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Motown M 1077 (B), May 1965
B-side of Down To Earth
(Written by Richard Jacques, Ronald Miller, “Avery Vandenburg” and Bernard Yuffy)
Tamla Motown TMG 533 (A), October 1965
b/w Down To Earth
(Released in the UK under license through EMI/Tamla Motown)
Somehow managing to be even gloopier, even more steadfastly middle-of-the-road than the A-side, the meandering Down To Earth – but beyond all the soft-jazz-circa-1951 trappings, this has a catchier melody and vastly better (and more relatable) lyrics.
What’s more, it swings – oh, rather gently, of course, the kind of swing you might see from a hanging sign on a mildly windy day, but a swing nonetheless. It’s just easier to get a hold of than the A-side, so much so that when Tamla Motown came to issue Billy Eckstine’s début Motown 45 in the UK (the only Eckstine single so released), they swapped the sides around, making this the plug side instead. You can understand why; it’s still not a masterpiece or anything, and it’s still almost defiantly retro in its easy listening stylings (it’s virtually a pastiche of Eckstine’s work from a decade ago) – but it’s undeniably a better song. It sounds like a standard without ever sounding like a show tune, if that makes sense.
The tune is catchy, even whistleable, while once again Mr. B is in fine voice, deep and distinguished, perfectly at ease against the background of one of the fullest productions Motown have yet put forward (the liner notes to The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 5 credit this to the installation of new 8-track recording equipment in the Hitsville studio, signalling the end of their low-budget Rube Goldberg phase of operations).
Perhaps Motown had now reached the stage where throwing money at something was an acceptable solution, or perhaps the musicians had reached a level of proficiency that the likes of Sammy Turner or Amos Milburn would have killed to have in their corner twelve months previously. Or perhaps it’s just because this is Mr. B, and this is what he does. Whatever it is, this sounds as though Columbia cut it in the late Forties, muted horns and swooning strings blended with butter-smooth call-and-response backing vocals. By the time we reach the end, with a series of big kick drums briefly cutting loose before scaling back to allow Billy his big finish, you can only really admire the craftsmanship.
Certainly Motown thought so, and it’s proven popular over the years; while Youtube doesn’t have the most famous rendition of this (Michelle Allar’s cover from Lady Sings The Blues), Diana Ross cut a long-shelved version in 1972, and there are some capable third-party jazz covers and piano versions out there too. But Eckstine’s original is close to being definitive.
I was expecting horrors, a Forties pastiche of nightmare proportions, an out-of-control vocalist decades past his prime descending into self-parody. Instead, Eckstine is on imperious form, and once more, this is nowhere near as horrific as it might have been, Mr. B bringing a level of class to proceedings which makes it all go down smooth. Truth be told, I’ve ended up becoming rather fond of 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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Everybody remembers where this fits in “Lady Sings The Blues”; Billie and Louis McKay have just left Sid’s and he takes her to the sumptuous ‘white’ supper club where Allar is finishing a last verse of this before things give way to Michel LeGrand’s piano love theme.
I haven’t heard Eckstine’s yet, but you do a fine salute to the man’s talent and gravity. 🙂
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I believe that the first single recorded on Motown’s eight-track recorder was “Baby Love.”
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This song is so underrated it’s untrue. If this had been introduced by Sinatra, Bennett, Davis Jr, etc it would have become a standard. Unfortunately, it was held back for two reasons. Firstly, Eckstine by then was a bit of a forgotten name, although incredibly popular in the fifties he’d no real chart success inn the sixties. Secondly, the fact that he was on Motown did him no favors as his real fans, mostly mature jazz and MOR enthusiasts considered Motown teenage music and Motown fans considered Eckstine square. So this and all his other Motown releases were doomed, chart wise. This is a magnificent song and illustrates the brilliance of Ron Miller as a composer. In fact Eckstine’s first two Motown albums are both masterpieces of MOR, showcasing the incredibly diverse talent of Mickey Stevenson as a producer. If Sinatra’s voice had been on these albums, they would have been considered among the best of his career. It’s a tragedy these albums have been overlooked and in fact are virtually unknown. I remember these albums were released in Britian but were deleted only three months after release, making them the briefest available Tamla Motown albums of the 1960s. They must have sold barely a handful of copies. Try the wonderful Smokey song “The Answer Is Love” on the “My Way” album. One of the cleverest Smokey lyrics ever and a gorgeous melody, but hardly known and never mentioned.
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This recording is pretty good. The song, written by Ron Miller, is quite good. The instrumental is nice, and Billy’s singing is excellent. I’d give it a “7”.
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