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Gordy G 7039 (B), February 1965
B-side of Nowhere To Run
(Written by Phil Jones, Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter)
Tamla Motown TMG 502 (B), March 1965
B-side of Nowhere To Run
(Released in the UK under license through EMI/Tamla Motown)
The dual nature of Motown in 1965 laid bare. We’ve had the fire and ice of the A-side, Nowhere To Run, Martha and the Vandellas on absolute top form underlining why, on their day, they were a match for any group in America, the Holland-Dozier-Holland writer-producer trio turning in a classic melody and a great lyric, the band smashing it out of the park with a muscular, defining performance… and now, here’s Motoring, which doesn’t have any of those things.
In a way, this is perhaps a more accurate reflection of where Motown, and certainly the Vandellas, were “at” here at the start of this new year. It’s not that it’s bad or anything – it’s fun in its way, enjoyably bouncy and unexpectedly risqué – but this is the sound of work produced to order, a piece of filler that was never intended as anything other than a piece of filler.
People wonder how Motown, with musicians and studio personnel literally working round the clock, 23/7 (an hour each day was set aside for cleaning), could come up with so much great material throughout the mid-Sixties, churning out classic singles like the proverbial hit factory. The answer is that while, yes, there are a veritable crateload of great, great records which came out of that little building, they couldn’t all be fantastic. So, alongside the classics, there are endless re-records of the same Jobete songs, there are vast mountains of demos that went nowhere beyond the archive shelves… and then there are tracks like Motoring.
Songs that were fated to be B-sides, or “track seven” album padding, right from their inception are a tricky thing to judge. Even those flips and hidden side two cuts had to get through Quality Control, some of them ended up taking on lives of their own and becoming classics in their own right, and, truth be told, there are very few outright duffers in the mix. That we’re still, in 2012, getting lengthy CD anthologies of unreleased material (and that that material is by and large good, regardless of whether any true “must-hear” lost gems are unearthed), is testament to that.
But it’s an eye-opener going through The Complete Motown Singles and having something like this crop up right after Nowhere To Run: the company was busy, and pressure to create “product” was both high and never-ending.
“Motoring was one of those attempts to do another one like the other one, which never really worked out for me”, says its writer-producer Ivy Jo Hunter in The Complete Motown Singles: Volume 5. “That’s a good track, but I had no story to go on it, and no melody. Nothing memorable about it”.
Those aren’t the words of an outsider, or a callow newcomer – Ivy Jo may have been relatively new to the stable of writers and producers, but this was a co-write with Mickey Stevenson, head of A&R for the entire company. Even if you were an artist at the very top of the Motown tree, you still had to do your share of these – and the further down those slippery branches you found yourself, the more this kind of fare started to dominate your diet.
I’m being unduly harsh on Motoring, making it the poster child for subprime Motown cuts, when it’s no better or worse than any number of other Motown probably-couldn’t-have-beens. It’s an upbeat, midtempo dance number, with a good rhythm (the blasting horns, presumably meant to recall car horns, and the girls’ exclamations of Whooo! delivered with admirable gusto, are definite highlights); but there’s little tune to speak of, and the main interest is the car-themed lyrics.
On the face of it, it’s a flat, straightforward song with Martha the narrator telling her boyfriend – us, the listener – to drive safely, peppered with all kinds of clumsy motoring references shoehorned into the lyric. But then, lots of people – including me – have taken the lyrics as an oblique double entendre, whereby “motoring” serves as a veiled reference to bedroom gymnastics (putting a whole new twist on unsubtle lines like We gonna motor / All night long) – although I can’t decide if the song is weakened or improved by listening to it in this frame of mind. If it is indeed meant to be salacious, it’s very veiled, ending up as something like two-fifths of a dirty joke.
Which brings us back to Motown 1965, and the Vandellas in particular; having just scaled the highest heights, they’ll hopefully forgive me if a good rhythm and two-fifths of a dirty joke doesn’t send me into raptures any more. Perhaps more depressingly, while Martha and the Vandellas have plenty of excellent records still to come, their future, taken on balance, seemingly has more Motorings in it than it does Nowhere To Runs.
Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, I run out of things to say about a Motown B-side while trying to think of new ways to say “average”. But average it decidedly is.
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 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas? Click for more.)
