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Motown M 1053 (B), January 1964
B-side of How Can We Tell Him
(Written by Smokey Robinson)
Bobby’s voice is still strangely echoey and nasal, and it’s not any better to listen to than on the A-side; a Fifties matinee idol’s delivery, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. But the song he’s singing is giant, seven league strides ahead of How Can We Tell Him – it has a genuinely great tune, clever and unexpected chord changes playing up the naĂ¯ve hope of Breen’s narrator, a beautifully-sketched character: lonely but still keeping the faith as his date fails to turn up and the minutes and hours tick by, Bobby giving her the benefit of the doubt rather than resorting to rancour.
In his role as Motown’s Vice-President and a surprisingly important A&R man for the label, Smokey Robinson found himself writing and producing for all manner of little-known acts in the hope that he’d unearth the next Mary Wells; what’s remarkable is that no matter how strange the task, Smokey never phoned it in, always came up with something – if not always necessarily something good, then at least something interesting.
This one is particularly interesting, both in terms of that wistful, lazy killer hook (and the attendant production touches – seaside sound effects, crashing waves and so on), and the thought that’s been put into the lyrics. The MOR surroundings, and Breen’s weirdly nasal voice, trick the listener into thinking the song’s about the woman Bobby’s singing to, instead of realising it’s actually a character study about the narrator. He’s meant to be meeting up with his ex-girlfriend, who – after some persistent pestering – has agreed to meet him at their old rendezvous spot on the shore for what Bobby seems to have sold as a clear-the-air, “let’s be friends” sort of talk. However, Bobby’s clearly treating the thing as a romantic date, seeing her acceptance as a sign she’s still interested, and he’s filled with hope that this is their chance to get back together again, a prospect which the listener knows is probably doomed right from the start.
What follows is a sharply accurate portrayal of a man who hasn’t been this happy in weeks and won’t be again for weeks more, but who’s desperate to cling on to that thread of happiness that he’s pretending it doesn’t matter she’s over an hour late; she’s bound to come round the corner any second now. Any second now. The agony of love.
I’d pay so much money to hear Smokey himself singing this in Bobby’s place; if this had been a Miracles cut, it might have been a masterpiece. Instead, it’s a good song, sung earnestly but inescapably poorly – though Bobby’s wounded puppy-dog delivery wins you over anyway. (His performance stands in complete contrast to the A-side’s unengaging tale of a messy love triangle, where Breen came across as a spineless dullard, difficult to care for or about).
This is essentially an R&B ballad, adapted for a white MOR performer; Motown was replete with examples going the other way by 1969 as Berry Gordy pushed his artists towards a fabled goal of crossover acceptance, but this is a weird experience, strangely touching, possessed of a brilliant tune; all in all, it’s enough to forgive Bobby’s well-meaning sappy excesses (to a point, anyway).
Beautiful and intriguing, and those are the last words I’d expected to be using to describe a long-forgotten Bobby Breen B-side.
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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I’ve never heard this but now I’m intrigued. The mindset of the narrator sounds quite akin to the Doobie Brothers’ “What A Fool Believes,” and I love that record.
I’m in total agreement with what you have to say about Smokey here. He may not know it at this point, but even though his association with Mary Wells is about to end, he’s embarking on the busiest years of his life, propping up his own group, The Temptations, Brenda Holloway, and refreshing the Marvelettes.
Good thing he was young!
đŸ™‚
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“Better Late Than Never” was also recorded by Mickey McCullers, also produced by Smokey. It was a beautiful, well-orchestrated recording. Unfortunately, it was never released on vinyl. I’m not sure if it has been released on CD yet. There were hundreds of great songs in The Motown Vault that don’t fit the commercial release categories of “famous singer”, “Northern-Soul sound”, “scheduled single” and other commercial categories that should be heard. Edward Earling, The Pronouns, Mickey McCullers, The Versatones, Keith Moss, Clyde Wilson, Wilbur Jackson and other solo artists and groups made cuts that Motown fans would enjoy. I hope they all get released eventually.
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Bobby appeared in a movie called JOHNNY DOUGHBOY along with “Spanky” McFarland and Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer–singing!! [of course we all know albut Alf’s Caruso-like tenor ROTF!!!!
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I first became familiar with this in 1972 when I bought it at Soho Market along with some other imported 1960’s Motown singles at 30p each! From the very first play I was surprised at the quality of the song and that it had been allocated to an unknown, to me anyway, performer. I later found out that Breen had been something of a child acting star years earlier and had even been featured on the Beatles Sgt Pepper album cover. Breen has certainly got a weird voice, sounds to me as though he was half male half female. However, there’s something peculiarly enchanting about this disc. His voice suits the melancholy backing and lyrics. One of Smokey’s relatively undiscovered gems.
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I was so busy writing about Mickey McCullers’ version of this song, that I forgot to vehemently protest your rating this recording at “8”. The song is terrific, but, to ME, Breen’s singing is uninspired, making the overall sound boring at best. I’d give it a 3. Mickey’s version would get a 6.
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The fade is very similar to Mickey McCullers’ in “Same Old Story,” another Smokey creation. I like both. What can I tell you? I’m a fade fan.
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