139. The Twistin’ Kings: “White House Twist”
The stupidly annoying bits mean this can’t really be considered as being on a par with Xmas Twist, but the band performance is nearly enough to outweigh them. (3)
Category Archives: Writing credit: Berry Gordy
138. The Twistin’ Kings: “Xmas Twist”
Lots of fun, but repetitive in the extreme; the repeated vocals diminish the replay value of an otherwise rocking little instrumental. (4)
133. The Temptations: “Your Wonderful Love”
An absolutely straight-down-the-line bit of late-period doo-wop. Well-sung and really rather pretty, but utterly predictable. (4)
132. The Temptations: “Check Yourself”
A stop-start, multi-part multiple-metre R&B piece, probably the most musically-daring thing Motown had released in its three years of existence. (6)
131. Sammy Ward: “Don’t Take It Away”
Hardly among the worst offenders in the Bad Early Motown Records stakes, this is still a poor performance of a poor song and gets no praise at all here.
130. Sammy Ward: “What Makes You Love Him (version 2)”
Another cracking little record, as well as a vindication of the strength of Gordy’s original song; the remake was well worth the trouble.
128. Mable John: “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”
The third single for Mable John, Motown’s first solo female vocalist, and probably overall the weakest of the bunch. (5)
117. Mary Wells: “Come To Me”
The biggest problem, really, is that Come To Me was never that great a song to start with. It’s immediately obvious it wasn’t written with Mary Wells in mind, providing a distinctly unsatisfying experience. (5)
115. Joel Sebastian: “Blue Cinderella”
A laughable up-and-down mess that makes Sebastian sound as though he’s doing an awful William Shatner impression. Nobody in their right mind would ever want to listen to this more than once. (1)
94. The Supremes: “Buttered Popcorn”
Poor Flo gamely gives it her best shot, interspersing the first line with a charming series of saucy, throaty giggles and delivering a really committed vocal performance, giving much better than the piss-poor material deserves, but it’s a hopeless battle; this record is an unsalvageable dud. (2)
89. Mable John: “Looking For A Man”
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)
Motown Junkies 