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VIP 25007 (B), September 1964
B-side of Needle In A Haystack
(Written by Mickey Stevenson and Norman Whitfield)
Stateside SS 361 (B), November 1964
B-side of Needle In A Haystack
(Released in the UK under license through EMI / Stateside Records)
The Velvelettes hadn’t long returned to Hitsville (after more than a year’s absence) when they cut the rush-released A-side, Needle In A Haystack, and so for the flip Motown reached back to the vault and dug out this weird little scribble cut back in February of 1963, back when the girls were a five-piece taking time out from school and college to lay down a few tracks.
This one’s a bit of a mess, if I’m honest. A thin, dated pastiche of the sort of calypso-tinged stuff Mary Wells was using to score hits a year and a half previously, with shrill, jarring backing vocals, it does the group something of a disservice. I’m not sure how it might have stacked up if it had been released when it was first recorded, but a lot had happened during the long delay before it saw the light of day, and it now sticks out like a sore thumb.
But it’s the Velvelettes, and nothing they ever did was wholly without merit. This one has plenty of saving graces which take the record above the crowd: the lovely, unexpected chord change which takes us to the chorus, for instance, or the intriguing lyric which sees Cal Gill’s narrator listening to her friends telling her she’s got no chance and no future with the guy she likes, biting her lip as she debates whether or not to tell them that they’re already secretly dating.
The best thing about this, though, is Cal’s lead vocal. If she’s obviously and noticeably younger than on the A-side, she still gives it her all; like her bandmates’ backing vocals, the performances all bear comparison with their début There He Goes, which is good for Cal and bad for the others. Although she was only fifteen when this was recorded, Miss Gill again sounds superb, alternately composed and hurt – in the liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 4, she reveals the lyrics were inadvertently describing a situation not totally alien to her, and she accordingly brings some of that empathy to the studio.
You’d never know there was a problem. She handles difficult parts with aplomb, raising a smile when the contorted lyric makes a rhyming couplet out of “How we met / In se-CRET”, and then goes for a twofer two lines later by adding dee-PEST for good measure. She’s got power and technique, too; even when the song calls for her to give a long, difficult sustained note, a cry of frustration, at 1:55, she takes it in stride.
It’s all very impressive, which is more than can be said for the song as a whole – but despite its dated, scruffy nature, there’s the feeling that this has been pulled above its natural level, and it ends up being well worth a listen.
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 Velvelettes “Needle In A Haystack” |
Stevie Wonder “Happy Street” |
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Like we know Annette Helton has, I hope too Cal Gill discovers Motown Junkies as well, Nixon. These ladies earned their musical immortality, and your thoughtful reviews bolster it.
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The Velvelettes auditioned for Motown with 2 songs that they brought with them, one was “There He Goes” and the other was “Should I Tell Them”.
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This one is at least an 8 for me. I like that slight popcorn/chalypso groove this record has -plus the vocal that almost goes into falsetto in the chorus–I have to admit that now when I see the new reviews-I skip the whole review and go straight to the rating and then go back to see …WHY…most of the time it seems the ones I like get the lower ratings but this one is a bit too low for me–no , not a 10 but at least a 7 if not an 8
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Chalypso was the word Dick Clark used on his American Bandstand TV show, back when it was telecast each weekday afternoon, to refer to the rhythm of songs of this type. And I suppose the same term could be applied to all those Smokey Robinson songs with similar characteristics. So, what do you think of this label, Mr. Barker?
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I like this song alot, maybe better than its A-side. No, I’m certain I like this song more. The subject matter is very relateable and fits sooo perfectly with the “girl group” image. The lead singer does a great job with conveying the right emotion. More enthusiastic than “Needle in a Haystack” I would give this record 8/10.
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I agree with Damecia I loovvee Should I Tell Them Cal does a magnificent job on lead and it should have charted along with Needle in A Haystack IMHO 9/10!! Love the Velvelettes
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Thanx Ricky = )
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I love this recording and song, as an example of the quality B-sides of the period often had in all popular music. It takes chances and dares to be different. The bolero chord change in the bridge is stirring, and the arrangement is atmospheric and haunting. I ask you to give this one a reconsideration. Did The Velvelettes make better records than this? Of course. But do any of them achieve this lingering sense of melancholy and inner turmoil? Those qualities are worth something in my book.
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