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Motown Junkies

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

Motown Junkies

Category Archives: Writing credit: Marvin Gaye

598. Marvin Gaye: “Pretty Little Baby”

March 20, 2013

While this isn’t Marvin’s best Motown side so far – it’s bizarre, and it’s miserable, it’s probably my favourite. It’s raw, it’s honest, it’s painful, it’s beautiful, it’s everything I want when I go to Marvin’s later albums. Quite some going. (9)

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524. Choker Campbell’s Big Band: “Pride And Joy”

September 7, 2012

In the midst of Motown’s glorious mid-Sixties Golden Age, it’s a nice enough throwback, but one that feels more like an aperitif than a main course. (6)

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449. Martha & the Vandellas: “Dancing In The Street”

January 11, 2012

Brilliant (if not in the way that’s generally accepted), but it isn’t the record Martha and the Vandellas deserve to be remembered for. That doesn’t stop it from being a classic, of course. (8)

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291. Marvin Gaye: “Pride And Joy”

December 12, 2010

He sounds so into what he’s doing, it’s positively infectious. If you’re humming it to yourself as you read this, I bet you’re smiling too. (8)

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286. Connie Van Dyke: “It Hurt Me Too”

December 5, 2010

Almost totally ephemeral and done largely without feeling; its main achievement is to inadvertently highlight what a good job Marvin Gaye had done with the same material. (4)

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249. Marvin Gaye: “Hitch Hike”

October 27, 2010

Fun enough on its own merits, and it certainly did its job – there’s plenty to enjoy here. I’d just be surprised if this was anyone’s favourite Marvin Gaye record. (6)

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211. Marvin Gaye: “It Hurt Me Too”

August 29, 2010

In front of it all, there’s Marvin Gaye, electric, mesmerising, a star in the making. America had seen his future, just as Motown had done a year before, and it wasn’t knocking out MOR pap like “Mr Sandman”. (7)

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210. Marvin Gaye: “Stubborn Kind Of Fellow”

August 26, 2010

This is one of the most important of all Motown records, not just because it’s so much fun, or because audiences have had so much fun with it, but because it marks the start of Marvin Gaye’s career proper. (8)

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202. The Marvelettes: “Beechwood 4-5789”

August 7, 2010

The whole thing just works, and it’s fun, and young, and summery, and I love it. (7)

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MOTOWN JUNKIES

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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.

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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.

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You can jump straight to the full list of reviews so far in the Master Index, or browse by label instead.

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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).

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