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Soul S 35017 (B), December 1965
B-side of Cleo’s Mood
(Written by Autry DeWalt Jr. and Lawrence Horn)
Tamla Motown TMG 550 (B), February 1966
B-side of Cleo’s Mood
(Released in the UK under license through EMI/Tamla Motown)
I said when reviewing the A-side, the excellent bar-room blues/jazz instrumental Cleo’s Mood, that Junior Walker and the All Stars have a habit of turning up to save the day whenever the Motown DNA is in danger of going a bit MOR. Here, on the B-side, we see another one of Junior’s defining traits: a bad record following straight after a good one, and the nagging suspicion that Junior had no real idea what differentiated the two.
Superb though Cleo’s Mood is, I still feel it’s lacking an undefined extra “something” in comparison to truly great All Stars singles like Shotgun and Do The Boomerang, and I wondered if the X factor might be Junior Walker’s vocals. We’ve already discussed here on Motown Junkies how Junior, a saxophone virtuoso and grizzled R&B veteran musician (he was in his mid-thirties by now, but Motown’s teen-savvy marketing craftily lopped ten years off his actual age) was pressed into service as a singer too, revealing a surprisingly good voice: gruff but energetic, rabble-rousing in the best way. But Cleo’s Mood was three and a half years old when Motown dusted it off, a recording from long before Junior ever stepped up to sing.
Baby You Know You Ain’t Right, a much more recent recording, features Junior in full voice… and it’s a grave disappointment, as though almost everything individual or special from the A-side has been scraped away. What’s left behind, as it turns out, is just another male R&B group, and by no measure a great one.
Nearly everything we’ve covered from the All Stars so far has been either from the group’s pre-Motown days (they’d arrived at Hitsville courtesy of a buyout deal which brought nearly the entire roster and catalogue of Harvey Fuqua’s struggling Harvey/Tri-Phi concern into the Motown fold), or collected on the Shotgun LP, or (usually) both. Here, for the first time, we come across a “new” Junior Walker cut: something from the next generation, which would eventually find its way onto the Road Runner album (left).
In theory, this should show a kind of evolution, give an indication as to what was coming around the corner from the All Stars, cockier and louder and better than ever. And it sort of does, but only in hindsight, only by comparison to the much better title track of that second LP, a record which we haven’t heard yet. Without that helpful yardstick to make sense of Baby You Know You Ain’t Right, it comes over a confusing step backwards.
In fact, taken cold – and especially right after the blistering cool of the topside – it sounds lazily complacent, a second-rate Contours album track gussied up with a few token saxophone fills to remind everyone what group we’re listening to. It’s not so much that it’s bad (although it’s not particularly brilliant, but more on that in a moment); it’s more just that it’s kind of disappointing, as though Junior and pals, having already kicked some doors open on their way here, confounding expectations, are now happy to have a little rest, a sit down on the sofas before pushing any more boundaries.
That sounds harsh, I know. The laziness is conceptual, not an effort thing, I’m sure Junior is blowing as hard as ever. Plus, I’m aware my criticism is also artificial, because what Junior Walker fan – what Motown fan – is going to listen to this B-side while remaining unfamiliar with (I’m A) Road Runner? But it brings me back to my original suspicion that Junior wasn’t really sure (or, equally plausibly, didn’t really care) what made his good records good, or his bad records bad; I continually get the feeling that the raucous, jazz-born, blues-bred apparent insouciance that characterises the All Stars’ Motown output wasn’t merely an act, but more a way of life, that Junior and his buddies just wanted to get behind their instruments and go. They always sound like they’re having fun, which is worth something in itself – but what’s that old adage about jazz musicians enjoying themselves more than the audience…?
So this one just kind of plods along, Walker’s trademark sax more than a garnish but less than a spine. I’m not even going to talk about the slightly dubious lyrical content, another entry in a (thankfully still slim) sheaf of regrettable Motown relationship songs embodying attitudes that sound archaic to modern ears – but even if it was in Swahili, it doesn’t give Junior much of a vocal showcase to enjoy; everything about it is just kind of there and much as I try, I can’t bring myself to get excited about it.
What an enthralling review, eh? But this is a hard record to write about because it doesn’t really do it for me, without actually being rubbish. It’s okay, I guess, in that it’ll have you dancing (or at least nodding along and tapping your foot): but I can’t remember a single thing about it once it’s finished playing, which means for me it fails the most fundamental test for a Motown 45.
We’re in the middle of a staggering run of Motown sides here in the winter of 1965/66, perhaps the greatest the company ever put together, and so not only do the really bad ones stick out like sore thumbs, but the more indifferent (generic?) ones also seem less exciting. The ingredients all seem to be here for a raucous good-time All Stars jam, but the end result is oddly uninspiring. Better to come.
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 Jr. Walker & the All Stars? Click for more.)
Jr. Walker & the All Stars “Cleo’s Mood” |
The Supremes “My World Is Empty Without You” |
DISCOVERING MOTOWN |
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Dave L said:
Well put. You turned this one over expecting anything as good as “Cleo’s Mood,” and this time there was some letdown. But minor letdown from Walker is what would be outright catastrophe from a lesser artist. Still, what Motown artist milked their debut album of so many satisfying singles as Shotgun, and the next in line is among the finest.
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George kerr said:
My name is george Kerr I won’t you to no you don’t no a dam thing about mo town everything you said about the new York office is a lie all your information is wrong.my email is Wesalinemusic@gmail.com
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144man said:
Are you referring to a review or to a reader’s comment? Specifically which one?
