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Tamla T 54116 (B), May 1965
B-side of I’ll Keep Holding On
(Written by Norman Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr.)
Tamla Motown TMG 518 (B), June 1965
B-side of I’ll Keep Holding On
(Released in the UK under license through EMI / Tamla Motown)
Deviating from the expected norm never served the Marvelettes as well as some of their better-known Motown labelmates, in part because they lacked a strongly-defined identity to deviate from in the first place; rather than showing off their versatility and skill, their various mid-Sixties musical experiments instead give a picture of a group without focus, adopting a scattergun approach to reviving their stalling careers.
These are the Marvelettes’ wilderness years, their Dark Ages; right when the rest of Motown was going supernova, the label’s first chart-topping group were relegated to outsiders, new 45s appearing only sporadically, no new albums for four long years. But their records between 1964 and 1967 don’t just make for some fascinating archaeology, they rank among the best material cut by anyone at Motown during that golden time. If there had been a Marvelettes LP released in the spring of 1965, it would have been incredible. You’re My Remedy, Too Many Fish In The Sea, Little Girl Blue, I’ll Keep Holding On… and No Time For Tears, another fine entry in the canon. If none of these records sound like they were made by the same group – or, more accurately, I suppose, if all of these records sound like they were made by a group with no clear idea of where they were going – well, it’s still a great run of songs by a great group whose mid-Sixties work deserves more respect.
For most Motown groups in early ’65, even the never-hotter Supremes, the challenge was reinvention: keep things fresh by never standing still. It wasn’t like that for the Marvelettes, who found changing things up came naturally (and, indeed, probably unintentionally, riven with internal fights and left to grow up – both as a band, and as young women, all still under 21 – largely unsupervised by Motown).
The Marvelettes’ majestic muddle gave us so many curios that, in a sense, it’s hard to actually call them curios; better to think of it, perhaps, as some sort of great roulette wheel, and until it stopped spinning, the group were free to pursue any one of the many musical identities they flirted with throughout the mid-Sixties, trying them on like hats, and discarding them just as quickly. On No Time For Tears, the Marvelettes are soulful jazz balladeers, turning in something akin to the softer moments of Martha and the Vandellas, Kim Weston (in material, not voice), a kind of precursor to the Elgins (who later, and surely not by coincidence alone, ended up covering this song for their one and only Motown LP). Tonight, Matthew, we’re going to be… the Vanwestins!
(A British joke, there.)
But that makes it sound like this is just a rip-off, a weird cobbled-together hybrid agglomeration of bits of other people’s work. In fact, as with so many of these outlying Marvelettes tracks, they sound absolutely at ease: the sound here belongs to the Marvelettes and nobody else, it’s just that back in early 1965 it wasn’t clear which Marvelettes we’d be listening to in 1968. And No Time For Tears gives as many pointers as any other 45 side from the period: it’s slinky, assured, decidedly sexy, Wanda Young Rogers more and more comfortable in her own skin as the group’s newly-enthroned lead singer.
As on the A-side, the storming I’ll Keep Holding On, Wanda the would-be talismanic lead singer isn’t quite the finished article yet, and her vocal weaknesses are maybe more highlighted when she’s singing a song like this that leaves her more exposed, not to mention more open to (unflattering) direct comparison with Martha Reeves or Kim Weston. But there’s more than enough here to suggest great things in her future; she moves in and out of the spaces allotted to her by the tune, sometimes following the melody line, sometimes abandoning it completely, always magnetic, mesmerising. When she sings I’ve got too much joy / To worry about… An unfaithful, an unfaithful boy, she’s directly channelling Etta James – and the swirling Hollywood strings don’t exactly diminish the comparison – and she does it magnificently. She’s not got the voice yet – yet – but she’s got the moves, and she’s already grabbed all the limelight for herself, reminding everyone she was maturing into a world-class frontwoman.
Whatever their style, the Marvelettes have very, very few duff records in their future, something underlined by this supposedly throwaway B-side, an unexpected little treat.
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.
(Or maybe you’re only interested in The Marvelettes? Click for more.)
The Marvelettes “I’ll Keep Holding On” |
Jr. Walker & the All Stars “Do The Boomerang” |
DISCOVERING MOTOWN |
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Landini said:
I just heard this one for the first time. Not a bad B-side. A 7 is very fair. Did you know Marvin Gaye did a version of this on his “That’s the Way Love Is” album? His version is more up tempo. Am now listening to the Elgins’ version which isn’t too shabby either. I really enjoy hearing the different versions that Motown would do of many tunes.