Martha & the Vandellas “Nowhere To Run” |
The Supremes “Stop! In The Name Of Love” |
DISCOVERING MOTOWN |
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Henry said:
I always thought of this as a cute little number, more of an ode to the Motor Citys other assembly lines. Given that I was 10 years old when the record came out Mr. Nixon, I am off to play the track, because on some days 2/5 of a dirty joke are enough to get one through a tough day. I say that to say that, in the olden days of 45RPM records, if you knew you had a hit on one side, you could say Bah, Bah, Black Sheep till the sheep come home on the other side and get a hit because of the hit side.
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Rhine Ruder said:
jeez, your being awfully tough on our poor displaced vandellas. “motoring” is more than serviceable as a “b” side to one of martha’s best singles. you seem to save your scathing reviews for a fine flip, while going overboard for the motown hits that we have all been told we must like. i don’t believe you lived with these songs as they were released and so you seem to be looking at them in a rear view mirror. i wish you would be more idiosyncratic in your likes and dislikes. yes, i know you have informed us that is not, and will not be your style. it’s too bad i can’t wait for your next review, and will gladly buy this project in book form when you are done, so i can’t get too upset with you! as i see it, our poor soon to be forgotten girls only have one fantastic hit left, h/d/h’s “i’m ready for love” and a funky little oddity and personal fave “i promise to wait my love”. and no, i am not forgetting the retrograde “jimmy mack” … keep up the writing … i will continue to bitch! really though, grand job, all things said!
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The Nixon Administration said:
No worries, bitch away, spice of life and all that!
On obviousness and iconoclasm, you’re wrong about me, and I refer you to my replies under Come See About Me; I hope the final tally of top marks, my fifty favourites, will be a good mix of the acclaimed and the obscure. Anyway, the Vandellas have two 10s left, and neither has been mentioned yet, so at least there are SOME surprises left in store for you from me 🙂
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Landini said:
Yeah this is basically a fun little throwaway B side. Martha sounds like she is reading straight out of a driver’s ed manual. Boy what a back seat driver. Yes, Martha, I will turn on the wipers if it starts raining! It is funny that in a few short years on the album filler “Shoe Leather Expressway” she will sing just as enthusiastically about walking. Speaking of the Vandellas’ latter day recordings – those are actually some of my favorites! We were talking about Stax/Motown recently. I have to say that “Promise To Wait My Love” is a definite “Motown imitates Stax” number right down to the opening “Soul Man” rip off guitar opening. On that song, you tell Martha is trying to emulate Aretha. Also, i have some very favorite double sided Vandellas’ 45s (Honey Chile/Show Me The Way; We’ve Got Honey Love/I’m in Love & I know it). Cheers all!
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Damecia said:
Hi Grandpa Landini! You mentioned “Honey Chile” and I have to say that the first version I ever heard was the Jackson 5’s…I had no idea until recently it was Martha and the Vandellas…as a die-hard Michael Jackson fan I have to be bias and say I only like Michael’s lol
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Damecia said:
Agree with Steve D all the way. Not the worst of worst songs and not the best of best songs “Motoring” is a decent song. What’s special about this decent song is the SOUL Martha is delivering and the driving bass. I would love to sample this song if I knew how to make beats. I will keep in mind though to remember this when I do find a producer. Anyhow, I think this track is fun and nice enough to be “Nowhere to Run’s” B-side.
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144man said:
“Motoring”…”driving bass”. Nice pun, Damecia!
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Damecia said:
LOL thanx!
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Dave L said:
Oh, you’re not the only one who hears the sexual metaphors in this.
Let’s not go too fast, we want this thing to last
Without cheating and going forward, of the M&V b-sides on the market to this point, I’m sure I love “Old Love Let’s Try It Again” and “Dancing Slow” better, but this was never a trouble to listen to. I played it a lot too, because from February 5 to July 26 in 1965 was a small lifetime when one is only 11.
Look what’s next, the first new thing from them since the last three singles were in our ears when the album they were on came out all the way back on August 31. And we were hungry….
