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Motown M 1068 (B), October 1964
B-side of Come See About Me
(Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland Jr.)
Stateside SS 376 (B), January 1965
B-side of Come See About Me
(Released in the UK under license through EMI / Stateside Records)
A big, dramatic gesture from the Supremes, stately and orchestral, the biggest production and arrangement of their career so far. The girls would make a career out of “up” music and “down” lyrics, but this is a double whammy, a sad and doleful tune to go with a sad and doleful text. For the first time since Never Again four years ago, Dolorous Diana Ross again gets to indulge in an unabashed bid for the listener’s heartstrings.
Not coincidentally, this is also the best Supremes B-side since Never Again. Like that song, it teeters on the brink of becoming maudlin, but instead keeps itself on the side of sweetly touching. Well, for me it does, at any rate. Perhaps I’m just a sucker for slowed-down melodrama. Whatever, I love this.
According to the liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 4, this track was cut in late ’63 and originally earmarked for Martha and the Vandellas, rather than the Supremes, Miss Reeves’ group being Motown’s top act at the time. Whatever the reason for it being switched to Miss Ross’ lot instead, it wasn’t because Gordy changed horses mid-stream, backing his new biggest stars over his previous ones; when the Supremes cut their vocals for this, in January of 1964, they were still unknowns. There’s more than a hint of that early pre-fame uncertainty and desperation in Diana’s voice here, high and vulnerable like the old days, but – again, just like Never Again – it serves the song beautifully, the frailty she can still call upon, before the certainty that came with her impending superstardom, doing her a big favour with the wounded material.
Lyrically, this is the story of Diana’s narrator pining for her former lover, and it’s unclear whether we’re just talking about a run-of-the-mill breakup, or whether he’s died. Either way, you’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel lines like this:
Though I’ve removed / Your picture from the wall / Nothing’s changed / For your image still remains
The song makes use of a repeated trick, the notion that Diana can’t move on because she still hears the sound of his laugh, sees his face everywhere she goes. Alone in her empty house, his whispering sweet nothings “still echoes loudly in the air”, tormenting her even when she’s tried to put him behind her. It’s every bit as heartbreaking as the Vandellas’ Come And Get These Memories, but it’s coming from a very different place; there’s no defiance here, no show-of-independence ultimatums, not even any plea for help, just a tear-stained lament.
It’s easy to get these things horribly wrong, and this could have come out cloying and sappy, except that HDH wrap up Diana in a huge, expansive production that still nevertheless doesn’t make itself intrusive or unwelcome, doesn’t threaten to overwhelm the song: muffled kettledrums, banks of sawing horns, heavenly, reverberating organ, minimalist piano, Flo and Mary at the very top of their ranges cooing softly and supportively through the verses, all coming together for a huge singalong one-line “chorus” as all three Supremes pick up the main thread at the same time and then cut it with the finality of an audible full stop: al-ways-in-my-heart. It’s all just so tastefully done. That sounds like a criticism, but not in this case: it’s a lovely tune dressed up in just enough dazzling raiment to make its point felt, and no more.
As well as being a welcome reminder that the Supremes (and indeed Motown) weren’t just about big stomping 4/4 hits, it’s also a nice snapshot of how well the Supremes had gelled as a group in 1964 even before they really made it. This sounds wonderful, as well as being one of the Holland-Dozier-Holland trio’s most beautifully understated and underrated songs, a mediation on loss (or even bereavement) as powerful and dignified as anything pop music had done so far. If this was the sound of Motown “selling out”, I’m all for it.
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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Stevie Wonder “Pretty Little Angel” |
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Motown Junkies 
Holland-Dozier-Holland were responsible for writing some fabulous b-sides; unfortunately this ponderous dirge isn’t one of them. 4/10
Thank heavens I probably won’t have cause to make any more derogatory comments about a Supremes’ track before “The Happening” is reviewed.
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(twinkle twinkle little *cough*)
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Oh yeah, I forgot about that!
Incidentally, “Always In My Heart” appears in the Jobete catalog as “You’re Gone (But Always In My Heart)”.
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Mm, it’s called that on TCMS 4 as well. But in this case, I decided to go with the shorter original title; as always in such cases (Little Girl Blue, Heat Wave etc), it’s a highly subjective judgement call.
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Motown 638’s twelve tracks could have yielded a fine single, but the two chosen for 1085 sure ain’t it. My nominees are “White Christmas” and “SC Is Coming To Town”. Maybe they wouldn’t have made more bucks for Jobete, but they would have done more favors for the group.
