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Motown Junkies

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

Motown Junkies

Category Archives: The Elgins

684. The Elgins: “Darling Baby”

December 9, 2014

Even though this is maybe a slower burn than Put Yourself In My Place, it ultimately gives a brighter light; the work that’s gone into this is staggering, and the results get better with every listen. (8)

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683. The Elgins: “Put Yourself In My Place”

December 5, 2014

What we have here is a calling card for a fine new group, in many ways the first “new” Motown signing of the mid-to-late Sixties, the first Motown group born as a “Motown” group. It sounds great, and it’s also a really good record, even if there’s better to come. (7)

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534. The Downbeats: “You Say You Love Me”

October 2, 2012

Very much an appetiser, a curtain-raiser for the entrance of the Elgins proper which is coming up in a few months’ time; beyond that, it’s an interesting listen, but ultimately little more than that. Perhaps appropriately for such a dated record, the group who made it were already being consigned to history. (4)

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533. The Downbeats: “Do You Know What I’m Talkin’ About”

September 30, 2012

Good fun while it’s playing, completely forgettable once it’s done; it bears absolutely no relation to the future of the Elgins, not to mention the rest of the Motown catalogue at the time, but it’s nice enough. (5)

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209. Saundra Mallett & The Vandellas: “It’s Gonna Be Hard Times”

August 25, 2010

Not a single, and hardly a classic, it’s still a nice song – but it’s a poor match of vocalist and material. (5)

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155. The Downbeats: “Request Of A Fool”

May 10, 2010

Just about the most out-and-out enjoyable number out of the eight sides Motown had released in 1962 so far. […click title to read more]

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154. The Downbeats: “Your Baby’s Back”

May 9, 2010

Appealing in its way, but it’s more of an album track, or an intimate, contemplative number for live shows; it’s never a hit single. (5)

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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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