• About Motown Junkies
  • Artists
    • A
      • Alan, Lee
      • Andantes
      • Anthony, Richard
    • B
      • Ben, LaBrenda
      • Blakely, Cornell
      • Bohanon, George
      • Breen, Bobby
      • Burnadettes
      • Burnette, Dorsey
    • C
      • Campbell, Choker
      • Channel, Bruce
      • Charters
      • Chuck-a-Lucks
      • Clark, Chris
      • Contours
      • Crawford, Carolyn
      • Creations
      • Crockett, Howard
    • D
      • Dalton Boys
      • Darnells
      • Day, Danny
      • Dean, Debbie
      • Diamond, Hank & Carol
      • Downbeats
      • Dozier, Lamont
    • E-F
      • Eckstine, Billy
      • Elgins
      • Equadors
      • Four Tops
      • Funk Brothers
    • G
      • Gaye, Marvin
      • Golden Harmoneers
      • Good, Tommy
      • Gorman, Freddie
      • Gospel Stars
      • Greer, Paula
      • Griffin, Herman
      • Griffith, Johnny
      • Griner, Linda
    • H
      • Hamilton, Dave
      • Haney & Armstrong
      • Hartfield, Pete
      • Headliners
      • Heard, Oma
      • Henslee, Gene
      • Hillsiders
      • Hit Pack
      • Holland, Eddie
      • Holland-Dozier
      • Holloway, Brenda
      • Holloway, Patrice
      • Hornets
    • I-J
      • Isley Brothers
      • Joanne & the Triangles
      • John, Mable
      • Johnson, Marv
      • Jones, Wade
    • K-L
      • Kayli, Bob
      • Lands, Liz
      • Lee & the Leopards
      • Leverett, Chico
      • Lewis Sisters
      • Little Iva
      • Little Lisa
      • Little Otis
      • Littles, Hattie
      • Long, Shorty
      • Lumpkin, Henry
    • M
      • Majestics
      • Mallett, Saundra
      • Mann, Columbus
      • Martha & the Vandellas
      • Martin, Tony
      • Marvelettes
      • McCullers, Mickey
      • McKenzie, Don
      • McNair, Barbara
      • Merced Blue Notes
      • Merritt, Billy
      • Mike & the Modifiers
      • Milburn, Amos
      • Miracles
      • Monitors
      • Morrocco Muzik Makers
      • Mullins, Dee
    • N-R
      • Nick & the Jaguars
      • Oddis, Ray
      • Parks, Gino
      • Paul, Bunny
      • Pirates
      • Remus, Eugene
      • Ron & Bill
      • Ruffin, Jimmy
    • S
      • Satintones
      • Sebastian, Joel
      • Serenaders
      • Spinners
      • Strong, Barrett
      • Stylers
      • Supremes
      • Swinging Tigers
    • T
      • Taylor, R. Dean
      • Taylor, Sherri
      • Temptations
      • Terrell, Tammi
      • Turner, Sammy
      • Twistin’ Kings
    • U-V
      • Valadiers
      • Valvano, Mike
      • Van Dyke, Connie
      • Van Dyke, Earl
      • Vells
      • Velvelettes
      • Vows
    • W-Z
      • Walker, Junior (& All-Stars)
      • Ward, (Singin’) Sammy
      • Washington, Earl
      • Wells, Mary
      • Weston, Kim
      • Williams, André
      • Wilson, Frank
      • Wonder, Stevie
      • Woods, Mickey
      • Wright Specials
      • Wylie, Richard “Popcorn”
  • Great Songwriters
  • Labels
    • Britain
    • Chisa
    • Divinity
    • Gordy
    • Inferno
    • Manticore
    • Mel-o-dy
    • Melodyland
    • Miracle
    • Miscellaneous
    • Motown
    • MoWest
    • Prodigal
    • Rare Earth
    • Soul
    • Tamla
    • VIP
    • Workshop Jazz
  • Marks Out Of Ten
    • I Disagree!
  • Master Index
  • Radio

Motown Junkies

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

Motown Junkies

Category Archives: Mable John

317. Mable John: “Say You’ll Never Let Me Go”

February 4, 2011

The song itself is pretty thin, but it at least gives Mable an opportunity to be herself. (6)