When you get to it, don’t spare any ruthlessness. Though I’ve tried to find more to like on the ‘b’ side simply because it’s minus the icky children’s chorus(!), The Supremes deserved a classic holiday single, and didn’t get one. An atypical instance of Motown letting them down.
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To put it into some context, the Supremes were spread VERY thinly during 1965. There are an astonishing seventeen sides, released or otherwise, to be covered on Motown Junkies during the year, and obviously that staggering number doesn’t take into account most of the tracks from the five (!) albums they released in ’65; taken with A Bit of Liverpool from the very end of ’64 and I Hear A Symphony from the very start of 1966, I’m less surprised that the Christmas single wasn’t a classic, and more surprised that any of their material ended up being listenable at all, never mind the (spoiler alert!) liberal splashing of tens they’re going to get. Where did they find the time to cut all this stuff?
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I have to say I always wondered myself how on earth did the Supremes manage to record all the material they did from 1964-65. It’s no wonder Diana Ross looked like Twiggy for quite some time. They really worked compared to the artists today. When did they have the time between performing and touring. WOW, is all I can say.
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“Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” is a personal holiday classic for me! (LOL). But, I soooo agree The Supremes did deserve a “real” Christmas classic.
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They should have released their version of “Silent Night” instead. Florence is simply divine on that track!
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Errrrrrr….. WHAT?!? The same rating as Baby Love? 144man: For me, “ponderous dirge” = perfect review.
After a certain point, my friends and I used to sing
“FLO, I removed
Your picture from the wall
Nothing’s changed
For your image still remains”
Imagining Diana singing that gives the song a whole new plot twist.
Dolorous dreck! A four, to be generous.
đŸ˜‰
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As always, I’ve clearly got my finger on the pulse of fan popularity.
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LOL too!
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(LOL)
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Nixon you really surprised me with this verdict! I assumed that you wouldn’t dig this record at all, but you do, so there’s no argument here = )
You have done a great job of describing and analyzing Diana, Flo & Mary’s incredible deliveries.ThIs song could have went down the sappy, crappy melodramatic road, but it doesn’t. The uncertainty, nervousness and youthfulness that Miss Ross’s voice contained on this track enables her performance to sound most sincere. Like Nixon said above you have to have a heart of stone to not sympathize with this young girl.
The only thing I do disagree with Nixon about is this being the Supremes best B-side up to this point. IMO the best B-side thus far is “Ask Any Girl.” Regardless, both B-sides come from a great album.
One last thing, I wished Nixon would’ve discussed is the “Come See About Me” record cover. (LOL). It is a great picture of the not yet FABULOUS, Bob Mackie gowns Supremes. The photo speaks volumes.
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As I said in the image tag*, there is no US picture sleeve for this one; the thing up there is the French cover chosen by EMI/Columbia, and could be a stock photo dating from any time between 1961 and now. More interesting than the gowns, for me, is that Flo is positioned front and centre!
* (if you, or anyone else, didn’t already know, hovering your mouse over an image here usually brings up little bits of further information, credits and/or silly comments.)
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Aha I didn’t lnow that (LOL)
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I love this picture sleeve. Never saw it before. My first thought was that they were standing in front of a mock-up unisphere which was the symbol of the 1964 World’s Fair. That would have probably placed the picture around the spring of 1964, just before all of the hoopla began. But that’s a pretty poor unisphere if that’s what it’s supposed to be. But they look so sweet standing in front of it.
Also, never cared too much for Always In My Heart. My favorite two B-sides up to this point are Ask Any Girl and Standing At The Crossroads Of Love.
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This one is a primordial unisphere with no noticeable land masses.
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From the beginning I was always convinced the guy in this one had died. It’s just too sad to be another routine breakup.
If Ross had set out to pick up where Mary Weiss left off, further eulogizing the motorcycle driver who ate the pavement in “Leader Of The Pack,” she couldn’t have done a more thorough job. More seriously, it could stand as a lament for anyone who knew someone who went to Vietnam and now wasn’t coming back. (Maybe the hero in “Your Heart Belongs To Me”?)
This would have been a more logical inclusion for More Hits -though no album’s lead-off track!- than repeating “Ask Any Girl.” It looked for a long time like it wouldn’t make any album, but finally showed in Sing HDH. An abrupt change of pace just after the furious “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” the best positioning for “Always In My Heart” should have been that (or some) long-players final track like “Ask Any Girl.”