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John Plant said:
I was hoping someone was going to pick up on that magnificent line, which nails the sexual side of the song for me, and moves it up to at least three fifths of – not a dirty joke, but a celebration of – well, something I was only dreaming about in 1965. It joins the illustrious company of Smokey’s forthcoming ‘In Case You Need Love’ (In case of a fire, call the man with the hose/if your desire/is to put out a fire/he’s the guy who knows….) . And I could never quite figure out the specific metaphorical function of her cry: And when it starts to rainin’, turn your wipers on! – but with that splendid raucous emphasis, it surely can’t be auto mechanics. I would perhaps have settled with a seven here, certainly nothing less…certainly more than a routine B-side, if not in the exalted league of ‘Never Leave Your Baby’s Side’ (which I devoutly hope is one of your 10s.) By the way, Rhine Ruder, I share your affection for ‘I Promise to Wait My Love’ – there’s a song that’s far more than the sum of its parts! (If I were limited to two tens among the remaining songs, I suspect my other choice would be one which I think is coming up quite soon: Love Makes Me Do Foolish Things… But then, what about My Baby Loves Me? Jimmy Mack? and I Promise to Wait?
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Rhine Ruder said:
what about h/d/h’s “i’m ready for love”? it fit in so well with what that supremes beat, but remained pure martha.
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John Plant said:
That’s a lovely exuberant song – a 9 for me, because of a few out-of-tune moments which bother me, but I love the forward thrust and the beautiful back-up singing – and the general joyfulness of it all.
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Slade Barker said:
When Martha sings “And it starts to rain, turn your WIPERS on!,” you can TELL she thinks it’s a song about fornicating. Rain = sperm, Wipers = rubbers (condom). Must I spell everything out! 😉 One of the best B-sides in the history of Motown, an easy 8.
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Slade Barker said:
meant “And when it starts to rain…” sorry
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MichaelS said:
Is it true that the instrumental track on “Motoring” was actually played in reverse while Martha & The Vandellas sang “in forward?”
Whether this is accurate or not, the song is an OK tune and deserves a 5, maybe a 6.
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Mickey The Twistin' Playboy said:
Disappointing B-side. For years I’ve tried to like it but can’t rank it more than a generous 5/10.
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ThinPaperWings said:
In it’s defense, it did wind up on the Vandellas’ ‘Ultimate Collection disc (25 songs) which is where I heard it. Martha says in the liner notes that she was surprised it got past the censors.
Personally, I never cared for it. No melody, indeed.
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Damecia said:
LOL so this really was intended to be a nasty song?
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bogart4017 said:
I’ve been hearing for years that its the bass line that was played backward. Repeated listening doesnt answer any questions since i’m not a bonafide bass player.
Anyway, for a cut to be just a b-side it turned up constantly including greatest hits packages and anthologies. I think i may have seen a re-coupling of “Motoring” with another song but it may have been one of those famous Motown “boots” that forever turn up in the tri-state area.
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Slade Barker said:
The reason this track turned up on endless compilations is because it is a fan favorite! Just because it’s nothing like “Nowhere to Run,” one of the perfect Motown classics (we agree on that) means nothing! This is a frickin’ dynamite number, timeless and fun, and danced to at many thousands of parties in many countries through the decades. Everybody loves this song. I am getting so used to Pres. Nixon panning my favorite B-sides that when this was came up as “NEXT,” I actually PANICKED a little. “Dear God,” I said to myself, “please don’t let Nixon say this is anything less than an 8. He must know that this, along with, say, “Third Finger, Left Hand,” is a flip that flipped people out for years and years, and he MUST dig it. Please.” As so often happens, God didn’t listen.
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Slade Barker said:
Plus: “And when it starts to rain turn your WIPERS on!” My favorite moment in any of her performances.
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Thom said:
I was surprised to learn that The Who covered this as part of the sessions for their first album, although it didn’t make the album and stayed in the vault until the 80s. According to the DFTMC logs, no other Motown group covered this one, and it would have been hot off the presses, but pretty obscure (Nowhere to Run came out two months before the album sessions began, but only hit #26 in the UK). Guess Pete and co really liked The Vandellas as they covered Heatwave as well!
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therealdavesing said:
This isn’t bad. Its definitely a pretty good B side and good filler material for an album. Its definitely not a song that I would skip over. However its definitely not a hit single. Its a song that seems like it would be a warm up song in concert. like a song that Vandellas came out to before performing dancing in the streets or the A side nowhere to run to.
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