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Motown M 1069 (A), November 1964
b/w Love Has Gone
(Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland Jr.)
Stateside SS 371 (A), January 1965
b/w Love Has Gone
(Released in the UK under license through EMI/Stateside Records)
After the Four Tops’ magnificent breakthrough with Baby I Need Your Loving, I had high hopes for this first follow-up, a classic example of Motown not messing with a winning formula: the same writers, producers, musicians and vocalists, of course, but also pretty much the same song, slightly faster but unmistakeably built on the same skeleton as its predecessor.
Hard to imagine a more blatant soundalike sequel than this, really. They don’t even try to hide it; the song blasts into life mid-flow, almost as if someone’s carelessly dropped the needle on the record, and in the very first line of the song the Tops chime in: Baby, I need your good lovin’! Got to have your love right now! Shameless, sure, but then trying to remind people how good your last record was is forgiveable when your last record was a masterpiece. Carry on, boys and girls.
How disappointing, then, that this turns out to be a shambolic, noisy attempt to riff on the perfection of the Tops’ Motown début but completely missing the point, seemingly misunderstanding just about everything that made that record magical. No, I don’t like this.
On the Tops’ début album (left), the two are sequenced back to back, and this song strikes up right after the closing bars of Baby I Need Your Loving; there’s never been a less flattering comparison. Everything that was great about that one is missing on this one; like a clumsy junior chef who’s followed the recipe to the letter without ever tasting it to see if it still works, and perhaps without even knowing what it’s meant to be like. “Yeah, sure, I can do what it says here… you want a big, operatic chorus, okay, you want Levi Stubbs free to roam over the top, you want the same kind of tune. I can do that for you, no problem. It’ll be about half an hour, is that OK?”
The lyrics are a blunt, obvious parody of the desperate, all-or-nothing “man on the edge” that so captured my heart in Baby I Need Your Loving, not that it matters because the vocals are so indistinct you can only make out about two-thirds of them anyway. The heavenly mix of the three “other” Tops and the female Andantes, the unique sound that would propel so many Tops records to greatness, is ruined by a staggeringly cack-handed production job from the normally laser-precise Holland and Dozier, the whole thing fuzzy and indistinct, the boys’ harmonies harsh and loud, the girls’ operatic swell in the chorus drowned out in a cacophonous sea of distortion. The band sound like they’re laying down a cover of Baby I Need Your Loving to fill album space at 5am (which they may have been, for all I know) and struggling to get all their parts down. It’s just not that good a record.
Damn, I really, really wanted this to be amazing. Instead, it’s the biggest drop-off between first and second singles since the Supremes, and it’s a crushing, sucking disappointment, so much so that it’s taken me a few listens to uncouple my expectations and try and give it a fair shake on its own merits.
And it does have merits. Levi Stubbs, again, comes away from this looking pretty good; he certainly emerges with the most credit by far. The other six vocalists on this record seem to be doing whatever they want, so much so that it almost sounds as though they couldn’t hear themselves while recording, even when they’re only having to sing “oooh” in the background; the producers can’t keep them on a tight enough leash, and the result is a mess, a few sweet moments bobbing in a sea of amateurism. But, oh, Levi! A man who’s always at his best when freestyling anyway, here he delivers another tough, wounded performance in the verses, half-singing, half-cursing, and when HDH and his beloved bandmates hand him lemons, he sets about making wholly passable lemonade. Whether through luck or excellent judgement, his lead vocal really works against the chaotic backdrop, and it’s the record’s only real redeeming feature, enough to almost single-handedly save it from disgrace and push it to the dizzy heights of mediocrity.
(Of course, this being a Golden Age Motown single from one of the label’s best and most beloved acts, it has plenty of defenders, and I’m guessing this review will probably upset a few people – as will likely be the case every time something doesn’t move me from now until 1972. Don’t be offended; I calls ’em as I sees ’em, I can’t love ’em all, and everyone reading this is absolutely welcome to have your say in response.)
But, honestly, as it strikes me, well… it’s just not all that good. If I didn’t know that they’d dust themselves off and make some of the best records in history, I’d be worried. As it is, I’m just really disappointed – this could, and should, have been fantastic.
