254. The Valadiers: “You’ll Be Sorry Someday”
Weird (which I wholeheartedly approve of), but also faintly rubbish (which I don’t). (4)
Weird (which I wholeheartedly approve of), but also faintly rubbish (which I don’t). (4)
If the stellar, never-to-be-recaptured magic of their début single had been something of a quirk, a statistical oddity if not an outright fluke, then in many ways the Marvelettes’ story really begins right here. (6)
A disappointing waste of both a good song and a good vocalist, paired together wholly inappropriately and satisfying no-one. (3)
Ultimately, it’s not terrible, but the Marvelettes had come down from a whole different level to get here.
Despite initial appearances to the contrary, there’s not much to report going on here song-wise.
Motown’s first white vocal group; on this evidence, they were also pretty ordinary singers compared to some of their Motown labelmates, even if they were above average by the not-terribly-high standards of white Sixties doo-wop groups.
A clear statement of intent, both from the singer – who had slogged through two years of flops at United Artists without ever hinting he had this sort of performance in him – and from the writers, each of whom was making a real name for themselves. Quite superb. (8)
An interesting exercise and no more; inconsequential to the point of pointlessness. […click title to read more]
A disappointingly straightforward rocker with little to commend it; opening with an unexpected guitar solo, it quickly settles into a shuffling R&B/blues-influenced groove and then fails to go anywhere at all. […click title to read more]
Not a patch on the A-side, and Wanda’s incredibly high pitched falsetto vocals are actually painful to listen to in places.
This is just about as good as any pop record that had ever been made up to that point, and while it would still be years before Motown approached anywhere near this level of quality on every release, it’s still an essential inclusion in any Motown best-of shortlist. In a word: marvellous. (10)