554. The Temptations: “It’s Growing”
Too much of a glorious mess to have been a huge hit on original release, but it’s both insanely ambitious and impressively executed, and it adds up to yet another excellent side in this magnificent run. (8)
Category Archives: Writing credit: Pete Moore
553. The Miracles: “All That’s Good”
A listener at the end of 1964 might well have wondered, with good reason, whether the Miracles really had a place in Motown’s brave new world of corporate greed and thundering cash registers. This pair of sides not only put such doubts to rest, but showed the Miracles to be at the vanguard of the company’s very best acts. Quite exceptional stuff. (8)
552. The Miracles: “Ooo Baby Baby”
At a Q&A event in a high school classroom later in the year, Berry Gordy was asked by one of the students: “How do you find guys like Smokey Robinson?” His reply was curt: “You don’t find guys like Smokey Robinson.” (9)
550. Marvin Gaye: “I’ll Be Doggone”
I love Marvin Gaye. Love him. As you’ll see later, he’s probably my favourite Motown artist. But this – this beautifully-formed little pop record – is wrong, and I’d be lying to myself – and undoing the entire purpose of this blog – if I didn’t call him and Smokey out for it. (5)
511. The Miracles: “Come On Do The Jerk”
A waste of the talents of everyone involved, wafer-thin and surprisingly ill-suited to its lead singer; even Smokey isn’t taking this seriously, so there’s really no reason we should bother. (3)
467. The Miracles: “That’s What Love Is Made Of”
This is a water-treading, wheel-spinning entry in the Miracles catalogue, pleasant enough but lacking everything that made me love I Like It Like That, and if anyone were to tell me this was their favourite Miracles record, I’d be deeply suspicious. (5)
430. The Miracles: “You’re So Fine And Sweet”
Plenty of fun as far as it goes, but that only really lasts for as long as it’s playing – you wouldn’t dig it out on purpose for repeated listening, and it fades from the memory literally ten seconds after it’s done. (4)
Motown Junkies 