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 Four Tops “Love Has Gone” |
DISCOVERING MOTOWN |
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I guess I’m one of this song’s defenders. While I don’t consider it in the class of “Baby I Need Your Lovin,” and it is a pretty obvious imitation of that disc’s structure and feel, it is by no means a “mess ” or a “crushing, sucking disappointment.” In fact, I find myself listening to it more these days than I do “Baby,” probably because that earlier hit has been so overexposed. I think this is another case where the expectations are unrealistically raised for certain Motown acts, and Motown in general. I’d give this a “7”.
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You wouldn’t be alone (hence the pre-emptive defensiveness!) – as 144man put it a few months ago, from now until 1972 there’s probably an army of fans for everything I dislike. Except Ray Oddis, maybe. But I just plain don’t like this one.
I’m certainly guilty as charged when it comes to heightened expectations; I often find myself marking my favourites (and the Tops are probably my favourite Motown group, trivia fans) harder than if they were long-forgotten unknowns, simply because I know how good they can be when it all hooks up.
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Despite it’s obvious ‘safe follow-up’ nature, I’ve always loved this record. It’s great. Not, obviously as great as ‘Baby I Need Your Lovin’, but I still love it.
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I found this record in the 50 cents pile a year after its release as I never heard it until I took it home and played it and was blown away. I love it more than baby I need your lovin really. It is just a pretty song. I give it a 10.
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In the late 80s, when I finally got a hold of several of Joel Whitburn’s assorted books on Billboard charts, I was stunned to read that this one only reached No. 43 nationally. I remember both sides of it being well received all over my Philadelphia neighborhood.
While I like it more than you, I also agree that Levi is the best thing about it. It could have disappointed even more if Stubbs didn’t have the chops to deal with the kind of bombast the record asks for. In less talented hands, it could have been a laughable disaster.
After “Baby I Need Your Loving’s” slow, woo-ooo intro, I actually liked the way this one begins fully-charged, as if splashing right into the deep end of the pool. I know who these guys are by now, so if they don’t want to introduce themselves gently the second round, that’s okay 🙂 And on AM radio, it left no room for a mouthy DJ to step all over any long intro, something that frustrated many a play of, say, “Heat Wave” and “Back In My Arms Again.”
Certainly the record is a ‘valley’ between the mountain peaks of “Baby I Need Your Loving” and “Ask The Lonely,” but like all of their Golden Age stuff, even though I’ve got two original 45s of it, I’d buy a clean third copy today if one were around.
In my own affection, I couldn’t honestly drop it below a 7. 🙂
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This diagnosis suffers from 20/20 hindsight, if I may so say. Perfectly rational, but too distant from the sheer visceral thrill of hearing more in ’64 of the epic sound which had just upended the world. Well, my world, at least, before I knew there were hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of like-minded people out there, instead of the handful known to me. Stunned by the majesty of “Baby I Need Your Loving,” we surely just wanted another fix. HDH and the Tops could have sung that first hit backwards, and it would have been sufficient. That they went on to make, as you correctly observe, some of the greatest-ever recordings fulfilled all those first hopes and brought justice to the world. You can’t second guess the past from the present. Well, you can, but then, life’s not worthwhile.
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I guess the public in 1964 America felt the same way Nixon does about “Without The One You Love” It stalled out at #43 on Billboard..
The fact that this is an obvious attempt to sound like the hit record before it doesn’t bother me. That happened all the time: “Heat Wave” to “Quicksand” ,”Can I Get A Witness” to “You’re A Wonderful One” and “I Can’t Help Myself” followed by “It’s The Same Old Song”.
I have to agree with Nick in Pasadina..to me this one is a 7. Not as good as “Baby,I Need Your Loving” (few records are) or the next one,”Ask The Lonely” but still a 4 seems way too low.I’ll bet Nick heard this one on KRLA when it was new.I did. I really liked it then and I like it even more today.
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Yes, Bob, I may have heard it a couple of times on KRLA! Back then some discs didn’t stay long in rotation if they didn’t take off right away.
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Sure, it pales in comparison with “Baby I Need Your Loving” but taken on its own merits it’s quite good. A “4” is quite a severe rating for this tune; imo, it deserves
“7.”
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To me this record stands up well in its own right, and I think it’s got a lot going for it. I like Levi’s vocals, I like the tune, I like the harmonies, and I like the arrangement. Not being able to understand the words in a record is nothing unusual, but I don’t think it’s worse here than anywhere else. I particularly like the mini-climax where, instead of ending the chorus with the usual “so come and fill my empty arms and make my life worthwhile”, Levi sings “so come and fill my empty arms and fill my empty life”.
I’m with Nick, Dave L, Adam and Bob on this one, so 7/10.