Off topic but I just got the Bobby Taylor collection which has been out for a few years. I found an inexpensive copy recently. It is quite good. He puts his own stamp on quite a few Motown tunes (“Fading Away”, “Its Growing”, “Heard it thru the Grapevine” , “My Girl Has Gone”) Can’t wait till we get to him & the Vancouvers!
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Damecia said:
Even though I didn’t get Steve D’s joke lol I loved reading this review. Good from start to finish.
Now onto the record. I must first start off by saying that I LOVE Wanda’s voice. She had the special quality of sounding as if she’s just talking to you or your listening in to an intimate conversation she is having. Fantastic singer! I can’t find any fault in this song. If anything it is just as good as it’s A-Side.
I must mention I can totally hear this being a James Brown song…this Motown song somehow just gives that vibe off lol.
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Dave L said:
I have a vivid memory of Stetson Junior High School in Philadelphia, and a very brave young lady schoolmate lip-syncing this during a school show. She did fine by it, and other than she and I, I wouldn’t suspect more than 20 other people in the auditorium knew the song.
Tamla 54116, with very different approaches on each side, surely had to have pleased Wanda as the true opening bell of her days as lead singer. One side is a fiery declaration to storm a citadel, allowing no other outcome but victory; the other a resigned and wised-up stroll admitting that you can’t win them all.
When the end comes to The Marvelettes, we’ll have a treasure trove of goodies, abundantly generous toward Gladys, Wanda and us. 🙂
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Damecia said:
Nice story!
Cool coincidence Dave, I attended Stetson University.
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The Nixon Administration said:
Go Hatters
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Damecia said:
Lmao! You know about the Hatters Steve D.?
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Mary Plant said:
I just know they must be tops!
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Damecia said:
LOL
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Mickey The Twistin' Playboy said:
Fine vocal from Wanda. Arguably her best ballad. Compare to So Long Baby and Forever and you can really hear how she’s matured stylistically. For me, it’s always an 8/10.
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Dave L said:
Crying won’t bring you back, baby….
And now a word about the accompanying, visual experience of Wanda
http://littleurl.info/km6
Trying to steer clear of crudity, but honestly, whether a guy was a ‘breast man,’ an ‘ass man,’ or a ‘leg man,’ what man would look at Wanda, circa 1965, and think he wanted to keep on shopping? An in-plain-sight, open secret then, perhaps, but what greater female sex bomb did Motown have on board at that moment? I could wonder if James Brown was looking at a picture of Wanda when he was writing “Hot Pants”: the woman got to use what she got, to get jus what she wonts.
In turn, this is what makes reading Marc Taylor’s “Original Marvelettes” a sometimes frustrating experience. As the 60s move on, and Katherine gingerly reveals Wanda descent into dependence on alcohol and drugs, any reader who loves the group wants to scream, “rescue this woman!” In the second half of the 70s while we were snapping up the disco output of Ross, Summer, Gloria Gaynor and Linda Clifford, Wanda would have only been in her middle 30s, and her name might well have gone on some of those classics too.
But, for now, we can revisit and revel in the audio and visual experience of Motown’s finest babe.
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david h said:
two of my favorite Marvellettes tracks.love Wanda’s vocals on both
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I LOVE THE SUPREMES AND TEMPTATONS said:
Not a bad vocal performance from Wanda…excellent contribute from the Adantes
Other than that it’s ok…nothing memorable that grabs you
3/10
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bogart4017 said:
a staple of the “Red Light Basement Parties” of the mid to late 60’s! One of my favorite Marvelettes records as well. I like how the background vocals are mixed so far up to the front, almost overwhelming Wanda.
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Kenneth said:
Good review, though I rate this song at least an 8. I think it’s such a fine performance by Wanda.
But you have the lyrics wrong. The correct line you quote is “Life holds too many joys to worry about an unfaithful, unfaithful boy.”
So just a small correction.
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therealdavesing said:
This is one of My favorite Marvelettes B sides. Wanda kills this. This is easily 8 possibly a 9. Very soulful. There is a scene with Wanda and Norman Whitfield I believe was during the recording of this. The session was from 1965 while Too many fish was their current single. Unless there are any other Wanda Young lead Norman Whitfield produced songs from early 1965
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