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Soul S 35013 (AA), July 1965
B-side of Shake And Fingerpop
(Written by Willie Woods)
Tamla Motown TMG 529 (B), September 1965
B-side of Shake And Fingerpop
(Released in the UK under license through EMI/Tamla Motown)
Or Leo’s Back, as one hapless label misprint has it. But no, it’s definitely “Cleo” – this is a follow-up, a sequel to a record we haven’t heard yet here on Motown Junkies.
It’s a slinky, loose-limbed shambles of an instrumental jam – the only human voice is a guy in the background, possibly Junior Walker himself, shouting interjections (“Cleo’s back!… Cleo’s gone!”) between verses – and it’s a definite change of pace and style from the rollicking A-side Shake And Fingerpop. Cleo’s Back is a new recording, laid down during the sessions for Junior’s Shotgun LP, an LP that would eventually yield no fewer than ten Motown A- and B-sides, but it’s a spiritual successor to Cleo’s Mood, a single Junior and his All Stars had cut for Harvey Records all the way back in in 1962 (and which Motown, who’d acquired the rights to the Harvey catalogue when they bought out the smaller label, the same deal that had brought Junior to Hitsville in the first place, had included on the Shotgun album, and would shortly be reissuing on 45.)
Well, I say it’s a “spiritual successor”; in fact it’s more of a not-very-radical re-recording, a glorified cover version, replacing some of the eerie, piercing organ that electrified Cleo’s Mood with some choppy guitars, but otherwise sounding less like a new song and more like a band revisiting something old from their repertoire, perhaps buoyed by the extra confidence born of three more years’ experience and hindsight.
Of course, Motown fans hadn’t actually heard Cleo’s Mood yet when this was recorded, and furthermore Cleo’s Mood had been a tight and professional recording in the first place (all the better for a groovy modern reworking), and further-furthermore the All Stars were never exactly in step with the rest of the pop charts anyway. (Although it’s interesting to note that however much of a lone figure Junior Walker cut in terms of fitting in with his younger, more commercially-polished Motown labelmates, he always had his finger on the pulse, dropping in several lyrical references to currently-hip trends).
With all of that in mind, the (admirably honestly-titled) retread works in its own right as well as as a supplement. Is it as good as the first instalment? Not really, but it’s a close thing, in more ways than one.
If it’s difficult to separate the two Cleos as a pair of brothers – twins, even – as they’re less two halves of the same whole and more two slightly different takes on the same idea, it’s also difficult to pin down exactly which is the brand-new recording (a contemporary of Shake And Fingerpop) and which is the three-year-old cut. Leaving aside Cleo’s Mood for a moment, the overriding experience for me when I cued up Cleo’s Back was a flashback alright, but a flashback which momentarily took me even further into the depths of Motown history, all the way back to 1959, and to the Swinging Tigers and Snake Walk.
Positively prehistoric, as reference points go, but both records share the same kind of… I don’t know what phrase I’m looking for here. “Awesome slackness”, possibly? Except that that sounds like a criticism, when I mean it as a compliment. Put it this way: both are the sound of some obviously very proficient, obviously very dedicated jazz and blues musicians getting rip-snortingly drunk, and then downing eight or nine cups of coffee to clear their heads, and then stumbling back on stage –
(No, it’s OK, I’m alright, man, I’m good, let’s do this. 1, 2, 3, 4…)
– and pulling it together, knocking out something with the brilliant, woozy ambience that comes from mixing a late-Fifties garage rocker with a slinky late-night soul jam. A lot of colouring outside the lines, but that’s what makes instrumental jams great anyway: the allure of pointillism rather than paint-by-numbers.
But all of that leaves aside the fact that there’s a tighter, cooler, slinkier version of the exact same song in existence; in fact, not only in existence, but on the same album (right), which can’t help but show this up, because even if you called them Cleo’s Suite Part I and Cleo’s Suite Part 2, it’s the other one that’s my favourite.
Both Cleos are very much records which highlight the All Stars as a group, rather than Junior himself as a sax virtuoso – not for the first time on an All Stars cut, the horn solos are a garnish rather than the driving force of the record, here perhaps reflective of the fact that Junior didn’t cop a writing credit for this one: Cleo’s Back was penned by the All Stars’ guitarist Willie Woods. (This makes me happy, because of my well-documented saxophobia (which still means someone striking up a sax solo causes the odd involuntary flinch), though obviously I don’t (and can’t) speak for everyone.) Essentially, the main differences between the two are that this one is a bit looser, a bit more easy-going, but that it’s also missing the riveting alto organ squalls that defined Cleo’s Mood.