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…and with MichaelS.
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I thought you were snubbing me at first, 144man. LOL!
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Nixon admin., I heard your guest radio bit on the show. it sounded good!!!!! it’s too bad to you weren’t on for more than 4 songs !! I really liked and in the sixties terminology I really dug it man!!! I’ve Been reading your comments and thoughts on all these songs for two years it’s like I’ve gotten to know you almost!!!! now I have finally got to hear your voice on the radio!!!! your show bit sounded great!! I hope more opportunity comes your way to do more!!! On This Four Tops song I Often wrestled back an forth! the melody and the vocals are of hit material But I have often wondered if the lyric was of a different nature (not to match with or be so close as a follow up to” baby I need your loving “) that has been a kind of a Comparison I’ve heard through my many years in the music business, It some times is unjust but other times fair in a way, Because the story that the song tells is different but yet kinda match as a follow up to the story told on their first hit!!! I think If the beginning lyric and chorus was different This may not be in any form an issue!!!! and Maybe The tune would be judged on its own merits rather than on the sounding to much as a cheap follow up to baby i need you loving!!! I think it is a great song !!! you have to remember the type of records and sound that where coming out of Motown in just a years time!!! It was The song writers and producers learning and and a good way competing with one another and with the sounds coming out on other labels as well!!! It was the artist that where starting to mature and starting to sing with confidence !! Even though the 1964/5 was a real time of change! o Not knowing weather say would an artist would continue to other contracts or not be renewed. but as a result it seems like their best (mostly) Efforts at the time got put forward! it was close to this time that berry Gordy put up a higher standard and expecting Top 10 to” number 1″ in reality material hits! The Holland ,Dozier ,Holland where writing much more marketed aimed material than in the last previous songs in previous years! The funk brothers (the individuals a mixture through the years in the house band), They were putting more sounds,And strings and things.etc. The songs where really becoming the Motown sound!!!!! Real class productions compared to the last 3 of4 years of producing… However it was not perfect thou There where still some duds and not so good ones. but it was a growing company trying to be the best at what they do!
So when I say that the song should be judged on its own merits. I believe that it should be on a number of things that make the song, and elements there in!
The Melodie , The hooks ,The instrumentation, The vocal arrangements, The performance of the artist The story that the song tells and the feeling you get when you hear it. it should be easy to understand Not too complicated or too busy!
It is my humble opinion that if the lyrical chorus referring to the baby I Need your loving” sounding” content was different. it still would tell the same story,still have the same great sounds and production with the great hooks, the Tops where polished at their craft at that time an it shows!! since they had been in the business since about 1954!! The record would of still be a big Hit if not better.. And the stigma of a follow up copy would not be there!!! I would give it a 7ish It was a great 2nd hit!!
Many have asked Me though the years what really is early Motown and where does it divide., Is it the early pink Motown label/ early shaped tamla labels(U.S.)? is it around 1966? Is it a the forefront of the H.D.H. releases? Is it the beginning of the Supreme s Hits around the time of where did our love go? When??When??
I believe that at least for me it is in my opinion this period of time, basically its about mid summer to fall of 1964
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I would give this a 7 as well. Despite the obvious effort to cash in on a sound similar to “Baby I Need Your Loving”, this song stands up well on its own. I admit that it was a slight disappointment that it didn’t reach the high standards of their first Motown release as feature artists. But i liked it a lot, anyway, and bought it just after hearing it.
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I’M always impressed of how much research and careful thought of how the picture of things where in the time and era of Hitsville when you make your review of the particular record!! its like some times I can Imagine an or it brings a particular memory of the story back then in the day!!! It’s great that you research both charts in the U.S. as well in the U.K. in The U.S. since about the 1980s it seems as though Billboard was the main chart in the industry.That people paid any attention to, But in the late 1950’sthrough the 1970’s, There were whats called the main 3, which where Billboard, Cash box and Record world charts..One song may be high on one chart and not very high on the other !! I believe to get a true picture of what the record chart performance was in that Time is to have and compare all 3 charts. I for the longest time have been trying to do this but my resource is very limited.. outside of Joel Witburns billboard charts books I Haven’t been able to find much on the other two . in the U.S.I know this might be off the subject but I was wondering if you had come across any books or material on the chart action on cash box or record world charts??it would be interesting to see side by side Also see how they did on the U.S. and U.K.charts I only have very limited info on the u.k. charts that don’t list them all to 1970 I believe We would find especially on some of the lesser known hits how the really fared and how some Motown tunes in the u.s. went unappreciated at home in the U.S. Did a lot better in the U.K. after 1966/7 the U.K.was the 2nd successful largest market for Motown and it seemed to edge a bit up in the early to mid 1970’s on some selections!!! it would be of great value to know what action was happening across the pond!! as well as The U.K. just kind of a thought . Can you Help Me with this??
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gregory, there is a book titled “Cash Box: Pop Singles Charts, 1950-1993″ by Pat Downey, George Albert and Frank Hoffmann.” It is out of print and quite expensive
if you can find it. There also is a Cash Box chart website: http://cashboxmagazine.com/the-legendary-cash-box-magazine-charts/
Hope this helps.
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For ME, “Early Motown ends in mid 1963 with the break-outs of Martha and The Vandellas, continuing greater popularity of Mary Wells, The Miracles and Marvin Gaye, as well as The Marvelettes and The Temptations. At the same time, Motown was dropping their older, more gritty, more bluesy artists, and their main sound was evolving in a new direction (The classical Motown Sound). Around that time (a little later), Gwen Gordy’s and Harvey Fuqua’s Harvey/Tri-Phi Records were gathered into the fold, and The Four Tops were signed.
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Mm, I think there’s a temptation to group Motown into “early”, “Golden Age”, “Silver Age”, “late” – or there was for me, anyway – but I think Robb’s absolutely right, wherever you choose to put the start of the “Golden Age”, “early” has finished by mid-1963. When I was on the radio at the weekend and the DJ said our discussion of 1964 would be “talking about Motown’s early years”, it felt very incongruous.
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Hi Gregory (and everyone else!)
I can’t contribute much about alternate US charts, but the UK equivalent of the books being mentioned was the Guinness Book of Hit Singles; Tony Brown’s Complete Book of the UK Charts was also an excellent resource. Both are now out of print, unfortunately.
But I’ll be covering every British Motown release (whether through Tamla Motown, or just licensed to a UK label as in this instance) on here anyway, so you won’t miss anything.
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thank you michealS For the info. on the book!! I will see if I can locate one ..It is quiet rare as you said., It might be a challenge but hopefully I will prevail and find one that will be a wealth of greatly appreciated chart info. once again many thanks!!
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The very first time I heard this song.it was Thanksgiving Night on the way home from my Aunt Marge’s and I was in the back seat of my parents 1964 Buick Convertable the top was up and the Four Tops were on the radio..and I absolutely loved it!! For me it was a sound that I knew was different from anything else that I was hearing on the radio…When Levi sings ..’Hang my head and I sadly reply”..the word “reply” Levi hangs onto the word where you could feel his pain..
The arrangement on this one is different enough..it’s the lyric that’s somewhat similar to “Baby I”…and The Andantes really stand out!! This stil gives me goosebumps..7 to 8 at least!! Nationally number 43 but these are just numbers!
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oh no! so “without the one you love” gets the “come see about me” treatment, and “baby i need your loving” receives love along the lines of your big crush on the supremes “baby love” … jeez. even more insulting is the big number “4” you gave it! i am shocked!!! first and foremost it sounds nothing like a rewrite of “BINYL”! whereas the andantes had very distinct roles in “BINYL”, the tops/andantes merge is almost complete here, making this the closest true tops sounding single yet. and what is all this talk about this being a retread of “BINYL”? no way! mr. stubbs is well on his way to playing his great part of the pleading, heartaching lover he will play on all of the tops h/d/h hits to follow save “sugar pie, honey bunch” … a review i am thinking i will dread! “without the one you love” is the first very good tops single … a solid “7” or “8”! i am afraid of the battles to come, giving this review … but, as always, await with baited breath!
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No, no, no, no, no. Come See About Me is an excellent record, as I hope I made clear. I gave it an 8, because I think it’s excellent. As the Marks Out Of Ten page (linked to at the top of every page here) says, 8/10 means “…especially good, knocking on the door of the Best Motown Tunes Ever Club (and sometimes being allowed in), there’s almost nothing about this record that could conceivably be made any better. Hearing this come on the radio makes you stop and listen. A classic.”
