-side, producing The Further You Look, The Less You See, co-written with Smokey Robinson. Whitfield’s collaborations with the Tempts in the late Sixties and early Seventies would become legendary, but he was still very much learning his craft here.
Written by Whitfield together with Hitsville receptionist and seasoned songwriter Janie Bradford (fresh from a stint as lyricist with Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier), May I Have This Dance features a lead vocal from Eddie Kendricks, but – uniquely – a lead vocal anchored in the lower reaches of Eddie’s register, giving him few opportunities to break out his trademark falsetto.
The effect is unusual; just as Eddie’s soaring falsetto was maturing and getting more and more effective doing group harmonies, he’s suddenly pulled down to earth where he’s far less comfortable, turning in an awkward semi-spoken delivery, to the point that it actually sounds a bit strange when he takes off back up the scale right at the end of the song.
Otherwise, there’s not much to report, as this record is little more than an exercise in treading water, both for its writers and the group. A very brief (two minutes) doo-wop throwback number, it actually anticipates the Drifters’ Under the Boardwalk by several months, in slightly eerie fashion; musically, it’s almost exactly one part Boardwalk and one part the Vells’ little-remembered flop You’ll Never Cherish A Love So True (Till You Lose It), with some added mariachi horns for no readily discernible reason.
Lyrically, it actually took me a couple of listens to realise this is actually a comedy record, albeit a very gentle one. Eddie’s narrator tells a story of lacking the gumption to pluck up the courage to ask out a girl he fancies; he then sees her dancing with someone else (“The way he held you in his arms with his many charms I knew my chances were slim”), so he contrives to get his rival to leave. He achieves this by passing on a false message, telling the other guy there’s some other girl (“by the name of Pearl”) looking for him, causing him to run off – all so he can cut in and dance with his chosen girl. (She doesn’t get a say in the matter, but the whole song is addressed to her, including the titular question, so it’s quite possible she answered “no”.)
Nothing else happens, either lyrically – there’s no resolution, no funny postcript where the original guy comes back for retribution, nothing – or musically, where if you’ve heard the first four bars of this, you’ve heard the entire record.
It’s not awful, but nor is it hugely impressive; both sides of this single mark a sort of watershed for the Temptations, who were about to leave this sort of stuff behind forever.
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 “Farewell My Love” |
The Marvelettes “My Daddy Knows Best” |
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John Plant said:
Nothing else happens? What about that girl by the name of Pearl? Surely she’s worth the price of admission! All your comments on Eddie’s voice are -as usual – perceptive and right on the money.. but the song is fun; and even if the narrator hasn’t gotten anywhere with the lady, he’s had a good time trying. This song never fails to raise a grin with me, and I have to give it a 6.
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Steve Robbins said:
About this time would be a good time to bring back Clarence Paul to create some Pirates-sounding material…but that’s just me.
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Robb Klein said:
Yes, I really like The Pirates’ “Mind Over Matter” (but that’s more a result of Devora Brown’s songwriting than Clarence Paul’s producing. But, I certainly would have liked to hear more Eddie Kendricks leads, and less bluesy Berry Gordy-written novelty songs.
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Mary Plant said:
I agree with my brother on this one – although I’d go as high as 7 on the lyrics alone.
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RUFFINITMUSIC said:
“CANT GET NEXT TO YOU” I was hoping to share this with a few new connections! http://youtu.be/ExbTYJdfc7g
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Rupert Kinnard said:
Heh heh heh…yeah…I’d give it a 7. I love this song as a cute funny little story. I can’t imagine that after the guy was told “that a girl named Pearl was looking for him” and he left, Eddie would have to have begged the girl over and over again, “Can I have this dance? May I…May I…may I… have this dance… Very funny to me!
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bogart4017 said:
6/10 for the “Pearl” bit.
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Robb Klein said:
I assume that The Motown family knew a young lady named Pearl, as Robert Gordy also used that name in his song, “Hold On Pearl”. The only Detroit singer I can remember is Pearl Jones, who recorded for Mutt Records, and was also lead singer of Sidra Records’ Embraceables.
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Bee said:
I discovered this song from this blog. I absolutely loved it after a few listens, especially the tongue-in-cheek humor. I recently saw a comment that said Elbridge “Al” Bryant is actually the lead singer until Eddie comes in and ad-libs the higher parts at the end. I have always compared the vocals in this song to Eddie’s other songs in his lower range (particularly the cover of Fiddler on the Roof’s “If I Were a Rich Man” from the GIT special, which had me absolutely flabbergasted that Eddie could sing like that. My jaw was on the ground.)
However, I recently heard a live recording of “I Want a Love I Can See” in which Al has a lead part and it is most certainly veryyyyy close to the vocals on May I Have This Dance, which was originally credited to Al and apparently sang live by Al.
Here are the links to the songs mentioned! Give them a listen and reply to this comment with your thoughts!
May I Have This Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSCd96YgMsg
If I Were a Rich Man @1:37: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEunrOOiQPk
I Want a Love I Can See @1:37: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_2X_U0I6Kc
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