• About Motown Junkies
  • Artists
    • A
      • Alan, Lee
      • Andantes
      • Anthony, Richard
    • B
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      • Burnadettes
      • Burnette, Dorsey
    • C
      • Campbell, Choker
      • Channel, Bruce
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      • Contours
      • Crawford, Carolyn
      • Creations
      • Crockett, Howard
    • D
      • Dalton Boys
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      • Dean, Debbie
      • Diamond, Hank & Carol
      • Downbeats
      • Dozier, Lamont
    • E-F
      • Eckstine, Billy
      • Elgins
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    • G
      • Gaye, Marvin
      • Golden Harmoneers
      • Good, Tommy
      • Gorman, Freddie
      • Gospel Stars
      • Greer, Paula
      • Griffin, Herman
      • Griffith, Johnny
      • Griner, Linda
    • H
      • Hamilton, Dave
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      • Headliners
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      • Henslee, Gene
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      • Holland-Dozier
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    • I-J
      • Isley Brothers
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      • John, Mable
      • Johnson, Marv
      • Jones, Wade
    • K-L
      • Kayli, Bob
      • Lands, Liz
      • Lee & the Leopards
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      • Lewis Sisters
      • Little Iva
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      • Littles, Hattie
      • Long, Shorty
      • Lumpkin, Henry
    • M
      • Majestics
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      • 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
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      • Morrocco Muzik Makers
      • Mullins, Dee
    • N-R
      • Nick & the Jaguars
      • Oddis, Ray
      • Parks, Gino
      • Paul, Bunny
      • Pirates
      • Remus, Eugene
      • Ron & Bill
      • Ruffin, Jimmy
    • S
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      • Serenaders
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    • 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
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      • 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”
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Motown Junkies

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

Motown Junkies

Category Archives: Writing credit: Brian Holland (non-HDH)

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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502. Marvin Gaye: “Forever”

July 10, 2012

The song itself hasn’t got worse, it’s still superb, and this is still a fine record. But yet again, I’m left wondering what I might have made of a Motown recording if I’d heard this version first, because as things stand, as lovely as Marvin sounds here, I’d go for the Marvelettes’ version every single time. (7)

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450. Martha & the Vandellas: “There He Is (At My Door)”

January 18, 2012

I can’t escape the feeling that the vocal and the track still don’t properly agree with each other, even here at the second time of asking. Still pretty, though. (6)

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432. The Marvelettes: “A Little Bit Of Sympathy, A Little Bit Of Love”

November 6, 2011

Artless and joyless, this is one of the weakest records the Marvelettes ever released, especially on a 45, and the song should never have left the drawing board. (2)

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380. The Marvelettes: “Goddess Of Love”

June 23, 2011

A really good little record, small in scale but beautifully formed. (7)

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372. Martha & the Vandellas: “Old Love (Let’s Try It Again)”

June 9, 2011

Still not a great song by any means, but this is just about the best version of it that exists, and that counts for something. (6)

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309. The Contours: “Pa (I Need A Car)”

January 23, 2011

I’d be a massive hypocrite if, having berated the Contours for doing the same thing over and over again, I didn’t at least give them credit for trying something new. I just wish it had turned out a bit… better, that’s all. (5)

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266. The Marvelettes: “Forever”

November 16, 2010

Remarkable, and wholly excellent. (9)

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254. The Valadiers: “You’ll Be Sorry Someday”

November 1, 2010

Weird (which I wholeheartedly approve of), but also faintly rubbish (which I don’t). (4)

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251. Little Stevie Wonder: “Contract On Love”

October 29, 2010

An enjoyable record, hardly a classic single but a vast improvement on what had come before. It was still very early days for both writers and singer, and there was much better to come from both, but this was at least a step in the right direction. (6)

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238. The Supremes: “Time Changes Things”

October 6, 2010

A nice set-filler, a pretty bit of enjoyable “middle of Side Two” album padding, but it’s not catchy or instant enough to cut it as a hit record in its own right. (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!

 

Index of all reviews to date

Lucky Dip (a random review)


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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”

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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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