I don’t dislike this because it sounds like Baby I Need Your Loving (and it really does, I assure you); as I said in the intro, when your last record was a masterpiece, it’s entirely acceptable to turn in a soundalike sequel, and besides some of my favourite Motown hits are so-called soundalikes anyway. Nor do I dislike it because it’s less familiar – nearly all of this is new to me in some way or another, being a relatively late (but fervent!) convert to Motown, and I hadn’t ever knowingly heard this OR Baby… when I first got TCMS 4. On first listen, one of them took my breath away, the other promptly gave it back again with an apologetic shrug.
No, I dislike this because it’s ruined by too many mediocre things. I don’t like the lyrics, which seem too blunt and “on the nose” compared to its predecessor (one of my all-time favourite Eddie Holland texts). I don’t like the production and the harmonies, which seem to conspire to buzz in the speakers and drown out the words. And I don’t like the tune in the chorus, which opts for a series of big, loud, punchy “orchestra hit” crotchet pumps but feels much too forceful and bludgeoning for the really rather lovely melody of the verses. The only thing I really love about this is Levi Stubbs. Luckily, he’s so good – so good! – that he makes it a half decent record – as Ron says, that and I sa-a-dly reply bit is just exquisite. But I’m not bending on my rating, no matter how much I’ve apparently misjudged the public mood (well, actually, I didn’t misjudge it, as I knew this was going to happen and I did it anyway, but hopefully you know what I mean – I ackowledge I’m way out of step with popular opinion).
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Since I have dissented strongly in the past, I’ll kick in with an agreement that this is (to me) a very mediocre followup. The idea it may be the worst HDH production is also something to consider. Also I dislike it because once long ago I bought a vinyl compilation that included this with Ask The Lonely nowhere to be found!
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Oh, and without wanting to get into spoiler territory, I like Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch a great deal, so you can rest a bit easier anyway!
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Nixon – I find you usually underrate songs I really like but that’s OK. But here’s a case where I agree with you. It actually sounds a little like generic H-D-H (although I usually don’t think of that coming until a year or so later. This song is OK but it lacks everything that made BINYL so great (the haunted pleading in Levi’s voice, the harmonies of the other Tops and Andantes, the beautiful use of brass in the horn chart).
I hadn’t heard this song in quite a while until I got the 1964 Motown singles. There were a couple of things that surprised me. First of all I think this is one of the worst sounding records of the period (at least on this set). The sound is almost distorted. Not sure if that’s just on this set.
But what also surprised me is that over the years, I’ve tended to ignore this track. And because of that, in my mind, I always think of Ask The Lonely as the follow up to Baby I Need Your Loving and Without The One as the lower charting third record that preceded the triumph of I Can’t Help Myself. Ask The Lonely wasn’t the chartbuster it should have been but it was much closer in spirit and tone to Baby I Need Your Lovin’ than this track was. And I also think it’s more of a sound-alike than Without The One You Love. I think I agree with your 4.
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Thanks Treborij! I agree with everything you’ve said there – and as for your second paragraph, I’d agree word for word – it sounds dreadful, like a throwback to the Fifties tracks where the TCMS compilers couldn’t find a clean master tape to work from. Maybe the version on TCMS 4 is just mangled or something?
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I’ve just dug out my UK 45 and played it on my old record-player. Without a doubt, it sounds better on vinyl -crackles and all- than it does on CD, and I don’t think this is uncommon.
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I was so glad to read the comments directly above mine. I purchased 12 of the 14 volumes of TCMS set in one bundle and, due to massive quantity of tracks suddenly appearing in my home (close to 1,700), I failed to sample each song for the purposes of detecting defects in the product, as I usually do, in timely fashion .Needless to say, I was not pleased when I heard today’s as signs of distortion commenced at the beginning of the second verse. I knew that was not the original production because I own 2 versions of this song (one in the Four Tops Anthology which I obtained in the the ’70s and the other which I recorded right off the radio on my Voice of Music reel-to-reel tape recorder in late 1964. The song is loud, but I can assure one and all that there are no distortions on those other versions. So, all of the above begs the question: Would Nixon have rated this one higher if he had listened to a distortion-free copy?
As for MY feelings, as I have mentioned in the past, I am no fan of Motown’s followup soundalikes, but in this case, I really like this one, I don’t possess the musical knowledge of Kevin Moore, but he seems to be saying, in his comments further down the line, what I would have if I did have a better understanding of musical structure. Also I really dig the macho feel that MotownFan1962 alludes to in another comment below, especially where the guys almost shout out those “RIGHT NOW”s. Therefore a grade of “9” is quite worthwhile.
