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VIP 25026 (B), October 1965
B-side of We Call It Fun
(Written by Lawrence Horn, Eugene Bunten, Ray Clayton, Ralph Gallant and Norman Warner)
From the Beach Boys to the Beatles. Following the A-side, We Call It Fun, which sounded like the sort of thing that might have been used to bulk out a Beach Boys LP circa 1963, we now get Voodoo Plan, which sounds exactly like the sort of thing Ringo might have been given as EP filler a year or two before.
On stage, this was probably a gas, the lengthy list of writing credits suggesting it came together as a jam, the Headliners (a self-contained band who played their own instruments) rocking out together with a silly bit of froth. On vinyl, much of the energy’s somehow gotten lost in the process, and what we’re left with is a curious record – it’s a so-so run through a pastiche of early ’60s American white rock-pop music. It’s the sort of thing a British Invasion group might have turned their hand to in their early days on the pub circuit: hearing something on a jukebox or pirate radio, pricking up their ears, instantly recognising the spark of excitement – but unable to recreate it themselves, having to translate it, fill in the bits that were missing from memory and imagination. That it was made by actual Americans, a real-life American white rock-pop act, is just baffling.
It’s weird because so much about Voodoo Plan seems to miss the point, much in the way that so many British groups’ stumbling efforts seemed to miss the point – but not nearly in so productive a fashion as those trans-Atlantic point-missings could be, not giving us something new and exciting in return. What we’ve got instead is not awful, not by any means – the recording sounds oddly muffled and echoey (of which more in a moment), but it adds to the garage atmosphere, while the playing and the harmonies are tighter than the A-side, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have me up and dancing at a couple of points. But it’s all somehow underpowered, mannered, in that weird way that Brian Poole and the Tremeloes’ cover of the Contours’ Do You Love Me is mannered – like they want to rock out, but it’s 1965 and nobody’s shown them how yet – and then not really knowing what to do instead. So while this should be sweaty and exuberant and silly and fun, it all sounds a bit restrained, a bit tentative, not fully committed.
The kicker, though, comes at the very end, when a hitherto-unheard audience suddenly bursts into polite applause and you realise this was a live recording. Almost enough to knock it up another mark – but then you remember the only reason the Headliners ever got to intersect with the Motown story at all was because of their supposedly explosive live set, and what’s in the grooves here doesn’t match up with the legend. Perhaps you just had to be there.
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 Headliners “We Call It Fun” |
The Four Tops “Something About You” |
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I guess my only comment is why in light if all the brilliant work coming out of Hitsville did anyone find it necessary to go after this market?
Of course while I’ m writing this I’m listening to The Artistry of Brenda Holloway on Ace’s new release. Which is REALLY brilliant…
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Must reach all markets, make more money!
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Yep, absolutely; as I’ve said elsewhere on this blog, Berry Gordy was never shy or proud about chasing every last dime to be had. If an overnight trend suddenly broke and the big new thing was portly Romanians playing delta blues covers on the accordion, Motown would have had an LP by Danut Dumitrescu and his Good-Time Bucharest Blues Buddies rushed to stores within weeks.
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Your American readers may not get that reference to the Brian Poole Do You Love Me. In early 1964 the British version that became a hit here (top 10) was by the Dave Clark 5. A really leaden, thumpy, shouty version but better than the Tremeloes as I recall.
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Hi. I’m one of those yanks! Listening to the Poole version. I actually like it better than the DC5. Normally love DC5 but could never get into their version of “Do You Love Me’. The Poole version sounds like what the Beatles might have sounded like doing it with maybe George Harrison on lead vocals. Of course, the Contours’ version rules!
FYI – The Beatles for the most part chose their cover versions very carefully & wisely.
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In my opinion, the most exciting British version of “Do You Love Me” was by Liverpool group, Faron’s Flamingos,
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Mmm, at least they seem to have understood what they were copying!
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Nothing beats the original, though. Nothing.
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About that there is no dispute.
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Hey, listen closely to the rhythm track on “Voodoo Plan”, it’s very similar bass and drum groove on Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels much later “CC Rider/Ginny Ginny”. It’s a fine groove on both songs.
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I guess you are referring to Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels’ “C.C. Rider/Jenny Take A Ride”. The latter half-song in the double medley was a remake of Little Richard’s “Jenny, Jenny” (rather than “Ginny Ginny”).
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I would have given this a “1”, as the instrumental is slightly interesting. The vocal does nothing for me. I’ve always hated no-lead vocals, with no harmony. I LOVE the 1962-65 Beach Boys, and like Jan & Dean, Tim Tam and The Turn Ons, The Rip Chords, The Fantastic Baggys, Bruce & Terry, The Five Kings, The Four Kings, The Deltas. But I don’t like THIS at all. I like “We Call It Fun” a LOT more (mainly because of the great instrumental track). I don’t like the singing on it, but that is a lot better than on this cut.
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