I agree about the quality of the song and your grade. This is more proof, regardless of the medium, what a born actress Ross was.
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TCMS 4 makes the Vietnam connection too – “back in 1964, most Americans couldn’t tell you where that war was” – and it’s certainly a tempting interpretation.
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Dave I absolutely agree with your last statement = )
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Another excellent analysis, Mr. Nixon; thank you, as always! Your rating isn’t too far off; I’d give it a “7.”
My question to you concerns the background vocals: is the deep voice Mary’s or someone else’s? It sounds particularly masculine. H, D or H? One of the Tops or Temps? Mary? Really?
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I’d give it a 4. it’s a very nice, well-written song. But this arrangement is terrible. I understand that the drumming is supposed to represent the drumming of marching in the army. But, it’s being so very upfront that the strings, horn , base and most of the rest of the instrumental takes such a back seat (as to almost becoming inaudible), makes it totally unlistenable. Diane’s vocal is okay, but nothing special at all, and not very emotional. I’d rather have heard Kim Weston, Martha & Vandellas, or Oma Heard singing it.
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“come see about me” and this, both an eight? methinks you weren’t quite telling the truth when you said your were not dissing CSAM! … and what is all this talk that “long gone lover” was the obvious single (the next supremes single after ‘baby love” instead of CSAM?) call me perplexed!!!! … none the less, i hang on your every posting … how, about one every record (a and b side) review every week? please!
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Why do they both get 8? Easy. They’re both excellent, in my book at least. I think they’re two cracking songs. 8 is high praise. “He’s Seventeen” and “Banjo Band” are disses (can’t link on my phone, but easy to find in Master Index). Don’t get hung up on grades – but do click “marks out of ten” at the top if you want a full explanation of what’s going on in my head (plus a quote from Ratatouille).
I think LGL is more immediately interesting on first listen than CSAM, if not necessarily “better” per se. Neither strikes me as the obvious Next Hit Single though.
At least now you can rest easier knowing I’m not following a popular party line, right?
Be assured I’m posting as fast as I possibly can. I have a wife and child and a demanding full-time job, and I don’t get paid for this. Or are you asking me to slow down?
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Dear Nixon, The variable rhythm of your postings is a real blessing – not only does it give us time to digest the intensity and flavour of each song, and to re-experience it through your eloquence and sensitivity – but it also makes a nice counterpoint to the rhythm of our own lives. The slight element of unpredictability confers an added savour – sometimes we can barely keep up with you, at other times we’re on tenterhooks, and the suspense definitely adds to the joyful intensity of rediscovery and adventure. I hope some of the deep rich pleasure which you are so generously scattering over Planet Motown flows back to you.
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I have to agree with Dave L…It was a strange flow on “The Supremes Sing Holland Dozier Holland” between the two songs “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” and “Love is Here And Now You’re Gone”, which were both more mature in “Motown” productions..This one “You’re Gone( But Always In My Heart)” is alot more crude of course because Motown was still evolving with their sound as this song was recorded about 2 and a half years before The Supremes Sing HDH was released..However, I do like this song it’s just not one of my favorites..There are in fact much better B sides..
“Ask Any Girl”
“Who Could Ever Doubt My Love”
“Everything Is Good About You”
“Going Down For The First Time”
That’s just to name a few..and yes, penned and produced by the legendary Holland, Dozier, Holland.
There was another song played on the local radio station from the Sing HDH LP..it was “Mother You, Smother You”..
Thank you Nixon for another awesome review!!
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“Going Down For The Third Time”..You’ll have to excuse me, my brain must have taken on too much water
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…and now it’s my turn: (LOL)
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Time and again, when Nixon puts up a new review, regardless of its grade, that song then sticks in my mind the rest of the day.
After I added my remarks earlier today, I got off the pc and did my usual Saturday puttering and errands -a glorious sunny, dry day here in northern Virginia, perfect for driving- but not without this song close to the front of my mind no matter what I was doing.
Perhaps a significant factor too, in the last half-dozen years, I’ve said the last goodbye to as many contemporaries of mine, which gives this kind of song a gravity it certainly didn’t have back when I was 10. The Motown family itself these days is contracting too; Nick Ashford, Esther Gordy Edwards and Gladys Horton among the goodbyes we’ve had to say of late.
It just goes to show, as these various “Golden Age” records move closer to their 50th birthdays, they’ve really lost no power to move us, and keep us their captive. A 7 here, a 10 there, a 5 somewhere else … how important are the numbers when all of us have such long lists of dear favorites we can actually play them in our heads with no electronic assistance of any sort? Motown Magic indeed.