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Talking about sound quality and distortion on this track, the worse without question is the version on the UK pressing of the Four Tops first album TML11010. The whole track on this album sounds fuzzy and distorted and that’s not due to a worn record. I bought my copy brand new in 1965 and it sounded distorted right from the start not a patch on the much clearer version on the US album equivalent. In fact several other tracks on TML 11010 have always sounded very poor in particular ‘Don’t turn away’ and ‘Love has gone’ which is the worse of the lot and is completely distorted throughout. I bought another new copy of TML11010 in 1970 just before it was deleted and that was no better for sound quality. EMI certainly didn’t take care when they made the masters for that LP!!
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I never compared the TCMS 4 with the vinyl before!! Being that I collect pressings from different pressing plants I have found differences in the vinyl singles from different plants!!!and how they sound . Some To the clarity of the sound! RCA plant vinyl sounds clear, less distortion ,you do not hear the crackle and pop as much. But the bass is not there, as much! And it has more (in the old school terminology)Treble to it. . most likely when RCA Mastered there own stampers for pressing the 45 they toned down the base pitch signature a bit to even out the amount of space in the grooves so the would make more space among the high pitch tone grooves ! that’s why the pressing as a whole sounds clearer in the higher notes and so on, because They mastered their stamper Plate with a little more space in between the grooves during the high pitch signaling. But of coarse at the expense of a little of the bass which requires more spacing between grooves.. The Monarch pressings mostly are Styrene They seem to to especially after a number of plays distort during the high notes some time I’m not sure whether this is due to the nature of the type of vinyl it is pressed on ( Styrene ) or if it is in the stamper mastered with the high pitch grooves too close that once in a while the needle wants to pop up and ride the top of the groove or cross into the next groove. I do know that the monarch Styrene is brittle and does not hold up very well especially under a lot of friction and heat. compared to some other plants(Columbia) for example [ yes the used both types of vinyl ] That Lasted longer and sounded better! less high pitch distortion unless the record was wearing out !! Due to the number of plays !! The A.R.P. (American record Pressing plant) in Michigan Pressings (mostly have all of the bass sound in the record!!! and have a (Louder sound)!!! The vinyl is NOT styrene, but shows signs of wear after a few plays and has a little bit of what I call vinyl noise in the silent parts of the song etc . So THE SONG CAN SOUND DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON THE PRESSING YOU HAVE!! but even with the vinyl noise, It is not filtered to death as in some C.D.s do!! or have tape deterioration mostly in the high notes or subtle parts or more hiss coming from aging tapes.. Or the thing that bugs me most especially for those of us that know the records by heart is when who ever masters the C.D. tries to get rid of the hiss on the ending fade they cut out or fade out a little earlier and you miss the last word in the song ,or lick of the guitar etc. that happens during the fade of the original record!!! But I do appreciate the effort to preserve and to bring the Motown sound to the next generation and generations to come!!!! not matter what way or vehicle it’s done
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Styrene is a very different type of plastic from that of vinyl. The stylus wears down the sides of the grooves on styrene records (whose fidelity when first used is better than vinyl, but after 30-50 plays, it is already worse. Styrene was significantly less expensive. But, as a record purchaser, who liked to play my records often, I am very sorry they didn’t use vinyl, exclusively. RCA Midwest used vinyl exclusively, and a good quality of it, at that. They also did a very good job of mastering. I find that I like their pressings best. They also were extremely flexible, and thereby, nigh onto unbreakable.
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Yes Robb I AGREE 100% The RCA Pressings are my Pressing of choice Out of all of them!! the sound is clearer, the labels are cleaner and present a better presentation of the product the print is more uniform and it seems that the vinyl is more solid and last longer!!!! most of the time RCA mastered their own metal work (masters mothers and stampers) that is why there seems to be a little more Possibly room between the high pitch groves and balance out between the Bass and high pitch !!! you have to remember that it was RCA that Introduced the 45 rpm to the U.S. and the world ( His Masters voice) and had high a quality ethic!! So they took a little more time to Master the record to bring out as much of the record in good balance… but as some people like more bass ,then other people like more treble I’m really one or the other but I Like a clear sounding song the highs not distorted The subtle parts as well as the bass the record reproduction is clear !! especially on the Indianapolis R.C.A. Plant Pressings!!!! the bass is a bit lower though , But Probably Like I said before it was most likely done to balance out the Mastering of the Stampers !! with a a bit of more space between the high pitch grooves for better tracking and basic all around sound….It probably cost more per unit than say monarch or A.R.P. However Columbia made some great sounding records also! But the one in the U.S. i would chose to favor is the R.C.A. Pressings.