Continue reading →

316. Mable John: “Who Wouldn’t Love A Man Like That” (version 2)

February 3, 2011

Something of a sad note upon which for a legend to depart the scene, even if the record itself isn’t the train wreck it might have been. (4)

Continue reading →

129. Mable John: “Take Me”

April 14, 2010

Mable John is absolutely in her zone here, giving probably the greatest performance of her Motown career. (7)

Continue reading →

128. Mable John: “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”

April 13, 2010

The third single for Mable John, Motown’s first solo female vocalist, and probably overall the weakest of the bunch. (5)

Continue reading →

89. Mable John: “Looking For A Man”

January 6, 2010

A bad match of vocalist and material leads to a record that, while fun, ends up being less than the sum of its parts. (5)

Continue reading →

88. Mable John: “No Love”

December 23, 2009

A defiant, earthy, bluesy doo-wop number, done at a pace so slow it’s almost stationary, this follows in the footsteps of Who Wouldn’t Love A Man Like That in being enjoyable but not especially memorable. The song doesn’t really go anywhere, and instead acts solely as a vehicle for Mable to show off her formidable pipes. (6)

Continue reading →

35. Mable John: “You Made A Fool Out Of Me”

October 8, 2009

A bluesy pop ballad with doo-wop tempo, Mable John turns in a similarly startling lead vocal performance as she did on the A-side, but the song isn’t as strong. (4)

Continue reading →

34. Mable John: “Who Wouldn’t Love A Man Like That”

October 8, 2009

Mable John, an early confidante of Berry Gordy (from back when he was struggling to get songwriting work) and who provides the touching opening essay for the first volume in the Complete Motown Singles box set series, was the first Motown female solo act, beating out the better-known Mary Wells by a matter of weeks, and this engaging bluesy strut was her first professional recording as well as her début single. (6)

Continue reading →

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!

 

Index of all reviews to date

Lucky Dip (a random review)


Wales Blog Awards

Best Music & Entertainment Blog
Wales Blog Awards 2012


Recent Posts

  • 694. The Temptations: “Get Ready”
  • 693. The Four Tops: “Just As Long As You Need Me”
  • 692. The Four Tops: “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)”
  • 691. Marvin Gaye: “When I Had Your Love”
  • 690. Marvin Gaye: “One More Heartache”

Recent Comments

psychedelic jacques on 134. Bob Kayli: “Small S…
boogieknight on 441. The Four Tops: “Bab…
The Nixon Administra… on 661. The Supremes: “Twin…
Floy Joy on 661. The Supremes: “Twin…
eubiecatgmailcom on 349. The Darnells: “Come…
Robb Kleiin on 63. The Supremes: “I Wan…
Robb Kleiin on 63. The Supremes: “I Wan…
John on 318. The Temptations: “F…
144man on 245. LaBrenda Ben & The Be…
Jonathan Harrison on 245. LaBrenda Ben & The Be…

Popular Right Now

  • Tamla
  • Master Index
  • 170. Lee & The Leopards: "Come Into My Palace"
  • 400. The Andantes: "(Like A) Nightmare"
  • 527. The Velvelettes: "He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'"

Links

  • Soulful Detroit Motown Forum Motown discussion forum
  • Seabear Studios LG Nilsson’s Motown discography and collection of label scans
  • Don't Forget the Motor City Keith Hughes’ indispensable guide to Motown recording and songwriting information
  • Discovering Motown: our radio show Listen to old episodes here
  • Soul Source Forum Great discussion forum.

Twitter

My Tweets

RADIO

Motown Junkies presents
"Discovering Motown"
a Motown radio show

Hand-picked hits, harmonies and hard-hitting soul from the world's greatest record label, specially chosen by Motown historian and writer Steve Devereux. Whether you're new to Motown or a seasoned veteran, you'll find something good here

LATEST EPISODES:


Episode 81


Episode 80


Episode 79


Episode 78


Episode 77


Episode 76


Episode 75

Made in Wales

* * *

Check out our radio show:
Discovering Motown

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.

  • Follow Following
    • Motown Junkies
    • Join 1,583 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Motown Junkies
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar