665. The Velvelettes: “Since You’ve Been Loving Me”
This isn’t so much soul as it is indie pop. It’s remarkable, in almost every sense – it’s both surprising and surprisingly fresh, it’s raw and honest and beautiful, and I love it. (9)
This isn’t so much soul as it is indie pop. It’s remarkable, in almost every sense – it’s both surprising and surprisingly fresh, it’s raw and honest and beautiful, and I love it. (9)
It should have been another fantastic track to go on the million-selling best-of package their brilliance deserved; instead, it’s one of the last things Motown released on them, one of the last things left to remember them by. But it does them justice, there’s no doubt about that. (8)
A lovely tune and a splendid lyric, even if it hasn’t quite come into full bloom yet. (7)
The Velvelettes themselves speak fondly of it as the closest they ever got to making the record they wanted to make. As well they should: He Was Really Sayin’ Somethin’ is a wonderful, wonderful record, well deserving of a place in anyone’s desert island collection – but with all due respect, this is their masterpiece. (10)
The Velvelettes, for those not paying attention, are a great, great group, and this is another excellent record. That their greatness has been all but forgotten (even by Motown fans) is a travesty, and it’s something I hope to put right here on Motown Junkies. Who’s with me? (8)
In this glorious year of amazing records, the very last Motown single of 1964 turns out to be quite possibly the best one yet. And I’m not actually sure it’s even my favourite Velvelettes record. Yes, they’re that good. (10)
Despite its dated, scruffy nature, there’s the feeling that this has been pulled above its natural level, and it ends up being well worth a listen. (5)
A work in progress, a hint of the shape of things to come, that also happens to be very groovy in its own right. That the Velvelettes’ weakest Motown single is still several orders of magnitude better than most artists’ best should tell you all you need to know. (6)
They still weren’t the finished article quite yet, but the two sides of this record amount to a fine début, and this B-side is just a whole lot of fun, such that it’s hard to pick too many holes in it. (7)
A fine calling card, and a lovely little introduction to one of the most criminally-underrated of all Motown groups. (7)