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Very well put, Dave. That’s one thing that people can’t take away from us, the music, the memories and yes, the Motown Magic..I too was hearing this song in my head today and as I’am posting this..That’s how well Motown stands the test of time..I had just turned 14 when “Come See About Me” was released. The rating on these songs means something different to each of us and we’re not always going to agree on a number because ” It’s Whats In The Groove That Counts”..
Thank You Nixon for taking the time out of your busy life with your job and family to take on such an undertaking of love as this!! One A and B side a week is okay with me. Looking forward to more!!
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Yep, that’s it exactly,
I’ll continue to bend over backwards to make it clear that my opinions are just that, rather than a bid for the last word on any record. There’s a reason every review ends with the words “I’ve had my say, now it’s your turn”; opinions are fun because everyone has different ones.
On posting, the average is meant to be one new side every two days, but it’s not always possible to stick to that schedule. It used to be one a day, before I thought I was going to have some sort of breakdown if I carried on that way.
(If you’re ever bored and idly flicking through the site, have a look at the dates for the first 40-odd reviews, written and published before anyone was reading…!)
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I’m still trying to read all of those older post! In the Master Index I’m stuck in 1961 (LOL). If it’s hard for me to read a post a day, I know it is hard for you to review a post a day. Mr. Nixon thank you for taking time out of your days to post these reviews. You may not know it, but this blog brings a lot of joy to many of your devoted and new readers. How glad I am to have stumbled upon this wonderful blog. Thank You!
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I’m waiting to see what you think of Barrett Strong’s “Misery”, Damecia.
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Well said Dave!
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As a 14 year old in 1964/65 I thought this song was much better than CSAM which, indeed, it took me many years to appreciate especially as I was soooo put off by those 100 mile an hour live versions. At the first show of the Motown Review in Leicester in March 1965, The Supremes sang Come See About Me followed by their sung link ‘Now that you’ve heard one of our favourite songs…but if there’s another you would rather have us sing for you, just let us know before we go….’ and my friend and I shouted out for ‘Always in My Heart’! We could tell they’d heard us from the front row and we were disappointed they didn’t just sing it there and then. Ahhh. such innocence on our part. Instead they sang Baby Love then finished their set with Shake, which at that stage we’d never heard of. However, our disappointment was soon forgotten for about an hour later, after the show, we went to play bowls next door and who should come alongside us? The Supremes, the Vandellas, a couple of Miracles, sundry Motown staff and musicians including Earl Van Dyke. And they chatted with us for a while which was an almost greater thrill than the show. Motown Memories indeed.
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Amazing!! What did you talk about?
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We were 14 and in awe. So dumbstruck. We lived in the middle of the Derbyshire countryside and suddenly we were confronted by our idols in the flesh. We asked for autographs. They asked our names. Had we enjoyed the show? I remember being very surprised at how petite the Supremes were, even Florence who was even then described as ‘statuesque’. I remember Flo was wearing the coat with the fur collar that she is wearing in street photos in London and Paris at that time. Earl van Dyke was delightful. Charming. And retiring. He didn’t want to give an autograph saying he wasn’t a star of the show.
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Wow! So cool!
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What I also think is cool about this site is that, how universal Motown is. From what I’m seeing Motown fans from across the pond who also had a big impact on the 60’s Pop music culture ie; “The British Invasion”, Rolling Stones, Searchers, Gerry and the Pacemakers, The Beatles, The Animals and so on.
My wife and I live here on the North Oregon Coast, about as far West as you can get before you fall off the Continent of America. I’m totally enjoying seeing responces that I read what looks like from all over and how our Motown passion is united.
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Ron I sooo agree! I’m from Atlanta, Ga and was born at the end of the 80s in December, but I have sooo much love and appreciation for Motown.
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This song is another example, along with “Your Heart Belongs to Me,” that shows that Diana Ross actually CAN (or at least COULD) sing quite well. Yet for some damn reason, she sang in that nasal on all the A-side. Those songs were ENORMOUS hits, so probably they’re right and I’m wrong, but to my ears… I just wish they had let her sing from her diaphragm instead of her nose on all of the songs from their heyday.
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Oh dear. This song always perplexed me. I was in high school (1976 – 77) when I started collecting the Supremes’ original albums, after having grown up on their singles and the awesome Greatest Hits lp. I was so excited when I found the HDH album by mail-order (remember that?), and when it arrived, I loved it in all its dramatic, sepia-drenched glory. Once I got beyond the cover, though, I found a mixed bag.