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P.S. in the U.K. , Gramophone or E.M.I. Tamla Motown Issues I Wish I had more but the ones I have. I’m Impressed with it is too bad that Tamla Motown/E.M.I. Didn’t Have More colorful labels… But I really like the Red and white and Green U.K. demo records!! the sound also doesn’t have as much bass but there are some songs that should of been released and become hits in the United States that where Released in the U.K. I’m sure Steve (Nixon Admin.) will review them as they come!! It is a Fascinating story!! of its own!!! It escapes my mind but i think the man’s name is Dave Godin? or something to that effect..??
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Start here: Britain
Then go here: Greetings to Tamla Motown Appreciation Society
…and you’ll be up to speed.
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very useful information for vinyl junkies!
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Four might be a bit severe, but I’m with you here, Nixon. There’s a French critical insult ‘pompier’ – a ‘pompier’ is a fireman, but it’s used for art which is overblown, which calls attention to its own grandeur. The song doesn’t earn its own climaxes, which come too early in any case. It’s one of the few Four Tops songs which has never given me goosebumps (or brought tears to my eyes).
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I agree with this verdict completely. This is a lame and bring version of “Baby I Need Your Lovin”. Perhaps that is the reason for the performances we are givin on this record. They new the song was lame and a copy. IMO the B-side is much better than its A -side.
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This is an example of Motown adhering to its gospel roots. The Tops and Andantes provide a great gospel choral aesthetic behind Levi’s grit. I’ve loved this song since I was a kid. Rating: 9/10
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Yo! I’m wit ya on this one Mickey. Always liked it. And you’re right about the gospel feel. I’m kind of funny when it comes to 4 Tops records. I admire their classic songs but tend to like their offbeat stuff better. (For instance, “Yesterday’s Dreams” is one of my favorite songs by them. FYI – in 1970 the 4 Tops recorded this one again with the Supremes (for the Mag 7 album).
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Guess i’m in the minority…but I love this song…The four tops and the andantes sound great on it…
Is it their best?….no…but it’s not that bad
7/10
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I had never heard this song before today, but after reading this blog for a while I started to buy the box sets and recently got my hands on 1964. Noisy? Yes. Messy? Yes. Pales in in comparison to its predecessor? Yes. But, man, when the first few bars came through my headphones I sat up and took notice. If this had been worked on a bit more, the rough edges smoothed, the most blatant ripoff lyrics fixed up, it would be an out and out classic. I agree with commentators above who lift this mark up in the 7 range. In fact, one of the most exciting things now that I’m listening to these box sets is seeing all of the less than stellar marks this blog has given to some of my favourite songs. That probably means that there are a lot of songs I’ve yet to hear which got similar bad marks that will be new favourites soon. By the way, Hip-o-Select has really outdone themselves with these sets. They are beautiful!
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Hmmm…i never thought of this as a mediocre followup. For me it was more of a Levi rave-up and due to production values recorded proof that there were more than 4 “tops”.
I will agree with you on one point—that record was LOUD. You could literally put the 45 on and turn the volume all the way down to nothing and hear clearly what you were playing.
Anyway, interestingly enough, when we would go to see the Tops during their “golden phase” (1964-19677/8) the shows were paced so that you never noticed that the other 3 voices were missing. I never wondered about that until after the show was over. Perhaps it had to do with being recorded a key and a half out of range and then when you sing live you can bring it down, relax with it, and have the musicians pitch to your key then the average audience member doesnt pick up on the other 3 voices gone missing.
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Also if you still think you’re disappointed after a while pick up on the 1970 “The Magnificent 7” by the Supremes and the 4 Tops. Their version of “Without The One You Love” is one of the highlights of the album.
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Yeah. That Mag 7 album has some good stuff on it. Love their version of “Baby You Got What it Takes” (the Brook Benton/Dinah Washington song). One of the few songs where Cindy Birdsong gets a lead vocal!
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i love this record
4/10 is very, very, very mean 🙂
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One more person who disagrees with, sir.
I’ll admit it’s not as good as “Baby I Need Your Loving” to my ears, but as many have said, this song stands one it’s own. I think of it as Baby I Need Your Loving with a little extra testosterone added. It’s got a rougher, more gospel-esque sound. It’s still excellent in my books and is probably in my Top 50. Of course, that’s coming from a guy who favors loud, raucous songs (i.e. “Lovelight” vs. “Baby Love”).
