Nice enough as far as it goes, but that turns out not to be far enough. A paper-thin Andantes showcase rather than a blaze of glory, and so probably not the best way to close out our coverage of Eddie Holland here on Motown Junkies, but those are the breaks. (4)
A good little pop song that never pulls up any trees; a strangely muted but still wholly enjoyable goodbye from a man who never wanted to be a star in the first place. (6)
As perfect an encapsulation of everything Motown had been working towards all of these years as we’ve yet seen, and more importantly it just happens to be a great pop single to boot. (9)
A fine little record, blessed with a great band performance and considerably more spiky and energetic than might have been expected, but it’s hard not to wonder whether this could have been even better if someone else had sung it. (7)
It’s not Eddie’s greatest song, and again there’s the nagging feeling that – likeable though his delivery is, with his smile once again audible when he pronounces certain words – he’s still the weakest thing on his own records. But this is still a fine record, pastiche or not, and both Messrs Holland and Whitfield could feel proud for having made it. (7)
Highly energetic and plenty of fun, even if it is ultimately a bit directionless; it’s always fun to see Eddie let his hair down a little and move away from his immaculately-pressed “dapper young gent” image, and – coupled with his obvious new ideas about where pop music should be headed – this ends up being just about his best solo single to date. (7)
Perfectly inoffensive, quite pleasant as background music, but that’s about it. 3
Much more dated and much less vital than the Jackie Wilson record it’s trying to copy; it’s not something I’d expect people go back to very often. (4)
Thin and conventional, but highly engaging, extremely likeable Jackie Wilson-esque midtempo dance pop. (6)
Still plenty of room for improvement, but this is a big step forward for Eddie’s career on both sides of the glass. (7)
The tune is quite pretty, but all told this is a repetitive, thin, flimsy bit of late-Fifties uptempo doo-wop, a throwback the sort of material Eddie Holland was already leaving behind at the time of this single’s release. (3)
Motown Junkies 