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Robb Klein said:
We are honored to have you post here, Mr. Kerr. We’d be glad to have you tell us how Motown’s New York Jobete Music office really operated, rather than our reading incorrect information from second or third-hand sources. I hope this website’s operator, Mr. Nixon, will contact your e-mail address to have direct contact with you, so the true story can be obtained.
Perhaps anther good thing can result from that, in finding a way to have some good Serenaders’ recordings made available to the public. Currently, it’s not known if three Serenaders’ recordings of Jobete songs found on acetates in The Motown Vault were recorded BEFORE or AFTER The Serenaders signed their recording artists’ contract with Motown Records. That is important, as I understand the situation, because if they recorded those songs AFTER signing the contract, the recordings are owned by Universal/Motown, and could be made available on CD or for sale as a digital file. IF they were made only as Jobete song demos, BEFORE they got their recording artist contracts, the owner of the recordings’ master tapes would have the rights to release them for sale. I am interested, especially, as “Tears, Nobody and a Smile” is one of my favourite songs (and currently) Motown refuses to release it on CD, as they can’t verify whether or not they would own rights to that recording. They only know that Jobete Music owns the music publishing rights to that song. I hope that you can clear up that mystery, and those 3 songs can be released on CD.
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The Nixon Administration said:
My surname isn’t Nixon, but keep me out of the bowing and scraping, you’re more than welcome to contact this person yourself – as for me, if someone’s first introduction is calling me a liar in public with nothing to substantiate or clarify what they’re talking about, I refer them to the reply given in the famous case of Arkell v Pressdram.
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nafalmat said:
How do we know this really is the George Kerr of Motown? The way this message is worded with exceptionally poor spelling and grammar makes me wonder if it is just someone larking about. However, if it is genuine it would be great to hear his story.
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Lord Baltimore said:
This is just my opinion, but “Baby You Know You Ain’t Right” is not a bad song; I like it a little better than the A – side. Also it borrows a little from James Brown’s “Out Of Sight” to me. That being said, either side of this single would have been a “Letdown” AFTER “Road Runner”…Hence the release out of sequence, trying to sneak this one in ahead of S-35015. For many years I wondered what the logic was behind this switch. If I bought the LP way back in the spring of ’65 and knew how explosive I.A.R.R. was, what was the holdup regarding the single release and subsequent radio play?
Being just a youngster in December of 1965, I discovered this single through research years later. My rating is a “5”, with Cleo’s Mood getting the same.
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Robb Klein said:
I liked this song when it first came out, and that’s the reason I bought it. THIS was the side the radio (WVON) was playing. I’d give it a 6. 3 is a bit harsh, I’d say. I liked this and, yet, hated “Out of Sight” by James Brown. Funk, like the latter, coming in, was the reason I stopped listening to the radio in late 1966 and 1967. I had to wade through far too many songs I didn’t like to finally hear one I liked. Somehow, Jr. Walker’s recordings could be edgy and a little funky, and yet, the Motownish sound could keep it in my likability range.
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Landini said:
Wow! That must have been exciting listening to WVON in its heyday. I see what you mean about Jr Walker’s records being funky yet still Motown-ish.
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The Nixon Administration said:
Apologies for the delay here, WordPress made some changes which rendered the posting/writing part of the site pretty much non-functional for most of August – and just as I was getting into a posting flow again, too.
It’s still not perfect (I can see the Road Runner LP scan hasn’t worked – I’ll fix that when I next get the chance) but hopefully there’ll be some more new entries shortly, as soon as I have time to write them!
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nafalmat said:
This is what I expected from Jr when I first heard it in Feb 1966, not Cleo’s Mood. For several years I played this side much more, but as I matured I eventually found Cleo’s Mood the better side. Although not one of his best, I think the reviewer’s mark is a little low, I would put around the 5 mark. Although it’s not much of song the finished product is still entertaining to ears.
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bogart4017 said:
Wow “Baby You Know…”=”Out of Sight”. Wonder why i never caught that???
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Landini said:
Hi Gang! Happy Monday! Not really related – but I just heard that jazz-funk pianist Joe Sample has died. He has always been a favorite of mine. And it is slightly Motown related because his group the Crusaders recorded for one of Motown’s subsidiaries in the 70s for a bit. Any Joe Sample fans out there?
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Robb Klein said:
I like ALL of Joe Sample’s work. I bought all of The Jazz Crusaders’ records, and many of The Crusaders’ records (as many as I could find).
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Landini said:
Oh yeah! I should have figured that you had good taste! LOL! Have you ever heard of a group called Dr Strut? They recorded at least one album for Motown in the early 80s. Their music is similar to the Crusaders but just a tad tamer.
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bogart4017 said:
(raising my hand) YES! One of my fave albums by him came out in ’78 or ’79. It was called “Rainbow Seeker”. I first had it on an 8-track tape but of course over time those things pop and break and are useless so i had to buy the Lp. How happy was i when it was finally re-issued on cd a few years back???
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Landini said:
Oh yeah! My favorite Joe Sample album is ASHES TO ASHES. My favorite Crusaders album is UNSUNG HEROES which came out in 1973 but I didn’t discover it until about 30 years later. I remember back in 1973 I was lamenting how bad pop music was. Sure wish I knew this album existed back then!
RIP Joe Sample!
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Landini said:
Hey Gang,
A new person named Arch just posted on the BAD GIRL / Miracles review. You guys might want to welcome him!
Hope everyone is doing well!
Best!
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