Without going into the other non-singles on the HDH album, I’ll say that AIMH is the weakest of the bunch and I’ve always wondered why it was included. And included in that album, of all the albums they released. It was a throwback to the time when they were the no-hit Supremes, and why go there at that point in their dynamic career? I thought the HDH album would be a celebration of their collaboration, a sort of look at where they were and a peek at where they were going. But, alas, I was wrong.
AIMH is a dull, lifeless affair, and I never listen to it anymore. The production reminds me of the long-unreleased “I’m the Exception to the Rule.” Both of the same time, obviously, in the Supremes’ recording career, and both featuring muffled drumbeats and funereal organ music.
Diana’s lead on AIMH is painful for me to listen to. She stretches and never quite makes it. But much worse than that are the background vocals. Flo is practically absent, and Mary… Oh gosh. It’s embarrassing how bad Mary sounds on this recording. Even worse than her intro to “Long Gone Lover.” Sheesh. Her vibrato is so wide and wobbly you could fly a jetliner through it. And that huskiness, which served her so well on so many other records, is just too, well, husky.
Again, I wonder why this was, first, the B-side to the perfect “Come See About Me,” and why, secondly, it was released on what should have been a more progressive album almost three years later.
I give it one star just because it’s a Supremes record. Blecch.
Robert
Lafayette, LA, USA
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Hi Robert!
I really enjoyed reading your commentary. I like this song, but I do have to agree about the funeral organ which to makes helps the overall tone of sadness on this track.
I learned something new. I never knew who that was singing the intro on Long Gone Lover. I always figured it was some extra, I never even thought about Mary lol strange right?
Hope to see more of your commentary especially on the Supreme reviews.
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Hi Damecia, and thanks for your reply. I discovered this site, like, two days ago, and I’m in heaven. The Supremes are pretty much my life…well, not really, but you know. I love most of the rest of Motown but the Supremes are the top for me. As much as I love them, though, I’m realistic about their work, and I’ll call them (and HDH and Gordy) down on things that I think they shouldn’t have done. Releasing AIMH is one of tose things!
As for Mary, I do love her voice, most of the time. Same with Diana and Flo. But Diana and Flo don’t make me cringe sometimes the way Mary does. Another one of her missteps that found its way to vinyl is the way she intones “Daaaaance…” on their version of the Dave Clark Five’s version of the Contours’ version of “Do You Love Me,” on the Liverpool lp. Not good.
And I don’t mean to bash Mary here, I really don’t, but while it’s on my mind, I have to say that her “reaching” on the first “La” at the very beginning of “He Holds His Own” almost makes me not want to listen to the rest of the song.
There, I’m done. I still don’t understand how anyone can like AIMH, but to each his or her own!
Robert
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Robert you will soon find out I live for the Supremes too! I especially am a Ross fan. Can’t wait til Steve D. starts reviewing her solo work.(years ahead of us now!).
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I didnt like it at first but like most Motown ballads it kinda grew on me. Not too many people liked it though so the king of the b-sides remains the Temptations!!!!Yaaaay.
Not a bad b-side in the bunch between 1964-1969!
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Always In My Heart was the perfect complement for Come See About Me. The booming percussion on the B-side seemed like an enlargement of the fade-in leading into the A-side, and the crashing drum roll (behind “sometimes up…sometimes down”) after the instrumental break in the A-side.
Too, it had an ominous but dignified drama that seemed to transition quite naturally into Stop! In The Name Of Love. Back then, I thought that the three songs could have been recorded within days or weeks of one another, not over a 12-month period; there was a consistency and flow to them, and the vocals were much more mature than that on Baby Love. And you’re right; there is a certain connection between this song, Never Again and I’m In Love Again.
I loved this song (and still do) and was disappointed it was not included on the Where Did Our Love Go album instead of, specifically, Standing At The Crossroads Of Love.
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A wonderfully crafted song, and more mature than most of HDH creations at the time it was recorded. Nevertheless, I was rather surprised when it cropped up on the Supremes Sing HDH/Motown album, simply because it didn’t really fit in with the rest of the material/ arrangements on that album. Most of which was up tempo apart from this and ‘Remove this doubt’ and also because the arrangement by the time the album was released sounded slightly dated. I just wonder why such a gem as this had not been included on an earlier Supremes’ album and who suddenly thought of using it over two years after its appearance on the single. Agree with the 8/10.
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