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Motown Junkies

~ because it's what's in the grooves that counts

Motown Junkies

Category Archives: Jimmy Ruffin

645. Jimmy Ruffin: “How Can I Say I’m Sorry”

October 27, 2013

It just doesn’t sound like it’s quite finished, which is a pity. (5)

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644. Jimmy Ruffin: “As Long As There Is L-O-V-E Love”

October 16, 2013

Smokey Robinson, who writes and produces here, had by now developed a knack of bringing the best out of underpowered singers, and this is a fine effort; if it’s not exactly top-drawer Smokey (or indeed top-drawer Jimmy, though listeners at the time had no idea what that might sound like), it’s Ruffin Senior’s best single to date, both whistleable and likeable. (7)

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444. Jimmy Ruffin: “I Want Her Love”

December 30, 2011

Motown had made such strides during this Golden Age that even the “filler” (for want of a better word) ends up as classy, highly listenable fare. That it could have obviously been even better is almost a churlish observation in these surroundings. (5)

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443. Jimmy Ruffin: “Since I’ve Lost You”

December 19, 2011

Even if the overall impression is of a pretty record that never quite takes its foot off the brake pedal, there’s more than enough here to suggest Jimmy was one to watch. (6)

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52. Jimmy Ruffin: “Heart”

October 13, 2009

A sparse bit of third-rate pedestrian doo-wop filler which would have been rejected by Motown’s Quality Control meetings had it been recorded even a year later. It doesn’t sound tense, raw, intimate, minimal, low-key, or any of the other adjectives usually applied to pared-down recordings; it just sounds awful. Avoid.

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51. Jimmy Ruffin: “Don’t Feel Sorry For Me”

October 13, 2009

An admirable effort, all told, one which showed enough character and potential – as with Henry Lumpkin before him and Marvin Gaye later down the line – to persuade Motown to keep Jimmy on the books, despite an initial lack of chart success. (6)

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MOTOWN JUNKIES

This is Motown Junkies, an unofficial track by track history of Motown: in-depth analysis and discussion of both sides of every Motown single ever released between 1959 and 1988. Enjoy!

 

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Motown Junkies

This is Motown Junkies, an unofficial guide to every Motown single ever released, or planned for release, on every US Motown label (or via Tamla Motown in the UK), featuring reviews of each A-side and B-side in chronological order. New reviews appear every couple of days.

Think of it as an unauthorised track-by-track companion to the magnificent The Complete Motown Singles CD box sets, and beyond, with marks out of ten.

I'm NOT Paul Nixon.

FURTHER INFORMATION

More info about the blog (and me) can be found here. If you want to leave a comment on any review, please feel free to do so - all feedback, corrections, disagreements and encouragements gratefully received. If you've something you'd rather not say in public, I can be contacted at fosse8 at gmail dot com.

(Oh, and if you arrived here looking for the Motown Junkies music group, they're nothing to do with me, I'm afraid - but they are very nice people, and they can be found at www.motownjunkies.com instead.)

HOW TO USE THIS BLOG

You can jump straight to the full list of reviews so far in the Master Index, or browse by label instead.

If you're looking for something a bit more specific, you can click an artist's name in the "Artist" menu at the top of the screen to see a little biography and all the reviews we've done for them so far. Only people whose records I've already discussed appear there at the moment - more names will be added to the lists all the time as I work my way through Motown's history, so do keep checking back!

Alternatively, the front page displays excerpts from the most recent reviews, and on the right hand side of the screen you'll see a list of the most recent entries and also a sampling of the most popular entries from the last 48 hours, as well as the latest comments left by visitors.

Dive in, explore and have fun!

LEGAL STUFF

This is an unofficial site, and is not affiliated in any way with Universal Motown, Hip-O Select or any of the artists referred to in the blog.

Where indicated, label scan images appear by kind permission of Lars "LG" Nilsson (as originally prepared for the Complete Motown Singles series).

Digital images courtesy of Gordon Frewin are supplied for use at motownjunkies.co.uk by arrangement. All applicable rights reserved. No unauthorised republication is permitted.

Many label images were kindly provided by Robb Klein, together with invaluable historical research.

All text © Motown Junkies, 2009-19. All rights reserved.

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