P. S, Another thing I’ll admit: The harmonies on the chorus are slightly iffy (only because Marlene squeaks when she goes too high, as can be heard on “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”).
I’d give it a 7 or an 8.
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Feel free to delete that comment if you want.
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If you like ’em loud and raucous, watch out for “Can You Jerk Like Me” just a few train stops down the tracks. One of my all-time Motown faves.
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I agree wholeheartedly with NickInPasadena on this (and not simply because I’m from South Pasadena myself [CA, not TX, right?])
In any case – yes, it’s a blatant example of a cannibalized followup single, and yes, it’s not nearly as good as Baby I Need Your Lovin’, but it’s only the second time in all of pop music that we’ve heard the incredible device that it cannibalizes (i.e,., dropping into the middle of an Eb progression from Bb using bVII [Ab] as a pivot). It’s like saying Sexy Sadie is a cannibalization of I’m So Tired. Yes, both use VII (not bVII, and not in a modulation) in the same amazingly wonderful and creative way, but all of these were brilliant and flexible enough to merit many more “nickings”. I mean, think how many songs returned to the 12-bar blues, doopwop & La Bamba progressions.
An even juicier comparison than Sadie/I’m So Tired would be to Penny Lane, Magical Mystery Tour and Maybe I’m Amazed – all written within a relative short period of time and all built on two keys separated by the same distance (a whole step – Baby I Need Your Lovin’ and today’s song each use two keys separated by a fourth).
All that said, Baby I Need Your Lovin’ and all of the aforementioned Beatles songs are drop dead 100/100s in my book and (although I haven’t heard it enough to render judgment) I don’t think Without the One You Love is likely to exceed Nick’s suggested 7/10. I think if HDH had considered that we’d all be here examining their followup singles with an electron microscope, they might well have done what the Beatles seemed to do by instinct, i.e., spend extra time and effort disguising their reuse of recent ideas. The Beatles were every bit as diligent when stealing from themselves as when stealing from others. And all THAT said, the Beatles, in 1964, were a couple years from engaging in this type of ground-breaking modulation. You might even speculate that the above songs, (and Lucy In The Sky, I Am The Walrus et al) “nicked” HDH’s concept, but used keys that were different distances apart.
While Without the One You Love steals Baby I Need Your Lovin’s opening section and the beginning of the modulation hook line and sinker, it contains several golden hooks that are much better and more original that many higher rated songs. For example: “so come and fill my empty arms and make my life worthwhile” – it’s not in Baby I Need Your Lovin’ and – especially in 1964 – it’s a pretty great hook unto itself.
Sadly, the first thing you hear – the verse – is the simplest and least original part of Baby I Need Your Lovin’ and could have SO easily been disguised as something just as good that wouldn’t bring the earlier hit to mind. The tragedy of Gordy’s approach is that he seems to have actually NOT WANTED HDH to disguise the similarities. I think he felt “you won’t go broke underestimating the sophistication of your audience” – you have a brief bit of airplay to capture their imaginations, so exaggerate rather than disguising the similarities to the earlier hit.
Also, “without the one you love, live is not worthwhile” is quite different from “got … to have all your lovin'” – especially with Jamerson playing the 3rd of the G chord in the bass. It’s not AS great a hook, it’s still a hell of a hook! If this song had a bridge, I’d give it 10/10 in spite of the shamelessly undisguised cannibalization.
The biggest question I have is where HDH got the idea for the Baby I Need Your Lovin’ modulation in the first place. Finally, what if this song had come first and Baby I Need Your Lovin’ second?
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For some reason, I find this to be an ideal work-out song, or one to shoot baskets to. I’d rate it slightly above average, maybe a 6 or 7, though there are some odd things going on. Does anyone else notice the drop out before the first “make my life worthwhile” line? Sounds like a crude studio edit to my ears – not that big of a deal, but probably an indication that it was patched together, and thus harder to get right than the previous Four Tops record. Also, the chorus is a bit of a mouthful. That said, I’m not turned off by them referencing the previous (great) record – they changed the melody, rhythm and the way the words were sung. This was standard practice in the R&B world on records such as Shirley & Lee’s “Let the Good Times Roll” and Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah I Love Her So” in the 50’s, as well as Sly Stone’s “Thank You” later on. Alas, this Four Tops record is not on the level of any of those, but it is still enjoyable.
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