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Tamla T 54104 (B), September 1964
B-side of What Good Am I Without You
(Written by Smokey Robinson and Mickey Stevenson)
Stateside SS 363 (B), December 1964
B-side of What Good Am I Without You
(Released in the UK under license through EMI / Stateside Records)
First things first, and before we get into talking about this record, a round of applause for regular contributor Damecia on her recent graduation. Congratulations from everyone at Motown Junkies!
And now that I’m done embarrassing people, back to the records. It’s nice we had some good news to start with, because the song isn’t up to much. This is a totally different experience to the sassy A-side, What Good Am I Without You; both songs were written with Mary Wells, not Kim Weston, in mind, but the difference is that this one sounds like it.
But I Want You Round is unique among all these duets, in that it wasn’t actually written for Marvin Gaye either – it made its first appearance back in 1963 as a speculative, let’s-see-what-happens internal demo, sung by Mary and her favoured writer-producer, Smokey Robinson. It wasn’t a success on any level – the song’s a plodding dirge, and Robinson and Wells just don’t have complementary voices – and so it went back on the shelf until Mary found herself a more compatible duet partner.
Ironically, by the time it was dusted off, with a new band track recorded, Miss Wells was already long gone from Motown, and never got to sing it with Marvin. Unlike the A-side, Kim Weston’s late substitute appearance isn’t exactly a seamless replacement; her part sounds oddly tacked-on, so much so that if you’d (wrongly) been told this was recorded by Mary and then Motown had Kim overdub her parts, you’d have no problem believing it.
Unlike the A-side (this is becoming a theme, isn’t it?), our two leads don’t alternate lines, instead opting for a two-handed dual-tracked approach. They’re unrecognisable as themselves – the murky blend of vocals gives the impression of a mediocre new singing group – though it’s not without its charm, Marvin occasionally endearingly catching a note in his throat, Kim occasionally bouncing unexpectedly up the scale to hit the word ROUND! at the end of the refrain that serves as a chorus.
It’s just so very boring. Pretty in places, but boring. I Want You Round ends up being flat and bland and sticky everywhere What Good Am I Without You was bouncy and bluesy and ballsy, and as such it’s poorly suited to our new would-be star pairing. One of Motown’s biggest personalities and one of Motown’s biggest voices, and they’re utterly wasted on this thin little sketch, a failed proof of concept intended for two entirely different people; nobody sounds like they’re having a good time here, nobody’s being allowed to do what they do best. It’s like giving Cézanne a paint by numbers and some chunky crayons.
We tend to think of Marvin and Kim as having been a successful pairing, because of the fine LP they eventually cut together and the ever-enduring Top 20 hit that album spawned. In fact, they only released two singles together; this one scraped into the Cash Box R&B Top 30 (having hit an underwhelming #61 Pop), and the next one wouldn’t come along for nearly two and a half years. On the strength of the A-side, that’s a terrible pity, a crying shame, a great loss to popular music; on the strength of this B-side, meh, not so much.
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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| Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston “What Good Am I Without You” |
Mickey McCullers “Who You Gonna Run To” |
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Motown Junkies 
Though I like this side more than a 3, I must reluctantly agree with you about its weakness: over the radio airwaves, unannounced, you wouldn’t know who this was, if you’d never held the record in your hand.
Great singer that she is, at this point, Weston’s voice is not as identifiable as many another Motown girl, and while Gaye has certainly been interesting record buyers more and more, this side, sandwiched between his “Baby Don’t You Do It” and “How Sweet It Is” is not the Marvin Gaye-Sound your ears have been trained to recognize.
Still, it’s a worth a point or two higher for me; there’s something about the record’s melancholy aura that has always stuck with me.
As you point too, now Motown is starting -more consistently- with its “taken from such and such album” tag on the label of singles, often well before the LPs are in stores, if they ever get there, and this one didn’t. Well, not until it was reconfigured at the end of 1966 as (now) Tamla 270, Take Two.