Don’t get me wrong, this one’s still undeniably cool – I almost feel a compelling need to listen to it while wearing shades and cracking open a cold beer, and the punters liked it too, Junior scoring a double-sided chart hit thanks to this one’s popularity on black radio – but if you put a gun to my head and said I had to choose one Cleo, and only one, it wouldn’t be this one. Luckily, nobody’s ever going to force you to make that choice.
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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Jr. Walker & the All Stars “Shake And Fingerpop” |
The Four Tops “It’s The Same Old Song” |
DISCOVERING MOTOWN |
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Dave L said:
According to the liner notes of Walker’s Nothing But Soul CD set, at the El Grotto nightclub in Battle Creek, where Walker was already a legend long before the greater public heard of him, there was a truly fine female regular either named or nicknamed Cleo who was the inspiration for both songs.
It’s at this same club, where the regulars were trying out the shotgun dance, who encouraged Walker to write a song about it.
Both sides of this record did Billboard chart action, “Cleo” managing Top Ten status along with the A-side on the black chart, plus 8 full weeks beginning October 9 on the pop chart, rising to number 43. In all then, Soul 35013 managed to appear somewhere on Billboard from July 31 through November 27.
This removes some of the mystery why Motown took its time -till December 23- issuing the next Walker single in line.
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John Plant said:
Wonderful post – but it’s destroyed an illusion! I always thought this song was a hymn to part of Cleo’s anatomy… I think of Goethe, writing about working out the intricate rhythms of his Roman Elegies with his fingers on his lover’s back! – I only know the album version, I guess, but I love this description – right on, as always. For a saxophobe, you know how to do the instrument justice, and more than justice.
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The Nixon Administration said:
From what I know of Junior Walker, who was largely illiterate and probably knew nothing of Goethe (but who would undoubtedly have approved of a fellow incorrigible horn – dog), the “back” allusion (as a double entendre ) is ENTIRELY plausible. Only trouble is that Autry DeWalt didn’t actually write this.
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Mary Plant said:
a propos of absolutely nothing in this post, I came across this article in yesterday’s Boston Globe: http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2013/04/08/motown-unsung-female-trio-finally-gets-acclaim/HhhLvyjSvaaPx6pUGnwnhL/story.html?s_campaign=8315
About the wonderful Andantes, complete with beautiful photograph – and to think that I would never have known about them if it hadn’t been for you, Steve D! Thanks so much for this wonderful blog!
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Dave L said:
You got me curious, Mary, so I looked:
Yes The Andantes do have a wikipedia page too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andantes
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Randy Brown said:
Beat you to it on the “About Motown Junkies” page board.
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michael landes said:
As usual I love your review and agree with it and yet ……..
As in many cases, I end up in a different place. I just happen to
prefer Cleo’s Back to Cleo’s Mood. Simple as that.
In fact, it’s one of my two favorite tracks by the All Stars.
Yes, I know, simple simple simple. For me it just cuts a groove
I find irresistable. By the way, in my
area, this is the side that got all the air play (San Francisco Bay
Area) and it was a hit. For me it’s a 9 easy. Can’t defend it,
it just gives me that kind of pleasure.
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bogart4017 said:
“Cleo’s Mood” has more of a smoky, late-nite, after-hours-joint feel to it. “Back” has a certain pop appeal that “Mood” doesnt have.
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Robb Klein said:
“Cleo’s Mood” is more Jazzy. “Cleo’s Back” is more funky. I like both a lot. They are 2 of my top 5 junior Walker & All Stars cuts. But, I like “Cleo’s Back” more than “Cleo’s Mood”.
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Robb Klein said:
“Cleo’s Back” was a hit on it’s own after “Shake and Fingerpop”, on WVON in Chicago, and KGFJ and KDIA in San Francisco/Oakland. And, as I remember, it lasted longer on the charts than the “A” side (and may have gotten higher as well).
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John Anderson said:
Jr. Walker and the AllStars were the first of the great Motown acts to have complete control of their sound.Later Stevie and Marvin would control the sound of their music. But Junior and the All Stars came out the gate with a sound that was different from all.the other great acts and it worked. Barry G ordy had enough sense not too argue with greatness.and allowed Jr and the All Stars too give us some of the best music of our lives.
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