Next, in November, “Without The One You Love” is going to trumpet Four Tops (Motown 622), even though it’s not in any store till it arrives with the “Ask The Lonely” singles in January. And it was divine agony in April of ’65 to have a record number (Motown 627) and title – More Hits By The Supremes– for an album that wouldn’t be allowed in our greedy hands till July 23.
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I loved seeing those “From album…” notes as I realized what hidden treasures could be found on Motown LPs. Though this album was never released under the title announced, most of the tags proved right.
The Take Two album contained one track that could easily have replaced this one with a lot more impact: “Heaven Sent You I Know.”
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My problem with this one and the A-side (I’ve been waiting to see if anyone else would comment on it but maybe it’s just me) is Marvin’s voice. He is one of my favorite all-time singers, but on these two sides, he sounds to me like he has bronchitis or a bad cold. He sounds like he’s singing with some kind of chest congestion. I know from personal experience how uncomfortable and painful it is to sing with a chest cold or bronchitis, so not only does this make his voice not sound as good, but it’s painful for me to listen to because I can imagine how much it hurt for him, and I wonder why they couldn’t have waited a week until he was feeling better (I know they had a tight schedule but still…) Does anyone else hear this? I think it’s especially noticeable on the b-side.
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I noticed that he sounded diffrent, but I never considered the sound change came from a cold. Interesting!
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I haven’t heard this version for years, but memory tells me I’m likely to concur. Thanks to Dave L’s fervent advocacy of ‘Looking Back’, I HAVE heard Mary Wells and Smokey’s version. It’s very strange; their voices blend TOO well; a smooth composite single voice results, which has the effect of cancelling out the delicious particularity of each contributor. Pleasant enough, but ultimately boring. However, the collection as a whole is a gold mine – thanks, Dave!! – Along with ‘My Heart is Like a Clock’ , Mary’s version of (You Can) Depend On Me is a real gem. No backup singers, just throbbing triplets in the band, rather like ‘Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things’ – and some of Mary’s most poetic and exquisite singing. And many of the ‘previously unreleased’ songs, particularly on the second disc, are real treasures. Alas, I see ‘Oh Little Boy’ is not included – so I’ll hang on to my Greatest Hits LP!.. By the way, I’ve been busy in rehearsals for my opera, so I’m late in congratulating Demecia – but hearty if belated congratulations on your graduation!!
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Thanx John! = )
If you don’t mind me asking when does your opera open? I think it’s so cool you’re in a opera. Wishing you the best with that = )
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Hi Damecia! – Thanks so much for your good wishes! The opera happened on Thursday, and it went very well. I had magnificent musicians and singers to work with. More on my website – come pay a visit!
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Excellent news. It would seem hearty congratulations are in order! Very well done John – I shall embarrass you with a “shout out” (and link) next time 🙂
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Hi John!
Just now reading this (sorry!). I would love to check out the opera. What’s the link to the website???
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= ) Lol gee, thanx Mr. Nixon & everyone! I’m a little late reading this, but it has made my day today. A shoutout from Motown Junkies is better than…this track (lol).
Really, I didnt mean that lil part about the track. Infact, I like this song & I feel that it deserves more than a 3. A 5 or 6 would be better.
This is 1 of those songs that does not get you movin, but it doesn’t put you to sleep either. It’s kinda just … lukewarm.
But this is one lukewarm song that I would have on replay. I love the dual singing & the intro is great..even though I can’t really make out the sound the background singers are making (lol).
Even though I like this song I still prefer Mary & Smokey’s.
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I agree with Demecia, this song should’ve gotten at least a 6 in my book. The echo chamber however, is working overtime and actually, the ending chorus is my favorite part of this, with the violins interlocking it together..This B side, “I Want You ‘Round” for me, is so much better than the A side..
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Hi Gang,
I agree with Ron & D – Better than a 3. Nice little song but agree it is not spectacular. But anything with Kim Weston on it is worth a listen.
By the way, Ron, I think you said elsewhere that you were in radio? Where was that? It wasn’t Washington, DC was it? Thanks.
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Its got that ’64 sound but there is nothing really distinctive about it. Also agreeing with Damecia—Smokey & Mary spoiled the whole thing for me.
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